"Difficult Times Will Come" - Are We there Yet!

The Coming Apostasy

"Difficult Times Will Come" - Are We there Yet!

The Coming Apostasy

(2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB)

"Difficult Times Will Come" - Are We there Yet!

"Difficult Times Will Come" - Are We there Yet!

The Coming Apostasy

(2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB)

"Difficult Times Will Come"

1 But realize this, that ?a?in the last days difficult times will
come.
2 For men will be ?a?lovers of self, ?b?lovers of money,
?c?boastful,
?c?arrogant, ?d?revilers, ?c?disobedient to parents, ?e?ungrateful,
?f?unholy,
3 ?a?unloving, irreconcilable, ?b?malicious gossips, without
self-control,
brutal, ?1??c?haters of good,
4 ?a?treacherous, ?b?reckless, ?c?conceited, ?d?lovers of pleasure
rather
than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of ?1??a?godliness, although they have
?b?denied its
power; ?c?Avoid such men as these. [1]

LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS

If society is doomed to degeneration, what should believers do as they
live in the
"last days"? Paul offered advice in several of his letters:

Reference - Romans 13:11-14
Application - Keep close to the Lord.

Reference - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Application - Avoid those masquerading as servants of God.

Reference - Ephesians 5:11
Application - Have nothing to do with evildoers and their wicked deeds;
instead,
expose them. Believers need not allow evil to continue unchecked, but
should
actively work against it.

Reference - Ephesians 5:18
Application - Redeem the time.

Reference - Colossians 4:2, 5
Application - Believers are to pray, be watchful, be thankful, and be
wise in the
way they act toward unbelievers, making the most of every opportunity to
share
the gospel.

Reference - 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Application - Church members who are lazy and idle must be warned.
Christians
should not be sitting around waiting for the Lord to return, but should
continue
working in the ministry.

[2]

In verses 2-5, nineteen characteristics of mankind during the last days
are given.
We shall simply list them and give synonyms that explain their meaning:

Lovers of themselves-self-cen tered, conceited, egotistical.
Lovers of money-greedy for mon ey, avaricious.
Boasters-braggarts, full of great swelling words.
Proud-arrogant, haughty, overbearing.
Blasphemers-evil speakers, profane, abusive, foulmouthed, contemptuous,
insulting.
Disobedient to parents-rebellious, undutiful, uncontrolled.
Unthankful-ungrateful, lacking in appreciation.
Unholy-impious, profane, irreverent, holding nothing sacred.

3:3 Unloving-hard-hearted, unnaturally callous, unfeeling.
Unforgiving-"implacable, refusing to make peace, refusing efforts toward
reconciliation."
Slanderers-spreading false and malicious reports.
Without self-control-men of uncontrolled passions, dissolute, debauched.
Brutal-savage, unprincipled.
Despisers of good-haters of whatever or whoever is good; utterly opposed
to
goodness in any form.

3:4 Traitors-treacherous, betrayers.
Headstrong-reckless, self-willed, rash.
Haughty-making empty pretensions, conceited.
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-those who love sensual
pleasures
but not God.

[3]

2 Timothy 3:1

Knowing his death was imminent, I believe Paul nonetheless thought the
Rapture
would happen either in his lifetime or shortly thereafter. So do I. I
believe the
Rapture will happen in my lifetime.

"Well," you say, "if Paul thought the Rapture would happen in his
lifetime, and it
didn't-and if men of God throughout the ages have felt as though they were
living in the last days and the Rapture would happen in their lifetimes,
and it
didn't-doesn't it seem foolish to think the Rapture will happen in your
lifetime?"

Not at all. Throughout the history of the church, the greatest men and
women of
the faith have all lived their lives believing that the Lord's coming was
nigh. And
even though the Lord didn't come when they thought He would, looking for
His
return impacted their lives in such a way that they left their mark on
history and
will be rewarded greatly in eternity (2 Timothy 4:8). Luther, Calvin,
Spurgeon,
Finney, Moody, Torrey all felt the Lord's coming was close at hand. Put me
in
their company any day!

I choose to live my life looking for the Lord's coming. And if I am wrong,
even if
He doesn't come back for another five hundred years, I would rather go
through
the days I have left looking for the sudden appearing of Jesus Christ
because I
know the effect it has upon the life of any man or woman who believes He
could
come today: One's heart does not get troubled as easily. One is not prone
to sin
so readily. If you want to live a zealous, exciting, fulfilling, pure
Christian life, live it
looking for the Lord's coming (1 John 3:3).

[4]

2 Timothy 3:2 (a)

For men shall be lovers of their own selves.

Of the students in the ten leading industrialized nations, American
high-school
students scored either ninth or tenth in every academic category. But in
the
category of self-esteem, they came in first. In other words, our culture
is very
good at teaching our kids to say, "I'm okay. I'm somebody. I'm proud."

2 Timothy 3:2 (b)

.covetous, boasters.

The Greek word translated "boasters" is alazon, which speaks of a claim
made
by a quack promising something but unable to deliver that which was
promised.

2 Timothy 3:2 (c)

.proud, blasphemers.

The idea of blasphemy literally refers to those who use the Lord's name in
vain.
People say "God" constantly-but seldom with reverence. Even by people
interviewed on news programs, the Lord's name is used in vain constantly.

2 Timothy 3:2 (d), 3 (a)

.disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection.

I believe nothing identifies us more clearly as those who have fallen into
unnatural
affection than the sad statistics relating to abortion. We're horrified
when we read
that the Canaanites placed their babies on the incandescent arms of idols.
How
can this be? we wonder. And yet we burn our babies with saline solutions
in the
wombs of mothers-a practice even more horrific, a practice that goes
against
every natural instinct to protect one's offspring.

2 Timothy 3:3 (b)

.trucebreakers.

The idea here is of people ignoring covenants or contracts.

2 Timothy 3:3 (c)

.false accusers, incontinent, fierce.

After being confronted by a student upset with an assignment, the teacher
of an
anger management class lost his temper and hit the student in the face.
Now, if
even teachers of anger management are hitting people, without the Lord,
what
hope is there for the rest of our angry world?

2 Timothy 3:3 (d), 4

.despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God.

People love pleasure. But it's a love that leads only to the "Been there,
done that,
now what?" mentality, as they find they have to continually do something
bigger,
better, farther, faster, and higher in order to get the same thrill they
once did.

2 Timothy 3:5

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.

We're to turn away from those who are without natural affection, from
those who
despise things that are good, from those who love pleasure more than God,
from
those who talk about NewAge spirituality but who know nothing of the power
of
the Holy Spirit and the Resurrected Jesus.

[5]

IS IT BAD ENOUGH YET?

Our concerns about the "last days" tend to be very personal. They usually
arise,
not because we are actually suffering, but because we dread suffering.
Concerns
focus not so much on the destructiveness of evil around us, but whether or
not
evil will affect our way of living. Such narrow concerns reveal our
blindness to
evil. Christians must not withdraw from the world entirely or use the
wrong
methods to defend themselves against it. Believers who attempt to insulate
themselves from the moral degradation of the last days must not insulate
themselves from God. Whenever material prosperity or pleasure are used in
place
of God's protection, we fool ourselves. But God loves us too much to leave
us in
our delusion. If it takes the loss of everything to get our attention, God
has been
known to allow that to happen. Does your life exhibit an awareness of the
desperate condition of the world? Are you using God's methods for dealing
with
terrible times?

[6]

CHECK THE LIST

In many parts of the world today, it's not too tough to be a follower of
Christ-Christians aren't jailed for reading the Bible or executed for
preaching
Christ. But Paul's descriptive list of behavior in the last days describes
our
society-even, unfortunately, the behavior of some Christians. Every one of
these
can be found in churches today. Check your life against Paul's list. Don't
give in
to society's pressures. Don't settle for comfort without commitment. Stand
up
against evil by living as God would have his people live.

[7]

CHOOSING TO LOVE

Why is it so tempting to be a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of
God?

. Pleasure is something we can control; God cannot be controlled. Most
pleasures can be obtained easily; love for God requires effort and
sometimes
sacrifice.

. Pleasure benefits us now; the benefits of loving God are often in
the future.

. Pleasure has a narcotic effect; it takes our minds off ourselves and
our
problems. Love for God reminds us of our needs and our responsibilities.

. Pleasure cooperates with pride. It makes us feel good when we look
good in
the eyes of others. To love God we must lay aside our pride and our
accomplishments.

[8]

PLAYING SOLDIER

Imitation Christianity has dangerous consequences. Putting on an
appearance of
faith often leads people to believe a person is a true believer. In an
actual incident
during the Korean War, a lieutenant inspecting a new platoon over which he
was
about to take command reported that several soldiers carried rifles that
had
rusted shut. Yet they were scheduled to go into battle the next day! They
looked
like soldiers; they carried weapons. But they were unprepared and unable
to
fight.

Some churchgoers rely on superficial appearances. Many people today carry
Bibles, attend church, mouth the right words, yet evidence no spiritual
power in
their lives. They have no direct, personal, intimate connection with God.

[9]

"Self-love is the basic shortcoming mentioned in the list of vices in
3:2-5. This
vice leads to action in vv. 6-9 that is deceitful, determined to dominate,
stubborn,
and rejected by God." 64

[10]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a 1 Tim 4:1
a Phil 2:21
b Luke 16:14; 1 Tim 3:3; 6:10
c Rom 1:30
d 2 Pet 2:10-12
e Luke 6:35
f 1 Tim 1:9
a Rom 1:31
b 1 Tim 3:11
1 Lit not loving good
c Titus 1:8
a Acts 7:52
b Acts 19:36
c 1 Tim 3:6
d Phil 3:19
1 Or religion
a 1 Tim 4:7
b 1 Tim 5:8
c Matt 7:15; 2 Thess 3:6

[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Ti 3:1). LaHabra,
CA:
The Lockman Foundation.

[2]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy,
Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible
commentary
(204). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[3]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary
: Old and New Testaments (2 Ti 3:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[4]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (1408).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

[5]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (1408).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

[6]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy,
Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible
commentary
(204). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[7]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy,
Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible
commentary
(206). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[8]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy,
Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible
commentary
(207). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[9]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2
Timothy,
Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible
commentary
(208). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

64 64. Lea, p. 230.

[10]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the
Bible (2 Ti 3:5). Galaxie Software.


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