2 Timothy 3:1-5 - Picture of the Last Days.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV) But mark this: There
will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal,
not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its
power. Have nothing to do with them.
INTRODUCTION
The last days is a period of time
that actually began with the life and ministry of
Christ on earth (Heb. 1:1-2). However, the NT
indicates that the last days refers particularly
to the state of the church before the coming of
Christ. These shall be perilous times, that
is, difficult, hard to deal with. This is
the same word used in Matt. 8:28 to describe the
Gadarene demoniac. Because people will believe the
doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1ff), this world will
become a demonic graveyard just as in Gadara.
We are in those days now!
Self-love will be the hallmark of the
last days. This self-love will lead to a grasping
attitude and a boastful spirit. Boasters really
means swaggerers. True affection will almost
disappear; unnatural affection will prevail.
Incontinent means intemperate; fierce means
savage, and savage conduct is certainly evident
today. Heady means reckless; and we
surely live in a reckless age, whether you look at
the speed of travel, the waste of money, or the
carelessness of human lives.
Verses 5-8 indicate that there will be
plenty of religion in the last days, but it will be
a mere imitation, a form of godliness without
the life-changing power of God. The departing
from the faith that Paul predicted in 2 Thes. 2
is upon us today, yet there is still plenty of
religion! The Bible continues to be a national
best-seller, yet the crime rate increases and problems
multiply. True Christians are in the minority. These
false teachers of Pauls day preyed especially
upon women who were loaded with sins and led
astray by their lusts, women who were ever
learning but who never really came to an
understanding of the truth.
Paul compared the apostate teachers to
the Egyptian magicians Jannes and Jambres, who
opposed Moses by imitating what he did (Ex. 7:11ff).
Satan is an imitator, and his imitation gospel and
church will spread in the last days. But just as
Moses overcame these imitators by the power of God
coming in great judgment, so Christ will ultimately
overcome these latter-day deceivers. From such
turn away! warns Paul (v. 5). Timothy was not
to get involved with Christ-denying deceivers,
even if it meant being branded as a crank.
[Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
COMMENTARY PEARL
C. S. Lewis said, I believe in
Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not
only because I see it, but because by it I see
everything else.[1]
A Christian worldview will affect the way
that we see everything. And why is this
important? Because we are living in the last days.
Jesus Christ is coming back again. And if ever
there was a time when we need to know our Bibles
and have a close walk with Christ, the time is
now.
Describing the end times, the apostle
Paul said, In the last days there will be very
difficult times. For people will love only themselves
and their money. They will be boastful and
proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their
parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing
sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they
will slander others and have no self-control
(2 Timothy 3:1-3 NLT).
Paul went on to say, They will be
cruel and hate what is good. They will betray
their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with
pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will
act religious, but they will reject the power
that could make them godly (verses 3"5
NLT).
Is that not an accurate assessment of the
times in which we are living? The United States
has never been more spiritual yet more immoral.
We throw the word spiritual around a lot. But
do we know what it means?
We live in an age when we can write our
own apps and customize our home screens. We can
keep the stuff we like and throw out the things
we dont. And we carry that thinking into
other aspects of our lives. The result is
something called moral relativism.
Moral relativism is the belief that there
are no absolutes. There is no right or wrong.
Moral relativism teaches that we are all products
of the evolutionary process and not made by a
Creator God. There is no devil. There is no good or
evil. And there is no plan or purpose for our
lives.
Moral relativism also teaches that we are
all basically good, and if we happen to go bad,
then its because were simply products of
our environment. It teaches that we make our own
truth.
For instance, if you believe in a God of
love, forgiveness, and mercy, you can keep that.
But if youre offended by the biblical
teaching of a God of holiness, righteousness, and
judgment, you can delete that. It works out perfectly.
Or so it seems.
Moral relativism may sound fine in
theory. But what if we were to put it into practice?
Will a god of our own making be able to save us
in the final day? Of course not.
A biblical worldview says there is a God
as revealed in the Bible, and the Bible alone
is the authority and source of that belief. It
is not what we feel or what is popular,
acceptable, or perceived as cool. It is what the Bible
says. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
When men and women believe they are good and
powerful enough to control their own destinies, they
prove what the Bible says about having a form
of godliness but denying its power (2
Timothy 3:5). [Peace for Each Day by Billy Graham]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
2 Timothy 3:1-5 - Picture of the Last Days.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200715-0910.html
Matthew 6:33 - SEEKING GOD FIRST:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20191202-1036.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
