But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And from such people turn away. 2 Timothy 3: 1-5, NKJV.
Gracious God, If there was ever a time we needed to hear Your voice, it is today. So please speak to us for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Yesterday we looked at the last list of end-time behaviors. Today we look at the last statement in our Scripture. “And from such people turn away.” What is the message that is being conveyed here? Should we shun these believers? Let us not forget that this was a letter written to the church. These were people, who though they were professing Christianity, were acting as if there was no power available to overcome their ungodly behavior. We would say, they were not “tapping” the power that was available. But back to the question: Should we shun these believers?
I am sure that different people would have different answers to this question. But of course all of us cannot be right; because no Scripture is of any “private interpretation” (2 Peter 1: 20). When I have a doubt about the meaning of a Scripture, there are several things that I can do. One of the most important things would be to look at the text within its context. If we are asking what is the right thing to do in a particular situation; I believe the wise thing would be to learn what the Bible teaches concerning the subject. According to Scripture, the Lord will “teach knowledge” and “explain the message… “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28: 10).
First, let us look at the context. From the first letter (1 Timothy), Paul seems to be burdened with “certain people.” He wants Timothy to instruct them “not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculation rather than the divine training that is known by faith” (1 Timothy 1: 3, 4, NRSV). So it is a time of unrest within the church. Paul has taught sound doctrine which works by love, “from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith” (5). These false teachers have “deviated,” because they desire, “to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions” (6, 7).
They are also of a wrong spirit, according to the end-time behaviors we just looked at. They are manipulative (2 Timothy 3: 6). They have never come to maturity in the truth (7), and they are being compared to “…Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses (Ex 7. 11), according to postbiblical Jewish tradition” (footnotes, NRSV, 360, NT).
Now, according to the Scriptures, Jesus “came to seek and to save that which was lost” (John 1: 29). His mission was to “save,” not “condemn” (John 3: 17). He was a friend of “publicans and sinners” (Luke 7: 34). Yet Paul’s advise is to “turn away” from these false teachers. Is there a discrepancy? Permit me to submit the following thought for your consideration. When Jesus sent out His disciples by twos to preach the Good News. He told them, that if they came to a town where they were not accepted, they were to shake the dust off of their feet, and leave (Luke 9: 5). I believe this is a similar situation, to some extent. These false teachers have obviously heard the truth, but, have evidently rejected it. They have never allowed the power of the gospel to make a difference in their lives; they have never matured in it.
Therefore, the danger existed, that these false teachers, instead of edifying the church, could hurt it. Because of this reason, Paul advised Timothy to, “Avoid them” (2 Timothy 2: 5, NRSV).