Hard Times

2nd Timothy 3:1-171”But mark this: There will be terrible times in thelast days.2Peoplewill be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,3withoutlove, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of thegood,4treacherous,rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form ofgodliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.6They are the kind who worm their way into homes andgain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and areswayed by all kinds of evil desires,7alwayslearning but never able to acknowledge the truth.8Justas Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth men ofdepraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.9Butthey will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their follywill be clear to everyone. Paul’s Charge to Timothy 10You,however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith,patience, love, endurance,11persecutions,sufferings what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra,the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.12Infact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will bepersecuted,13whileevil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.14Butas for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,because you know those from whom you learned it,15andhow from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make youwise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.16AllScripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting andtraining in righteousness,17sothat the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“ Amen!{{more}}  You have probably heard the old jokeabout the fellow who was told, “Cheer up. Things could be worse.” So he said,“I did as I was told. I cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse.” That ina nutshell is the message of 2nd Timothy. The Apostle Paul, writing from aprison cell in Rome, knowing that his own death was at hand, warns his youngprotégé Timothy of difficult days to come. Although he never loses his faith inGod, it is clear that the aged apostle was deeply concerned about the trends hesaw all around him. Hard times were coming; days of stress were just around thecorner. If a man was not ready, if he didn’t brace himself in advance, he mightbe washed away when things got really hot.2nd Timothy 3:1 is really the key to this whole chapter. “But markthis: There will be terrible times in the last days.” Two questions come tomind. First, what does Paul mean by the expression, “last days?” That phrasehas at least three meanings. It can apply to the entire period between thefirst and second comings of Christ. Since Christ could have come at any time,the entire church age can be called the “last days.” It also applies to uniqueperiods of spiritual testing that occur at different times in different places.Finally, it obviously applies to the last few weeks and months and yearspreceding our Lord’s return to the earth. I find it helpful to think in termsof labor pains. A pregnant woman knows when she is about to give birth by thefrequency and severity of her labor pains. In the same way, the various thingsthat Paul lists in the first few verses of 2nd Timothy 3 will always be presentin some form, but will increase dramatically near the end of the age. Are we in the “last days?” No matterhow you define it, the answer is yes. And we may indeed be living in the finaldays before the return of Christ to the earth.Second, what will the “last days” be like? The word translated “terrible”occurs only here and one other place in the New Testament. In its otheroccurrence, it refers to the two violent men who were possessed by demons inthe region of Gadara . They were wild, uncontrollable men wholived among the tombs. The particular Greek word used to describe them is alsoused in 2nd Timothy 3:1. The “last days” will be fierce, violent, dangerous andfrightening. Here is another word you could use: In the last days, savage timeswill come as men cast off all moral restraint and society begins todisintegrate.So Paul warns Timothy, “After I am gone, things are going to get worse beforethey get better. Buckle up, Timothy. Terrible times are coming.” That is whyPaul said, “Mark this,” or “Understand this,” or “Pay attention tothis.” Do not be naïve and think that everything is going to be okay. It is notall going to be okay. But forewarned is forearmed. If you know what is going tohappen, you will not be surprised when it does.The first five verses of 2nd Timothy 3 offer a sobering catalogue ofcorruption. In a sense, this is a shorter version of Romans 1:18-32. This iswhat happens when a nation turns its back on God. First, there is a totalrejection of God. People are unholy, ungrateful, lovers of themselves, loversof pleasure rather than lovers of God. This leads to a total moral collapse.People become lovers of money, conceited, without love toward others, boastful,proud, unforgiving, conceited, “not lovers of what is good.” Finally, there isthe total breakdown of society. People will be treacherous, rash, slanderous,brutal, and disobedient to parents, abusive and without self-control. That lastphrase means that in the end, anything goes. No rules, no moral absolutes, norestraints of any kind. Every man does that which is right in his own eyes, andwoe to the person who dares to question his “lifestyle choices.” Side note: It’sinteresting that Paul includes “disobedient to parents.” It may seem tootrivial to be in such a solemn list, but for Paul, disobedience is the sparkthat ignites the flame that leaves the home in ashes. Is it any wonder thatdivorce has become commonplace or that many people want to redefine marriage toallow for homosexuals to marry each other? Answer: No, it’s not surprising, andwe have not reached the bottom of the pit of moral degradation In the light ofBible prophecy, we should expect that as we approach the end times, all thesethings will increase in intensity and frequency, until we have the situationportrayed in the Book of Revelation, the total implosion of the social order asmen utterly rebel against God and destroy themselves and the world in theprocess. Perhaps this is why Jesus said in Matthew 24:22 “that unless thosedays were shortened, no one would survive.” Amen!But you have not gotten to the bad news yet. That comes in verse 5: “Having aform of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” Theword “form” means something like, “having the outward appearance” of godliness.That is, in the last days, as men turn away from God, paradoxically, they willbecome more religious, not less. Religion will become more popular as weapproach the end times because people will seek some refuge in a world thatincreasingly has lost its way. They will ask the right questions, but willfollow the wrong answers. It will be religion for religion’s sake, not religionfor the sake of knowing Christ. They will join the church , they will be baptized, attend the services, sing andpray and give and go through the motions, but their hearts will not be in it.They will deny the very power they profess to believe. In particular, they willembrace a kind of postmodern religion that allows them to do anything, believeanything, and endorse anything, live any way they choose as long as it makesthem happy. They will say things like, “We do not need to be bound by theoutdated rules of the Bible. Those were written 2,000 years ago and do notapply to us today.” That is not far-fetched. You can say things like that todayand be elected a bishop in some denominations.Notice how Paul says we are to respond to these false religious leaders: “Havenothing to do with them” . That is clear, is not it? It is alsojudgmental, narrow-minded, rude, unkind, and unfair in the eyes of many peopleand a host of other things that are not Politically Correct today. But the wordof the Lord remains. We are to have nothing to do with religious people who donot believe the Bible and do not accept its authority over every area of life,including sexual morality. Such people are religious but lost. From time totime, I am approached by nice people wondering why I won’t join in with all theothers people of this city in various community endeavors. As I say, these arenice people who wish I would join hands with them and sing “Kum-Ba-Yah” andleave all the Jesus stuff alone so I will not make anyone feel uncomfortable.There are two answers we give: First, I am happy to work side by side and handin hand with true believers in Jesus who worship him as Savior and Lord and whoaccept the Bible as the unquestioned Word of God. I will fellowship and worktogether in many ways with many groups all the time. I do it, have done it, Ilike it, and I plan to continue doing it. But I do not and will not join handswith those who deny that Jesus is the only way to heaven, who are not born again,who do not accept the Bible, who do not preach salvation by grace alone throughfaith alone in Christ, who do not put the Bible above the shifting tide ofpublic opinion. To be frank about it, I just do not have anything in commonwith theological liberals. They have got their religion and I have got mine… Ihappily work and worship together with those who share a common faith in theLord Jesus Christ, but as for those who are religious but deny the fundamentaltruths of the faith, I “have nothing to do with them.”Verses 6-9 describe how these false teachers spread their insidious spiritualvenom. First, they prey on weak people. “They are the kind who worm their wayinto homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down withsins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning, but neverable to acknowledge the truth.” The Greek term for “weak-willed women” can alsobe translated as something like “silly” or “unstable” women. It certainly doesnot describe all women, but rather a certain class of women who are unusuallygullible. They carry a load of guilt for their sins, and they let their sinfuldesires; perhaps a reference to sexual immorality gets them into all sorts ofbad situations. The principle applies generally to all those who are easily ledand easily confused. Second, these false teachers are nothing new.When Paul mentionsJannes and Jambres in verse 8, he is referring to the Jewish tradition thatnamed these two men as the leaders of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Mosesin the book of Exodus. And how did they oppose him? By counterfeiting orduplicating some of the early plagues. For instance, when Moses turned therivers into blood and called forth the plague of frogs, the magicians did thesame things. This suggests to me that in the last days, there will be somespiritual leaders who are so in touch with demons that they will somehowcounterfeit or duplicate the miracles of God, and millions will believe theirdeception. Certainly there will be an outbreak of demonism in the last daysleading up to the return of Christ to establish his kingdom on the earth. Thegreater point is, the false teachers of Paul’s day, and the false teachers ofour day, and the false teachers of the final days, are all cut from the samecloth. They’ve been around a long time. Third, their success will be limitedand temporary. They won’t be around forever because God will make it clearwhose side he is on. Just as the waters that parted for Moses also drowned theEgyptian army, even so the hand of God that saves his children will come downin crushing judgment on the false teachers.If this is what we haveto look forward to , how then should we live? How will we survivethe “savage days” that are coming our way? Verse 10 emphasizes that Christiansare called to be different. “Timothy, you were called by God to make adifference by standing strong. Don’t be discouraged by world conditions. Don’tlet the world change you. Instead, go out and by God’s grace change the world.”Pay attention to the phrases Paul uses to describe the practical impact of theBible. God’s word tells us what is right , what is not right, how to get right , how to stay right . Here is the result: We are thoroughly equipped to do what Godwants us to do. A soldier needs the right equipment in order to win the battle.The Bible is the Christian’s sword by which we fight the battles of life. But asword does no good if it is left in the scabbard. You have to take it out anduse it. Likewise, the finest study Bible in the world will do you no good ifyou do not read it.This is Paul’s final answer to the “terrible times” that are coming in the lastdays.Know the Word! Read the Word!, Obey the Word! And You Never Outgrow the BibleMake the Bible the foundation of your life. Love it and believe it and obey itand follow it and then teach it to others. That will make you strong and giveyou confidence when trouble comes your way, as it must come sooner or later.Knowing the Bible now can save your life later. So we can say it this way: Younever outgrow the Word of God. You will always need it as the foundation of thechurch. You need it in your life and I need it in my life. The Word of God willmake you complete so that you are ready to do everything God wants you to do.If you stand back and look at this passage as a whole, you can summarize it ina few key statements: 1) The world will get worse. Do not be surprised.2) Tough times are coming. Do not be discouraged.3) It’s easier to stand strong if you do not stand alone.4) Believers who build their lives on the Bible may be persecuted but they willnever be defeated.Ministry in the lastdays will be tough business. Only the strong will survive. But God has given ustwo advantages: 1) He has told us what will happen.2) He has told us what to do.Build your life on the Word of God and you will be able to survive the cominghard times. As a practical matter, there are some questions you should ask yourselvesas you think about this passage: 1) How am I building God’s Word into my life?2) Do I submit to the Word of God even when I might disagree or dislikesomething that it says?3) Am I willing to run all my opinions through the grid of Holy Scripture?People of the Book. If we take this passageseriously, then we must say that the great need of Christians everywhere is tobecome truly biblical in our thinking. We must absorb the Word until our veryblood is bibline. Since we will never outgrow our need for the Word, we darenot live on yesterday’s knowledge, but continue instead to grow in the Word dayby day, week by week, month by month, year by year. Here is a noble goal for all of us: Make us peopleof the Book. Make us a church of the Book. Make us families built on the Book.Make us men and women who love the book of God. May those who know us, if theyknow nothing else, know that we are a people of the Book.I believe the Bible is the Word of God. That’s why some churches give outBibles to the little children who graduate from kindergarten into first grade. Theydo not give them Weekly Readers. They give them Bibles. You believe the Bibleis the Word of God. That is why many churches have a Sunday School. That’s why theyhave Sunday School teachers. That is why they spend thousands of dollars onChristian education. That is why they send the best and the brightest they haveto the ends of the earth with the message of the gospel. That is why they doeverything that they do. They believe the Bible is the Word of God and aregoing to stand upon it. They have staked our lives upon that fact. That’s whythe Scriptures come first in our Articles of Faith. This doctrine is thefoundation of everything else we believe, and if the foundation is strong, youcan build a house that will stand during the storm, while other houses areblown away by the howling winds of unbelief. Now you know why these are toughtimes! Amen!