Perilous Times, 2 Tim 3:1-5

2Tim 3:1-5

Perilous Times

This is one of the passages that made me want to preach through this book over the past few years. However, there were other things that needed to be said. Other important things to put into your minds trusting some of it would be hidden in your hearts.

Many of the realities in this short, personal, but preserved and inspired epistle have been neglected or misdirected by the modern church. This has happened for almost 100 years based on the commentaries I can access. Excluding any body from the life of a church for any reason has become unpopular as antinomianism has been on the rise in American Evangelicalism and in our culture in a broader sense. We live in an age when people do not like to be told what to do. Even some professed believers don't like to hear about what God expects of those who profess to be believers, or Christ-followers as the words believer and unbeliever have fallen out of use. Christ-follower or follower of Jesus does not sound as exclusive as the other words. But to a non-Christ-follower, they know exactly what is being said. They are not tricked by creative titles. Even the use of Christian and non-Christian are used sparingly in today's literature. All of this is based on the preferences of a movement among the young people, who are called, Millenials. This is people who have come of age since the dawn of the 21st Century.

Millenials are considered in sociological circles to be the most self-centered and indulgent movement ever. They were unrestrained and undisciplined as children. To promote their self-esteem, they were made to think each one of them was the most important person ever to be born. And, based on my other vocation, many of them believed this until they came face-to-face with others who had been told the same thing. Score was not kept at sporting events so everyone could be a winner. But, the kids knew what the score was despite what the coaches taught them. They grew up thinking themselves to always be right--or at least they thought they were not mistaken.

Some of this effects the way the new generation of Christan thinkers interprets the scriptures. They are not concerned with what says the Lord, but what is here for me. So, when they read a passage like 2 Tim 3:1-5, their collective biases make them move the application out away from themselves and the people who are like them and like those listed in this passage. But, the difficult list is not a list for the time just before the end of this age and the second coming of the Lord, and I hope to show you why the "Last Days" refers to all of the time between the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Second coming to bring judgment on those who don't believe and salvation to all who do, the living and the dead.

The Text:

2 Tim 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

These are amazing words. Especially after what we found in the preceding verses telling Timothy and other servants of God, how to deal with difficult people. These are more descriptions of difficult people. Or, if you will, these are the character qualities that are inconsistent with a Christian Profession. Not in totality so some can excuse themselves for not being one or two, but any of these are inconsistent for the believer in his or her pursuit of holiness and righteousness and inconsistent with the presence of the Holy Spirit's indwelling. These are serious issues. And, those having these qualities are within or connected in some way to churches. Well, let me try to prove a few assertions made in this introduction.

Perilous Times

1. Another Certainty

2 Tim 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 

When are these Last days? Is the question of relevance. If the Last Days are only the time just before the Second Coming and final return of the Lord Jesus Christ, then these words are not as relevant for those who are not living in those days. Yet, almost every generation has thought in one way or another that they were the last one.

Eschatology is the study of the Last Things God is going to do with the earth and the world as it is presently constituted. I believe the Last Days in the NT cover all of that time between the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and what will be his second coming. Listen to some other scriptures: Acts 2:17 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

This already occurred. The prophecy from Joel was cited by Peter in his Pentecost sermon because of the Spirit's inspiration working through him. His words were recorded somehow if even by memory to be preserved and enscripturated to be God's revelation of his work and ways for all ages. Joel's prophecy of the coming of the Last Days was fulfilled at Pentecost. It was one of the inaugural events bringing the Last Days.

And, consider Heb 1:2 where we read: 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

The incarnation of Jesus was the means of God speaking important truths to those who followed him and to the multitudes who found Jesus curious. Those who made some sort of profession, but when Jesus would not allow them to coronate him as their king, they walked away from him. (John 6:66-67 especially). The disciples stayed because Jesus alone had the words of truth. His ministry is said to have begun in the last days.

And there are some passages that look at this entire age as one prolonged day or age that will be the last one on the Earth. There is another additional heavenly or eternal age. But that is not what we are talking about. There is an age that extends from the first coming of Christ until the second coming in judgment.

Through this age until the end of the age: James writes in 5:3 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

James is writing to people who were alive at his time. So, when is it that they have heaped up these treasures? It is during their lives. When is it wherein people we know do the same things? It is in the here and now--part of this present age, the last days while the final day approaches. And what an awe-filled final day that will be.

And, lastly another NT writer, the Apostle Peter writes:

2 Peter 3:3 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

This sounds a lot like James, doesn't it? I mention it to add a second witness under inspiration that addresses this important reality--the words in this passage are talking about our time as much as any other since the coming of Christ. These are the sorts of things that show us what perilous times really are.

Perilous times are dangerous times. Perhaps even when the gospel is under attack somewhere in the world. These are the sorts of things that are found during perilous times of, as the grammar could be understood, the sorts of things that bring about perilous times. All times have been perilous to some degree because of the presence of sin and its evil effects. We find peril and danger in our modern world--I might add, especialy in our day. The times we live in are extraordinarily dangerous for Christians all around the globe. The Faith is being marginalized more and more and one of the main cause of this is the inconsistent, self-absorbed lifestyles of some professing Christians, including many of the ministers who are no longer trusted by the majority of people. When a segment of the Christianized world falls out with the popular culture or with the powers in charge in a land, the entire movement suffers. People do not know to distinguish among branches of Christendom. We all get lumped in together. We need to be careful how we denominate ourselves among those in the world. We know from Christ's words in the upper room discourse that the world is going to hate us just as it hated the Lord.

The list of characteristics placed by the Spirit of God are those characteristics we find I the fleshly people of the world who work against the true Gospel that reveals saving faith as a gift freely given by God to his elect. These characteristics are inconsistent with the Christian life that God promises to work in his people. And, I say his people because the overall context is Paul addressing Timothy about the work he is doing in the Ephesian Church. A church with troublemakers and false brethren. A church made up of vessels of God and silver as well as wood and dirt, as we read in the previous chapter. A group who needed to be corrected--as we also read in Chapter two. A group Timothy and presumably the church under his care had to stop having fellowship with. An often difficult thing. But, in the final verse in this section, the instruction is to have nothing to do with these sorts of people. We'll see more detail when we get down to the final verse.

For now, let's consider this amazing list of many contrary characteristics: 

A list that sounds like people in every age and in every place who know not the work of God deep within them.

If any of these are true of you, for the good of your eternal soul, your life, your families and friends and this church or wherever you might belong, turn away and walk in the truth of God's Word. Go read Gal 5:22-23 about the fruit of the Spirit and ask God for his own glory to save you and to grow that sort of fruit on the branches of your life. It will produce a very different life than what we find in these next verses. This list, though difficult to hear, ought to point sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for their souls salvation and professed believer to examine themselves to see if they be in the faith. This paragraph is direct. It pulls no punches. These are many of the things inconsistent with the Christian life. There are others….

2. Their 18 Characteristics

2 For men will be lovers of themselves,

lovers of money,

boasters,

proud,

blasphemers,

disobedient to parents,

unthankful,

unholy, 

3 unloving,

unforgiving,

slanderers,

without self-control,

brutal,

despisers of good,

4 traitors,

headstrong,

haughty,

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 

WOW! What a list! Full of contrary characteristics that are all around us in the world and should not be a part of how we live as Christians attached to each other in families, but more importantly in churches.

Why do we see so many of these qualities go uncorrected in the church at large? Men are afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. This list contains many of the contrary personality traits we have had to face over the years. Many of these come up as I counsel individuals, couples both before they are married and after they have been married. These are the characteristics that ought to be put to death as we live in the newness of a redeemed life. We should cry out to God to rip these from us.

We often have only ourselves to blame. Our character is the sum total of our fallen nature, followed by individual sinful acts that become of habits. Over time our habits become our character by which we are known and defined. Character over time that goes unchecked and unmortified can stifle our Christian life or show the power of the World the Flesh and the Devil are what rules in our hearts. These character traits are diabolic--they are not of God.

Yet, we excuse ourselves and others by saying things like, "Oh, that is just so-and-so. They've always been like that." Or, justify an overtly sinful lifestyle by comparing the person to everyone in the world of men and women that we know. The true comparison is this--Is this person becoming more like Jesus?

Within a larger context that shows us the works of the flesh and what they produce--those things strangely like what we read in 2Tim 3, we find another list of about nine items. These are what the Spirit produces on the true believer. I know I said earlier to go to these verses some time in order to examine yourself--that would still be a valuable exercise--but has The Spirit of God produced his fruit in you? This is his work in all who truly believe. This is what we and others ought to see:

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is

love,

joy,

peace,

longsuffering,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness, 

23gentleness,

self-control.

IN a very ultimate way, we cannot be good without the work of God. We can be perceived as better than some or most, but true goodness is a work of God. We ought not to compare ourselves to the best of humans, but to the Lord Jesus Christ and to have his character formed is us.

People look good, but that is only….

3. How They Appear

5a having a form of godliness but denying its power.

They can't live a true spiritual life because they don't have the Spirit who produces it. It looks good compared to others, but it is not the life that God produces in those who are his. God doesn't give it all at once. But, there is growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On a number of occasions we have mentioned the names of some who seemed to have had a real profession of faith, followed Christ for a time and then fell away. We mentioned Judas who shows how high an unbeliever in heart can raise among the disciples--yet, Jesus knew all along. Ananias and Saphira sold their property and withheld some of the proceeds as the made it appear they had given all to the church in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit took it personally and their hypocrisy was revealed prophetically. One by one, they came to the Apostles and elders and fell down dead showing what was really in their hearts. They could have held back some of the funds. It was when they misrepresented their actions that they sinned. The Holy Spirit takes seriously how people treat the Body of Christ. We mentioned Simon the Magi who was amazed at the miraculous being done through the ministry of the Apostles in Samaria. He made some sort of profession and fooled the apostles enough to be baptized. Yet, in the end he was exposed and was rebuked to the extent that he couldn't pray for his own forgiveness. He asked others to pray. And there are others on the pages of the scriptures who did the same sorts of things. Not all who make a credible profession will end up with an infallible and true profession. Sometimes, not all the time thankfully, but sometimes, professions are found to be made for less than godly reasons. Hebrews 6 talks about this. Perhaps all of us or most of us have known people who have fallen away. Some of my former friends from Bible College and seminary days who were very zealous about the faith, have thrown in the towel and now walk another path called the wide way that leads to death. God exposes what is really in the heart. Their lives do not show anything consistent with the special saving work of God's grace that teaches us to deny worldliness and ungodly lusts in order to live righteously and soberly in this present age as we read in Titus 2:11-14.

4. The Calling to the Faithful

5bAnd from such people turn away!

1Cor 5: and going out of this world

1Cor 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

It may be difficult, but to be true to our commission as Christians in churches have to be ready to do the same. It is not a turning away from people in the world who are contrary. That would be impossible. It is people in this age, in churches who are shown to be living inconsistently with a Christian confession. They may be among us. I have no doubt they are in many of the churches. What else counts for the weakness and lack of real faith in the professing church today? Godliness, repentance and holiness of life are missing notes from the sweet sounds of the gospel. In their place are put all sorts of entertainment planned to evoke emotions. Worship ought to be solemn, and dignified, not like a night club or a rock concert. The church is to be distinct from the world that hates us; not like it. May God give us repentance and a new revival in accord with the truth. AMEN!