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>> A Hindrance to Christ?
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> Who? This is alt.atheism. We don't give a shit about your christ.
> --
> Robyn
> Resident Witchypoo
> BAAWA Knight!
> #1557


Too bad. "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]

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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.

.. So much predictive Truth in just five [5] lines of Scripture!