2 Timothy 3.4-Paul Lists Five More Vices Characterizing Unrepentant, Apostate Christianity During the Last Days
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday July 1, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 3:4-Paul Lists Five More Vices Characterizing Unrepentant, Apostate Christianity During the Last Days
Lesson # 65
2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (NASB95)
Second Timothy 3:1 Indeed continue making it your habit of taking note of this, namely that dangerous circumstances interacting will exist during the last days. 2 For out of selfishness, people will be characterized as self-centered, lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, slanderous, disobedient to the detriment of their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 devoid of natural affection, implacable, malicious gossips, self-indulgent, brutal, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, hedonists rather than lovers of God. (Author’s translation)
As we noted in our study of Second Timothy 3:2, the apostle Paul in Second Timothy 3:2-5 presents the reason for the command he issued Timothy in Second Timothy 3:1.
In verses 2-5, the apostle Paul makes twenty-one assertions regarding apostate Christianity during the last days.
Of course the church age occurs during the last days which extends from the First to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Paul wants Timothy to avoid unrepentant apostate Christians who will possess the ungodly character described in these verses.
Therefore, in Second Timothy 3:2-5, Paul wants Timothy to obey his command in Second Timothy 3:1 because there will be Christians who will be characterized by unrepentant ungodly behavior.
The “people” Paul is referring to in Second Timothy 3:2-5 are unrepentant, apostate Christians living during the church age.
It is speaking of unrepentant apostate Christians living during the last days.
In particular, it speaks of those Christians living during the church age which appears during the last days which began with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and end with His Second Advent.
It is not referring to the non-Christian.
That these individuals are unrepentant apostate Christians is indicated by the command Paul issues Timothy in Second Timothy 3:5 which required that Timothy continue making it his habit of avoiding these same people who he describes in detail in Second Timothy 3:2-5.
Paul would never command Timothy to avoid the non-Christian but only the unrepentant apostate Christian which is indicated by his teaching in First Corinthians 5:9-12.
Therefore, the “people” being referred to in Second Timothy 3:2 are unrepentant apostate Christians living during the church age and which dispensation appears during the last days which occurs between the First and Second Advents of Jesus Christ.
I say “unrepentant” since Paul would not command Timothy to avoid a Christian in apostasy unless they were unrepentant.
Timothy was to follow the procedure taught by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:15-17 for administering church discipline.
This procedure involved three steps.
If after the third step they were still unrepentant, then the church was to avoid these Christians and not have fellowship with them until they did repent.
So therefore, in Second Timothy 3:2-5, the Christians Paul is referring to are those who are unrepentant about their ungodly behavior and have failed to repent after having gone through the various stages of discipline administered by the church.
Paul says that these Christians will be characterized by ungodly behavior and states that as a certainty this will take place during the last days and the church age dispensation appears in the last days.
The apostle also makes clear to Timothy that these unrepentant, apostate Christians will out of selfishness be characterized by ungodly behavior.
He is emphasizing that the sin nature or selfishness will drive such ungodly behavior in these Christians.
He is emphasizing sin nature control over these individuals implying that they will not exercise faith in the gospel and thus consider themselves dead to the sin nature and alive to God because they are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection (cf. Romans 6:1-14).
In Second Timothy 3:2, the apostle Paul makes eight assertions about these unrepentant, apostate Christians living during the church age and then in Second Timothy 3:3, he makes six more.
Now, here in Second Timothy 3:4, he makes five more assertions.
The first is that there will be apostate Christians living during the church age who will be characterized as treacherous individuals in that they are the kind of people who will deliver without justification a person into the control of someone else.
It can also speak of a person who betrays another’s trust or confidence.
This type of vice is seen in Christian marriages where one spouse betrays the other.
When Paul wrote Second Timothy, the Neronian persecution was at its height and many times Christians would betray a fellow Christian.
Whenever there has been persecution in the church, faithful believers have been betrayed by not simply the non-Christian but many times by their fellow Christian who is in apostasy.
These apostate Christians pretend to be a faithful friend to the faithful Christian but this only becomes the means of treachery.
Tacitus has an interesting comment about Rome in his day, he wrote “He who had no foe was betrayed by his friend.”
The second assertion is that there will be apostate Christians who will be characterized as reckless in their behavior in that they are impetuous and are involved in thoughtless behavior or conduct themselves without regard for others and this reckless behavior can take many forms.
It can involve sexual promiscuity.
They make impetuous decisions without consulting God in prayer or consult the Word of God before they make decisions in life.
They are headstrong people who are determined to have their own way and disregard godly advice from faithful Christians.
The third assertion is that there will be apostate Christians living during the church age who will be characterized as conceited in that they will possess an excessively high opinion of themselves.
They are so arrogant as to be practically demented or insane.
This vice is seen often in apostate pastor-teachers today who themselves promote the “personality cult” which elevates the loyalty to the pastor at the expense of obedience to the Word of God.
Many apostate pastors today and televangelists are full of themselves casting themselves as celebrities.
The fourth assertion is that there will be apostate Christians who will be characterized as hedonists in that they will believe that pleasure is the sole or chief purpose in life.
They are excessive in their quest to find pleasure in life.
They are characterized by an immoderate fondness in pursuing pleasure.
This vice is seen everywhere in the church in America which is the wealthiest country in the world.
Many Christians in America today cannot be distinguished from the non-Christian in that they both are characterized by an excessive desire for pleasure.
They love to take their expensive vacations and buy expensive homes and cars while failing to fulfill their financial obligations to support their pastor and church.
Christians in America spend more money on their animals and cigarettes than they do on the propagation of the gospel.
This hedonism or loving of pleasure is seen in Christianity with regards to professional and collegiate athletics which become an idol for the Christian who loves sports more than the Lord.
This type of hedonism is also seen in a love for other forms of entertainment such as music.
The fifth and final assertion is that apostate Christians will not be lovers of God in that they will not have a special affection for God or in other words their love for pleasure hinders them from loving God.
They disobey the prohibition in First John 2:15 to not love the things of the cosmic system of Satan.
First Corinthians 16:22 says that these Christians are under a curse meaning they are under divine discipline.
Paul is teaching in Second Timothy 3:2-5 with these twenty-one assertions that apostate Christianity during the church age will be characterized by these ungodly vices that he lists in these verses.
History records the fulfillment of Paul’s prediction.
Apostate Christianity in his day was characterized by these vices and today it is characterized by these vices and apostate Christianity in the centuries between have been characterized as well by these vices.