Difficult Days Shall Come - Part II

NOVEMBER 20, 2022 STUDY NOTES 2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES DIFFICULT DAYS SHALL COME----PART TWO INTRODUCTION If you have not already realized it, the Christian life will not be an easy path to travel “DIFFICULT DAYS WILL COME,” and they will keep coming until Jesus comes again Paul wants Christians to know of those days, 2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. We could be living in the “last days” of the “Last Days,” which will become even more difficult, 2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. Days are going to be difficult because of the way people are going to live, 2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Paul begins this chapter sharing with us how difficult the things we face will become He ends this chapter by telling us how great and successful the Christian life can be Regardless of how difficult the path of life may become, Christians can be victorious So don’t read the first part of the chapter without reading the whole chapter 2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, There is no doubt the characteristic “without natural affection” exists in our society today The meaning is without love for kindred, without love for the family, without family affection The same term is found among the list of the characteristics of fallen man, the ungodly, Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Even within the fallen nature of man there is a natural affection for family No love within the family is because of the selfish love already presented, “lovers of self” (vs 2) Love for self will result in a “heartless” love for family or others, and even without love for God “Without love for God” will be presented in verse 4, the reason for the problems of difficult days One of the greatest destructive works of Satan today is his attempt to destroy family relationships Family abuse is daily news today, husbands and wives, parents and children abusing one another Paul is telling us that there will be a time when people will live lower than animals Too often we are witnessing beast-like characteristics among people “without natural affection” Another characteristic of our day is that of “trucebreakers” A “trucebreaker” is the person who will not agree with anything that disagrees with them Because the attitude is, “there is only one way,” which is, “my way” Covenants, vows, agreements, and promises mean nothing to them There is no thought of giving in to others, forgiving others, or no attempt of reconciliation The original word is found in only one other NT verse, Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Listed as one of the characteristics of those who do not see fit to acknowledge God any longer An attitude that leads to “false accusers,” which is an unjust accusation against another person Slandering another person in-an attempt to promote or defend self, blaming others When you attempt to build yourself up you do so by attempting to bring others down You cannot strengthen your life by slandering the life of others People think they are building their reputation by ruining the reputation of others It is interesting that the word translated “false accusers” is translated “devil” 35 times in the NT Page 1 of 4 Which tells us that this characteristic of “false accusers” is certainly the work of the devil When the devil is in control of you, you are out of control, which is the meaning of the next term Under Satan’s control you are “incontinent,” meaning without self-control This is the only time this word is found in the NT, but the truth of it is often found It presents a person who is without self-control as a person who is out of control and in bondage They are slaves, without restraining power, especially in-the area of bodily lust and sexual desires Then you will have a sin sick society striving on sex appeal, the American lifestyle of today Then you are going to have people who are described as “fierce,” cruel, brutal, untamed, savage Another word that is only found once in the NT, but the truth of the word is often found It describes people who are uncivilized, of a wild lifestyle, living rough and cruel lives Even to the point of being brutal, savage, and animal like, an untamed life out of control Like wild beasts that will attack others in-order to fulfill their selfish and sinful desires To put the pieces of their life together they are willing to tear the life of others apart Without natural human care they have no regard for the rights and feelings of others This lifestyle is the very opposite of a civilized person who respects that which is “good” Many today are “despisers of those that are good,” haters of the good found in good people Another term that is only found here in the NT, but its truth is often found in the NT Hating what should be loved and loving what should be hated, especially in the spiritual life They are those who live for that which God hates and stand against that which God loves Their life is an honor to that which is of Satan and a blasphemy of that which is of God The next verse is going to tell us why the above characteristics are found within people today When people don’t love God, they don’t live for God, they turn away from God When they don’t live for God, they live for Satan and are filled with a false love 2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Within the context the word “traitor” refers to a person who has turned away from God People do not realize that to turn from God is to also turn away from life When you turn away from God you are also turning away from family and true friends When you turn from God you have no convictions upon which to build true relationships You turn away from those things that our mind should be set upon, Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Compare the characteristics listed in Philippians 4:8 with those in found in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 In Philippians 4:8 we have people thinking and doing the right things, living right with God In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 we have people doing foolish things because they are not thinking right “Heady” describes that kind of person, a life of rash decisions and reckless behavior “Heady” refers to a headstrong person who is caught up with self and selfish ways One who is under the influence of self-passion, impulsive manners, acting in a hasty way One who is out of control because of careless thinking and foolish planning One who makes rash and reckless decisions because they are selfish and conceited “High minded” refers to a person who is inflated with pride and blind to the truth, conceited The root meaning of the word is to be “enveloped in smoke,” which means a “clouded mind” Living in a fog as a fool, in a delusion of mist called “me,” cloudy and blind to the truth of self Blinded with eyes of conceit and a self-clouded mind that cannot see or think beyond self Having a false impression of self because of the thinking that self is so important Since they know it all, why should they listen to anyone else? Which all leads to the thought of, “I don’t need God” Their decision is, I am capable-of making decisions on my own, why do I need to talk to God? Page 2 of 4 The decision that is most important is the one that is pleasing to self, seeking pleasure for self Lovers of pleasures is understandable because “men shall be lovers of their own selves” (vs 2) Lovers of pleasures is very easy for us to identify in our world today There is nothing wrong with good clean pleasure until it becomes your “god” and controls you Personal pleasure is the number one false god of our society today Self must be pleased regardless of the cost, everything else can wait, even the “True God” It is easy to evaluate the love of America today, they love pleasure more than they love God If people don’t have any personal pleasure planned for Sunday, then they can go to church Church attendance in America today reveals the truth of this verse Many today are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” There are some mega churches of today with thousands attending Sunday morning services But compare their crowds to the average sports arena on the same Sunday Pleasure lovers can organize their time and work schedules to please their self-pleasures But they don’t have time to go to church or work in church because of their planned calendar They cannot change their calendar of personal pleasure in-order to find time for church The church calendar is not their first choice for daily or weekend plans The church calendar is never considered in their planning, where is your church calendar? But they make sure their sensual pleasures are on their calendar and they don’t miss a date Their weekly schedule is scheduled around personal pleasure and church is not scheduled How often I hear, “I wish I could come this Sunday, but I already have something planned” The same people pay no attention to God until trouble comes and then they want God’s attention They will not put forth a hand for God, but when sickness comes, they want God’s healing hand They do not speak to God until chaos and confusion comes and then they want to hear God speak They do not walk daily with God until they come to the end of the road, a lonely road And then they want God to walk with them hand-in hand Paul is not just presenting to us people that have nothing to do with God He is also talking about those who want others to think that they are of God They want their outward appearance to be that of a church member, to be that of a Christian 2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. “Having a form of godliness” presents a spiritual masquerade, a spiritual counterfeit life The outward appearance is of a religious nature, with the desire to appear as a Godly person Jesus described them as “hypocrites,” Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Hypocrisy stands in opposition to the truth of “Godliness,” which is right thinking toward God “Godliness” is living with a sense of God’s presence and the desire to be obedient to His will “Godliness” is first-of all the right attitude toward God which results in living the right life The true life of “Godliness” is seen within the “Spirit-Filled life of a Christian (Gal. 5:22-25) The hypocrite attempts to go through all the forms of “Godliness,” but without God they can’t They want to be involved enough in some church or Bible study to be identified as a Christian They want the image, the resemblance, the outward appearance of being religious They do their best to convince others that they have the real thing And they are even trying hard to convince themselves that they have the real thing But the evidence of that which is real comes forth, the truth is, they are denying the truth “But denying the power thereof,” they have refused and rejected true “Godliness” This is written in the perfect tense which means they have denied the power in the past They are still denying the power and will continue to deny the power They have never known the power of God working in their life resulting in a Godly lifestyle Within “Godliness” is the “power” of Godly action which begins at the time of salvation, Page 3 of 4 Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Godliness is God’s “Power” working through the “New Life” of salvation, Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Scripture is filled with the truth that there is power in “Godliness” But all that Paul has presented in these verses are not the characteristics of Godliness When a person denies the power of God, they live in the ungodly way that Paul has presented So, Paul has a final word in this verse, “from such turn away” Paul writes to the Christian of today, Paul writes to the church of today Stay away from those living a lie of righteousness, their way of life is deceptive and dangerous As a Christian have no part of anything that Paul has described in the life of difficult people Avoid them, keep away from them and don’t be taken in by them Don’t touch such things and don’t let them touch you Don’t let such things influence your mind or your heart Be aware that these characteristics are going to be around you everywhere you go today But don’t be taken in by Satan’s counterfeit Christianity which is without Christ Satan has a form of godliness, which God has no part of, it is a religion without God Satan presents a form of spirituality which the Spirit of God has no part of Satan’s religious movement is becoming more popular because of man’s sinful desires Allowing them to believe what they want, do what they want, and be happy doing it Believing that the Bible is an outdated book, written 2,000 years ago, things are different now The way things are today is exactly the way the Bible presented them to be 2,000 years ago CONCLUSION 2 Timothy 3:1 tells us that we are going to face “Difficult Days” 2 Timothy 3:2 tells us why those days will be difficult, people will be lovers of their own selves 2 Timothy 3:3&4 explains the characteristics of people who love pleasure more than God 2 Timothy 3:5 tells us to have no part of the life of those people and their way of life “Difficult Days” will exist because of difficult people living their ungodly lifestyle Which will make it difficult for Christians to live a faithful life for Christ, but they can We can see the ungodly lifestyle of those difficult people throughout our world today The most important question is, “Can the world see Jesus in us today?” Page 4 of 4