Living Godly Lives In Ungodly Times! – 2 Timothy 3:1-9
Living Godly Lives In Ungodly Times! – 2 Timothy 3:1-9
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 21, 2008 AM
People can be caught so easily in Satan’s snares and then become part of his evil will in the world. In Kenosha, WS two boys, ages 14 and 15, are being held for murdering a women for her Xbox. They were caught by a 51 year old woman in the act of robbing her home when they killed her and made off with the Xbox, jewelry, cell phone and her purse that police later recovered at the home of the boys involved. Then there is the case of a 33 year-old Green Bay, WS mother who faces felony identity theft charges for stealing her 15 year-old daughter’s identity to attend a local high school and join the cheerleading squad. Wow! What ungodly times we live in, right?
Timothy, like all Christians are, was to “gently instruct” people caught up in these kinds of sinful deceptions so that they would repent of their duplicity and sin and “come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” Paul wanted Timothy to live a godly life in a time when everyone else was living an ungodly lifestyle. Sound familiar? It should. Interestingly, Paul was talking about Christians and not unbelievers! How do we as believers live Godly lives in ungodly times? We can find out by understanding what Paul wrote Timothy.
READ: 2 Timothy 3:1-9
On February 26, 1993, a powerful bomb exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. It sparked an aggressive investigation with many arrests. But few law enforcement authorities recognized it as part of an international terrorist plot. When the Trade Center towers were destroyed by terrorists in 2001, police commissioner Raymond Kelly looked back on the first attack and said, “It should have been a wake-up call for America.” Looking at Paul’s day and what is occurring now should be a wake-up call for Christians. Paul teaches us that in order to live Godly lives in an ungodly world…
I. Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by! (vv. 1-5)
1. We are in the “Last Days! People forget that the “Last Days” began when Jesus was resurrected and ascended! In Paul’s previous letter to Timothy he had warned “that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1) It was to be expected because there would be those who are convinced of Christ, but who are not truly converted. Paul warned Timothy that “There will be terrible times in the last days.” In fact these terrible times would be populated by the normal ungodliness of the world where the “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Does Paul’s day and age sound like today? You bet it does! Why? Sin has not changed! The way of evil has not changed! We may have more modern ways of doing evil, but evil is still the same. Sin exists and the believer, like Timothy, is to “Have nothing to do with” the evil that surrounds us! Some erroneously think that evil will get worse, but evil is evil. The ways of doing evil can get more inventive or we can find out about it more quickly, but evil in of itself remains pretty much evil. Jesus would remind His followers that “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26) Jesus knew that evil remains pretty much constant and Paul knew that Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by.
EXAMPLE: If you know the tactics of your enemy, you have a better chance of defeating him or staying out of his reach. It is for this reason that Peter would remind us to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) This is why law enforcement constantly reminds people to be aware of their surroundings. The AGM-45 Shrike missile was first deployed during the Vietnam War. It honed in on the enemy’s radar. It was named after a little bird that falconers used. When birds of prey were allowed to fly they often flew too high for their masters to see them, so these men used caged shrikes to keep track of their falcons. The Shrike is constantly aware of where its enemy is. The little bird has excellent eyesight and would twist its head to keep the falcon in view. Christians desperately need an alert perception similar to that of the Shrike to detect evil. John would write, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1) Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by!
I have often wondered why Christians would flirt with ungodliness. I honestly believe it is because many believers have lost their sensitivity to ungodly influences around them! We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by scantily-clad men and women. Where drinking alcohol is seen as relaxation and fun. We live in the ungodly notion that what we personally do is no one else’s business but our own. Yet, our cumulative societal behavior has influenced and degraded generations. It is time for Christians to live holy lives. But how can we with all the pressure we are face to “conform” to the ways of the world? Paul would tell Timothy that in order to live Godly lives in an ungodly world…
II. Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by! (vv. 6-9)
1. Christians are to have nothing to do with evil people! An evil person is anyone who denies a godly lifestyle by their attitude or actions. What kind of people are “evil”? Well, Paul would say “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:6-7) These “kinds” of evil people are those who scam you or try to beguile you into their deviant lifestyle. They love to get you to drink, do drugs, or have premarital sex in order to justify their own way of living. And after you feel guilty, “loaded down with sin,” you are easily “swayed by all kinds of evil desires.” These kinds of people see themselves as intelligent, open-minded, and free thinkers. They are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” Why? To do so they would have to admit that Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” They would therefore be acknowledging their own sinful condition. The latest spiritual fad is more their style. Like “Jannes and Jambres” which is a reference to a Jewish legend about two of Pharaoh’s corrupt magicians who competed against Moses and lost. In today’s world we find superstars, friends, or acquaintances who play a similar role in our lives. They are people “of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” Earlier, Paul wrote Timothy that these are “men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5) Or as a means of some kind of “personal gain” for themselves! If God rejects them, so should we. Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by!
EXAMPLE: Haddon Robinson wrote that “It's often difficult to understand why people give in to certain temptations. From our vantage point, their problem should be easy to handle. We may even wonder how Adam and Eve could have been so foolish as to have thrown aside all that God had given them in the morning of their existence. We would not have fallen so easily--or would we? Part of the problem is that the tempter wears a disguise when he slithers into our lives. As Mephistopheles, one of the fallen angels, says in the drama Faust, ‘People do not know the devil is there even when he has them by the throat.’” When I got caught, as a youngster, returning pop bottles to the same store that I had pilfered them from my excuse was, “It seemed like a great idea at the time!” As silly as that sounds, it is often the reasoning we use to join in another’s sin when we know we should not. Paul told Timothy that in order to live godly lives in an ungodly world, Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by.
Conclusion:
Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by and Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 21, 2008 AM
People can be caught so easily in Satan’s snares and then become part of his evil will in the world. In Kenosha, WS two boys, ages 14 and 15, are being held for murdering a women for her Xbox. They were caught by a 51 year old woman in the act of robbing her home when they killed her and made off with the Xbox, jewelry, cell phone and her purse that police later recovered at the home of the boys involved. Then there is the case of a 33 year-old Green Bay, WS mother who faces felony identity theft charges for stealing her 15 year-old daughter’s identity to attend a local high school and join the cheerleading squad. Wow! What ungodly times we live in, right?
Timothy, like all Christians are, was to “gently instruct” people caught up in these kinds of sinful deceptions so that they would repent of their duplicity and sin and “come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” Paul wanted Timothy to live a godly life in a time when everyone else was living an ungodly lifestyle. Sound familiar? It should. Interestingly, Paul was talking about Christians and not unbelievers! How do we as believers live Godly lives in ungodly times? We can find out by understanding what Paul wrote Timothy.
READ: 2 Timothy 3:1-9
On February 26, 1993, a powerful bomb exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. It sparked an aggressive investigation with many arrests. But few law enforcement authorities recognized it as part of an international terrorist plot. When the Trade Center towers were destroyed by terrorists in 2001, police commissioner Raymond Kelly looked back on the first attack and said, “It should have been a wake-up call for America.” Looking at Paul’s day and what is occurring now should be a wake-up call for Christians. Paul teaches us that in order to live Godly lives in an ungodly world…
I. Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by! (vv. 1-5)
1. We are in the “Last Days! People forget that the “Last Days” began when Jesus was resurrected and ascended! In Paul’s previous letter to Timothy he had warned “that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1) It was to be expected because there would be those who are convinced of Christ, but who are not truly converted. Paul warned Timothy that “There will be terrible times in the last days.” In fact these terrible times would be populated by the normal ungodliness of the world where the “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Does Paul’s day and age sound like today? You bet it does! Why? Sin has not changed! The way of evil has not changed! We may have more modern ways of doing evil, but evil is still the same. Sin exists and the believer, like Timothy, is to “Have nothing to do with” the evil that surrounds us! Some erroneously think that evil will get worse, but evil is evil. The ways of doing evil can get more inventive or we can find out about it more quickly, but evil in of itself remains pretty much evil. Jesus would remind His followers that “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26) Jesus knew that evil remains pretty much constant and Paul knew that Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by.
EXAMPLE: If you know the tactics of your enemy, you have a better chance of defeating him or staying out of his reach. It is for this reason that Peter would remind us to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) This is why law enforcement constantly reminds people to be aware of their surroundings. The AGM-45 Shrike missile was first deployed during the Vietnam War. It honed in on the enemy’s radar. It was named after a little bird that falconers used. When birds of prey were allowed to fly they often flew too high for their masters to see them, so these men used caged shrikes to keep track of their falcons. The Shrike is constantly aware of where its enemy is. The little bird has excellent eyesight and would twist its head to keep the falcon in view. Christians desperately need an alert perception similar to that of the Shrike to detect evil. John would write, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1) Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by!
I have often wondered why Christians would flirt with ungodliness. I honestly believe it is because many believers have lost their sensitivity to ungodly influences around them! We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by scantily-clad men and women. Where drinking alcohol is seen as relaxation and fun. We live in the ungodly notion that what we personally do is no one else’s business but our own. Yet, our cumulative societal behavior has influenced and degraded generations. It is time for Christians to live holy lives. But how can we with all the pressure we are face to “conform” to the ways of the world? Paul would tell Timothy that in order to live Godly lives in an ungodly world…
II. Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by! (vv. 6-9)
1. Christians are to have nothing to do with evil people! An evil person is anyone who denies a godly lifestyle by their attitude or actions. What kind of people are “evil”? Well, Paul would say “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:6-7) These “kinds” of evil people are those who scam you or try to beguile you into their deviant lifestyle. They love to get you to drink, do drugs, or have premarital sex in order to justify their own way of living. And after you feel guilty, “loaded down with sin,” you are easily “swayed by all kinds of evil desires.” These kinds of people see themselves as intelligent, open-minded, and free thinkers. They are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” Why? To do so they would have to admit that Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” They would therefore be acknowledging their own sinful condition. The latest spiritual fad is more their style. Like “Jannes and Jambres” which is a reference to a Jewish legend about two of Pharaoh’s corrupt magicians who competed against Moses and lost. In today’s world we find superstars, friends, or acquaintances who play a similar role in our lives. They are people “of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” Earlier, Paul wrote Timothy that these are “men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” (1 Timothy 6:5) Or as a means of some kind of “personal gain” for themselves! If God rejects them, so should we. Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by!
EXAMPLE: Haddon Robinson wrote that “It's often difficult to understand why people give in to certain temptations. From our vantage point, their problem should be easy to handle. We may even wonder how Adam and Eve could have been so foolish as to have thrown aside all that God had given them in the morning of their existence. We would not have fallen so easily--or would we? Part of the problem is that the tempter wears a disguise when he slithers into our lives. As Mephistopheles, one of the fallen angels, says in the drama Faust, ‘People do not know the devil is there even when he has them by the throat.’” When I got caught, as a youngster, returning pop bottles to the same store that I had pilfered them from my excuse was, “It seemed like a great idea at the time!” As silly as that sounds, it is often the reasoning we use to join in another’s sin when we know we should not. Paul told Timothy that in order to live godly lives in an ungodly world, Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by.
Conclusion:
Christians need to be aware of the kinds of evil they are surrounded by and Christians need to be aware of the ungodly people they are influenced by.
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