IN THE LAST DAYS

2 Timothy 3:1 - 5, 8 - 9

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 

2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 

4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

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

8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 

9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. 

IN THE LAST DAYS

This is a sermon about influential front

runners and phony leaders. No, this is

not a political sermon. Phonies are

everywhere. The truth is that phonies

can be found in every walk of life, and

it’s important to be able to spot them,

or you will one day wake up and find

yourself hooked by one of them. I’m

talking about “influencers” who have

certain characteristics we should be

able to recognize as bad for the

kingdom of God. They lead their

followers down a path of destruction,

with false statements and phony

baloney that sounds good, but has no

basis in truth.

This isn’t a new phenomenon.

Timothy had to deal with it around 63

A.D. We know this, because the

Apostle Paul felt compelled by God to

write two letters to this young

preacher to expose the false leaders.

Paul wanted to bolster Timothy’s faith

with some sound spiritual advice that

would help him detect the reprobates

or troublemakers who were trying to

sway Timothy to their way of doing

things.

In this context the word reprobate

means rejected, worthless and

unapproved.

It is believed that Timothy was just a

teenager when he heard the call of

God to the Gospel ministry. I imagine

poor Timothy must have felt Satan

attacking him on every side. Besides

the weight of his own youth and

inexperience, he was being

bombarded with false doctrine by

older men who claimed to be wiser

and more well-read and educated in

the Gospel than Paul. The trouble was

that the actions of these leaders were

not befitting their calling. They were

teaching lies about Jesus Christ and

the Resurrection, and they were

leading many Believers down the

wrong path.

Paul tells Timothy to stick with what

HE KNOWS…the gospel truth that he

was taught by his grandmother Lois

and his mother Eunice…because their

faith was “unfeigned” and genuine.

Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14 - 15 “…Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and had hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.”

Since we, in this 21st century, seem to

have the same problem Timothy had,

here’s the question we need

answered. How can we spot a phony?

Common sin alone is no reason to call

a person out, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

According to 1 Corinthians 10:13,

common sin tempts us all. But we can

bear it and overpower it…IF we are

genuinely saved by Christ.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

So how do you detect a phony? If you

want to detect a phony, you need to

pay close attention, not just to what a

person says and does, but more

importantly how he or she attempts to

influence others.

Paul gives us the rundown. He says

that “in the last days perilous times

shall come”. These phonies will be easy

to spot if we keep our eyes open and

our hearts tuned to the Lord. Listen to

Paul’s description of these influential

pretenders. Paul says they will be

“lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a FORM of godliness but denying the power thereof…” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). These are

just a few of the ways to spot a phony,

and they don’t even have to be all-of-

the-above.

Now I admit that’s a lot to swallow in

one sermon, but…let’s try to

summarize it if we can.

First, these phonies will be all about themselves.

The more attention we give them, the

more attention they crave. They are

people who brag on and about

themselves, who feed on the

accolades of men. With them, it’s all

about the numbers. ‘How many men

and women can I get to follow me?’

They covet the attention so much that

they will proudly boast of it. And they

are so “heady” or intoxicating that, if

you are not rooted and grounded in

Christ, you will end up being part of

the throng that flocks to hear what

they have to say.

The truth is, they believe themselves

to be more powerful than Christ.

There’s the key. The key is CHRIST. If

Christ is not on their lips and in their

hearts…if He is not FIRST in their

lives…they are suspect. Frauds talk a

good game and may outwardly

pretend to walk “in the faith”, but

behind closed doors they are traitors.

They are “lovers of pleasures more

than lovers of God”. How do you know

they do not belong to Christ? Christ

never dwells in an unclean body. Just

ask yourself, ‘Would Jesus do the

things they do?’

First, these phonies will be all about themselves.

Second, these phonies will lie about anything.

Paul calls them truce breakers. In

other words, they can’t be trusted.

They speak with a forked tongue…

their deeds behind closed doors don’t

match up with their lofty claims and

public promises.

Here’s something else Paul says they

will do. They will despise men who

have shown themselves to be faithful

and good (vs. 3), preferring instead to

falsely and fiercely accuse them of

wrongdoing. It’s the only way they

know how to boost their own

reprobate and perverse ego.

The disciple John gives us a good way

to detect these phonies. He says, 1 John 2:4“He that sayeth ‘I know Him’, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Now that’s a good litmus test. Good

leaders live according to the will of

God. They don’t say one thing and do

another. They are not whoremongers,

idolators, unholy, proud, blasphemers

or covetous. Instead, Paul says in the

book of Titus, 1:7 - 10“They are not

vain and unruly talkers.” Instead, they

are blameless… The husband of one wife.

Not self-willed. Not easily angered.

Not a drunkard. Not a brawler.

A lover of good men. Clear-headed

Temperate. Restrained. Just, Holy

Faithful to the Word.

Teachers of sound doctrine.

These are men…and women…worthy

of honor and support. Follow them as

they follow Christ.

These phonies will lie about anything.

Finally, these phonies will stir you to be like them.

These high-minded men and women

will entice you with promises of power

and control. Their outward godliness

hides their real motive…to deny the

power of Christ. They are unthankful

for the leadership position to which

they have been called, and their only

desire is to use it to “sift you as wheat”

(Luke 22:31).

Paul says, “…from such turn away!”

(vs. 2:5). He wants Timothy…and US…

to turn away from those who creep

into our homes, whether in person or

through modern media, to strip us of

our God-given spiritual common

sense. Paul warns Titus 1:16 that,

“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work REPROBATE!”. They’re

rascals and troublemakers with only

one thing in mind…to denounce the

power of God.

Don’t be blinded by the wiles of the

devil. Study…to show thyself

approved unto God. When you have

doubts about a leader, whether in

government, or employment, or

even…sadly…in the body of Christ,

look at his or her life first…and ask

yourself….Do I see Jesus?

Timothy must have been getting

discouraged. Paul wanted Timothy to

be assured that God sees those who

dare to play with the minds and souls

of men. He tells Timothy, rest assured,

“…The Lord knoweth them that are

His…”(2 Timothy 2:19). If God knows

who belongs to Him, then He also

knows who does NOT belong to Him.

To affirm that God is still in control,

Paul reminds Timothy of a history

lesson in the life of Moses. Moses

challenged Pharaoh to let the

Israelites go. He followed God’s

commands and prophesied plagues

upon Egypt. Two magicians in

Pharaoh’s court challenged Moses to a

duel, not with swords, but with magic.

These magicians…Jannes and

Jambres…seemed to have the upper

hand. They refused to believe in the

power of God, and instead conjured up

their own power to make a mockery of

the Will of God.

When Moses turned his rod into a

serpent, they did likewise.

But when Moses called forth lice, the

magicians could not. God had had

enough of their foolery. The magicians

finally had to admit that these plagues

were the “finger of God”. They had to

admit they were powerless against the

Almighty. (Exodus 7 and 8). Paul

reminded Timothy that God let these

magicians work their magic only for a

season.

We don’t have to worry about wolves

in sheep’s clothing. God won’t ignore

them forever. Sooner or later they will

be rewarded for their misdeeds. Paul

says that, like Jannes and Jambres,

“…they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men…” Satan can go no further than

God permits…and he can do no more

than God allows. Eventually the covers

will come off and evil will be exposed.

As Believers, we have all the spiritual

knowledge necessary to see right

through a phony. All we need to do is

study the Word and stay in the Word

obey the Word. And allow the Holy

Ghost to lead us. Then measure a man

by the Word of God. And follow a man

if he follows God.

Follow, if he is grounded in Christ.

Follow, if he is shielded by Christ.

Follow, if he is anchored to Christ.

Follow, if he is possessed by Christ.

Follow, if he is trusting in Christ.

Follow, if he is faithful to Christ.

Follow, if he is strengthened by Christ.

Follow, if he is surrendered to Christ!

If we don’t follow God’s counsel; if we

don’t follow good leadership and

sound doctrine; if we don’t choose

wisely…be forewarned…God may say

to us,  ...... I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  (Matthew 7:23)