Rev. David Holwick ZA 2 Timothy series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 22, 2010
2 Timothy 3:1-5
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I. How bad is it out there?
A. America seems to be in rough shape, morally.
More than 8 in 10 Americans say the country's moral values are
getting worse.
#31167
Charles Stanley has called for 140 days of prayer for America.
In his Fourth of July sermon, Dr. Stanley said:
"We know the truth, we know the principles of God.
In spite of all that, we find ourselves as a nation violating
the laws of God, heading in a direction that is going to be
disastrous for us, for our children and the generations
that are to come unless there is a change." [1]
B. Is it worse than other times?
1) Another observer wrote about these problems in society:
1. Imminent outbreak of international hostility.
2. The breakup of the home and the weakening of marriages.
3. Rebellion of young people ... no respect for parents
or for the elderly.
4. Corruption in politics.
5. Potholes in the public roads.
Keep in mind that this comes from the sixth century B.C.!
#4281
2) Yet it is hard not to see a deterioration in society.
a) Christians expect the time before the Second Coming
of Jesus to be even worse than our conditions now.
b) Paul uses the word "terrible" here, which is used
only one other place in the New Testament.
Jesus uses the same word to describe the violent,
demon-possessed men Jesus meets in a cemetery.
(Luke describes one possessed man, named Legion.)
C. Do these terrible times describe you as well?
1) Paul's list of bad attributes hits close to home for many.
II. The time of the Last Days.
A. The Old Testament uses it to describe when God comes to earth.
1) It is a time of judgment and suffering.
2) It concludes with the coming of the Messiah.
B. The New Testament picks up on this idea. Acts 2:16-21
1) Peter quotes from Joel 2 in his Pentecost sermon.
a) Peter notes that the passage was fulfilled that day.
1> So he saw Christians as living in the Last Days.
b) Actually a partial fulfillment?
1> Cosmic signs had not yet appeared, and still haven't.
2) In 2 Timothy 3, Paul also sees a present aspect.
a) After describing the terrible people who will live in
the last days, he tells Timothy to avoid them (3:5).
b) They were already in their midst.
C. The Last Days cover our age, but will intensify.
1) Even in the New Testament, the Last Days can point to the
future Second Coming.
2) So the conditions that Paul describes as current, will be
more widespread as the end approaches.
III. What rotten people will be like. {John Stott)
A. Love is a key.
1) It brackets entire list.
a) It begins with "lovers of self" and ends with not being
"lovers of God."
b) Four of the nineteen expressions are compounded with
"love."
2) Their love is misdirected.
a) They love all the wrong things.
b) They love themselves, money and pleasure, but not God.
B. The rest of the list details the breakdown in relationships.
1) The corrosive effects of self-love.
a) Boastful.
b) Proud.
c) Abusive.
2) The corrosive effects on family life.
a) Disobedient to parents. (youth may be the focus here)
b) Ungrateful.
c) Unholy.
1> The positive version of this word was often used by
the Greeks to describe respect for your siblings.
2> When families break down, everyone is out for
themselves.
d) Without human love and affection.
e) Unforgiving.
1> It can also be translated "irreconcilable."
2> They refuse to settle any differences in the family
or attempt to make peace.
3) The final seven words are broader than the family.
a) Slanderous.
1> Cutting people down behind their backs.
b) No self-control.
c) Brutal.
d) No love for the good.
e) Treacherous.
1> Word is used of Judas in Luke 6:16.
f) Rash.
1> Entirely thoughtless in their words and actions.
g) Conceited.
1> Mixture of selfishness and violence, with no limits.
2> Fits self-autonomous philosophy of our age.
C. All of these are the consequences of godless self-centeredness.
1) Only the gospel offers a radical solution to this problem.
2) It promises a new birth.
a) We need to be turned inside out, from self to unself.
b) God needs to be put on the throne of our life.
3) When we are God-centered, we love the world God loves,
and seek to give and serve like him.
IV. Some say the problem is religion itself.
A. In our society, the concept of morality itself is under assault.
1) People do not want to be bound by ancient religious texts
that don't fit with modern life.
2) Rationalism and atheism has had a big influence in this.
Author Dinesh D'Souza, a Christian with roots in India,
discusses this in his book, WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT
CHRISTIANITY.
"No longer does Christianity form the moral basis of
society.
Many of us now reside in secular communities, where
arguments drawn from the Bible ... carry no weight."
D'Souza says the new atheism is a "pelvic revolt against
God."
In other words, it is a revolt against Christian morality
-- especially sexual morality.
He writes:
"My conclusion is that atheism is not primarily an
intellectual revolt, it is a moral revolt.
Atheists don't find God invisible so much as objectionable.
They aren't adjusting their desires to the truth, but rather
the truth to fit their desires.
"This is something we can all identify with.
It is a temptation even for believers.
We want to be saved as long as we are not saved from our
sins.
We are quite willing to be saved from a whole host of social
evils, from poverty to disease to war.
"But we want to leave untouched the personal evils, such as
selfishness and lechery and pride.
We need spiritual healing, but we do not want it.
Like a supervisory parent, God gets in our way.
"This is the perennial appeal of atheism: it gets rid of the
stern fellow with the long beard and liberates us for
the pleasures of sin and depravity.
The atheist seeks to get rid of moral judgment by getting
rid of the judge."
#34863
B. But atheists are not the greatest enemy - hypocrites are.
1) The main focus of Paul's attack is on false teachers within
the church.
a) With all their weird theology, they probably upheld the
moral teachings of Christ - but they didn't follow it.
2) They love religion but not God.
a) Their religion is only a formality without the power.
b) A modern example.
Michael Dowd believes Christianity needs a makeover.
He says confidence in the Bible is misplaced and
dangerous.
As he puts it, "Ancient, unchanged scriptural stories
and doctrinal declarations are inadequate guidance
for meeting modern challenges."
He rejects the notion of a personal God.
"When I say 'God,' I'm not talking about something or
someone that can be believed in or not believed in,"
he explains.
"I'm talking about the Ultimate Wholeness of Reality."
He rejects the authority of the Bible and embraces
scientific knowledge.
He rejects the biblical concepts of sin and forgiveness.
He proclaims that the new celebrity atheists "have come
to our rescue."
But that "rescue" is an escape from biblical Christianity,
and even from any belief in the supernatural.
Furthermore, Dowd declares that the God of the Bible is
"brutal, cruel, vindictive, and genocidal."
Who is Michael Dowd?
A minister in the United Church of Church.
(Some of them are combined with American Baptists.)
Religious trappings are fine - as long as you gut
the meaning. #36273
C. This has been true for a very long time.
1) The Old Testament prophets condemned the Jews for using
religion to manipulate God.
2) Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being scrupulously
religious in tithing, but then evicting widows.
3) Even Adolf Hitler was known to hold up a tattered Bible
as he stoked up the crowds.
4) Paul warns us - stay away from people like this.
V. Do you fit this passage?
A. Paul's description of phony Christians can hit close to home.
1) You can fall into the trap of loving yourself more than God.
2) The way you treat other people - the backbiting, harshness,
disrespect - can reveal how shallow your faith is.
B. Being religious is not enough.
1) What practical impact has your faith had on your life?
2) What aspects still need to change?
3) What are you doing about it?
C. The gospel is not just about what God CAN do.
1) It is about what he is doing in your life.
2) Jesus warns us - no fruit, no reality.
3) Is there any genuine spiritual power in your life?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] Rev. Charles Stanley on July 3, 2010. http://www.christianpost.com/
~article/20100703/influential-pastor-warns-americans-of-socialism
~-departure-from-god/index.html
# 4281 Adapted from a Rev. Ray Stedman sermon by Rev. Glenn Gunderson,
Pomona, California.
#31167 "New High: 81% Say Nation's Moral Values Getting Worse," by
Michael Foust, Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org,
May 25, 2006.
#34863 "An Argument Against The Atheists," by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
http://www.albertmohler.com, November 6, 2007.
#36273 "Where The Rejection Of Biblical Christianity Inevitably Leads,"
by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary, http://www.albertmohler.com,
August 10, 2010.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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