Review

Chapter 1 Fearlessness 2 Timothy 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Chapter 2 Faithfulness 2 Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Vs 2 Faithful Like A Steward
Vs 3-4 Faithful Like A Soldier
Vs. 5 Faithful Like An Athlete
Vs 6 Faithful like A Farmer
Vs 8 - 11 Faithful Like a Preacher of the Gospel
Vs. 14 - Faithful Workman
Vs. 19 -26 Faithful In The Great House (Vessels of honor and dishonor)

Fearless In the Future - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall 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, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. -- Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

Perilous Times, Proud People

Paul tells Timothy about the perilous times that are coming. This word perilous means difficult, dangerous, by implication furious and fierce.

This is the same word used in Matthew 8:28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

What he will be up against in the future. A battle he must fight without his spiritual father. It will be Timothy on the frontlines and in this fight he must be fearless.

Perilous times Populated By The Proud - The perilous times will be filled with proud people. The kind of pride that is condemned in scripture, the same pride that led Satan to rebel against God and what Paul breaks down here describing the opponents Timothy we have to overcome, are doing just that, rebelling against God.  

Lovers of self – Paul labels these people who will fill the perilous times as lovers of self. Then he lists the sins, attitudes and actions that flow from these “self-lovers.” He says they will be…

Covetous – lovers of money, lover of things, materialists

Boasters – literally swaggerers, they will be arrogant

Proud – believing they are better than those around them, seeking pre-eminence.

Blasphemers - speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive especially against the Lord

Disobedient to parents – not willing to obey, learn or ultimately to love or honor their parents.

Unthankful – the Greek word here is acharistos, is the word grace, charis, with the prefix that a makes it the opposite of grace. This is anti-grace. The reason we still call prayer before a meal “saying grace” is because it comes from this word. Grace, thanks. To be unthankful is to deny God’s grace and to be willfully ignorant of God’s blessings.

Unholy – this word is the same. It is the word holy, hosios, with the negative prefix making it anosios;  instead of being holy it is wicked and unholy.

Without natural affection – without the love for family, love for spouse, love for children. Because they are first and foremost “lovers of self” the natural affection that God has place in all people at creation is gone. To them lust replaces love, friends, coworkers and acquaintances replace family and the things of this world replace the things of God that we should love.

Trucebreakers – implacable, unwilling and unable to seek peace.

False accusers – The is actually the word διάβολος, diabolos, the word used for the Devil, it means a false accuser, a slanderer.

Incontinent – without any kind of self control

Fierce – savage in their reactions to others.

Despisers of those that are good – Just one word, ἀφιλάγαθος aphilagathos; hostile to virtue, haters of those who do not walk the same path of sin that they have chosen to walk.

Traitors - quitters, surrenderers, betrayers of God’s truth and God’s people.

Heady – literally falling forward, to rush, to act rashly and without forethought. To be head-strong.

High-minded – literally to envelop or wrap with smoke or mist, to puff up with pride,  and haughtiness. This is to be blinded by the smoke of a belief in your own self-importance. A belief that is as substantial as smoke or mist.

Paul’s Summation: They are “Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”

Paul’s gave a similar list when he wrote to the Romans years earlier. In it he describe the nature of man without God.

 Romans 1:29-31 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.

What is shocking is that when Paul writes to Timothy, he is not describing pagans but the so called “Christians” that Timothy will have to battle in the coming perilous times.

We know these are so called “Christians” because of Paul’s description, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” They wrap themselves in the robes of Christianity, they speak with the vocabulary of Christianity, they attend the churches of Christianity but they deny the heart and power of true godliness by their sinful, selfish actions and attitudes.

We know these are so called “Christians” because of Paul’s description, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” They wrap themselves in the robes of Christianity, they speak with the vocabulary of Christianity, they attend the churches of Christianity but they deny the heart and power of true godliness by their sinful, selfish actions and attitudes. - Pastor Kris Minefee