“The Case for Christ - End-time Prophecy of Paul”

We continue on with the considerations of the ‘end time’. Jesus concentrated on it in some of His discourses.

And, tonight, to complete this series, we will consider what Paul saw and wrote in his day.

So - will you please turn with me to 2 Timothy 3:1-5 -  Timothy 3:1-5.

Paul said there: ‘But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 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. Have nothing to do with them.’

Here - Paul told Timothy to take notice of the ‘last days’. 

To him and to other New Testament writers, these days were, in one way or another, days that promised to bring an avalanche of evils to light before Christ’s return.

They will be terrible times. They will be hard to bear; they will be troublesome; they will be full of stress, full of sin and immorality.

Now - it is not my intention to spend a great deal of time on any of these moral evils Paul listed. We will review them only briefly. 

But, before we go on, let me just say this first: the one, good, redeeming fact about the proliferation of this present evil - the fact that we can be thankful for - is that it does break through all the shams and pretenses. 

It reveals the Christian’s superficialities and wavering. It reveals just how strongly and deeply we are grounded in the reality of Christ’s indwelling Spirit.

It reveals and exposes all the wickedness of man’s inner being.

And, for the Christian who finds himself being pulled in that direction, it hoists a red flag that says: ‘no - no - you have no business going in that direction! You must not succumb to the evils of your day!’

With that in mind, then, let us just quickly review the list. Look at them again with me as I quote some of the definitions given for each of them.

We start with ‘lovers of self’. This is ‘the fundamental problem and the source of all others because it substitutes man for God.’

What do these ‘lovers of self’ look like? How do they act? How does the godlessness, the evil within, show itself?

Paul started with ‘lovers of money’. This is what entrenches man deeply into sin.

At the outset, these people are ‘proud, ostentatious, making false pretenses.’ They show themselves as being above others, despising others, or even treating them with contempt, with haughtiness’.

They are ‘arrogant’, ‘overbearing’, disdainful, insolent, abusive. They are slanderers and scoffers. They are disobedient to parents, ungrateful, ‘either to them or to God. They are unholy, having no fellowship with God, living a merely secular life.’

They are profane, irreligious, and, perhaps above everything else, they count nothing sacred.

‘Counting nothing sacred’, of course, can include the deviations common today in love, sex, and marriage. 

Furthermore, Paul continued, saying: ‘They are inhuman: have no sensitivity to others, only callous. They are without natural affection, have a dry and hardened heart.’

That incorporates many of the atrocities we hear about so often. Look at the number of innocent, helpless babies and children being murdered by their very own parents, as well as those persons accused of ‘child endangerment’. We have heard much about that on our news programs lately - have we not?

The evils Paul lists also include those who refuse to end hostilities between themselves and others. They are ‘implacable’, irreconcilable, hold on to grudges and make matters worse by doing so.

In this point alone, look at all the ‘you’ verses ‘me’ marriages, the ‘my happiness is more important than either you or the children’ marriages we have today!

They can join this catalogue of evils Paul lists as he goes on saying, ‘they speak lies and promote quarrels. They are without self-control’. Bodily lusts control them, for they are weak persons, easily led into sin, and in short, use poor judgment. 

He describes the evil as licentious - fierce, wild, savage, brutal, and cruel. There is no love or affection for the good. They think nothing of the act of betrayal.

Look at the daily terrorists’ activities throughout the world. Does this not include them, as well?

And Paul continued: the ‘end time characteristic of these people is one of recklessness, of treachery, or rashness, and they stop at nothing to gain their own ends.

Take a look at some of the latest ‘fads’ and ‘stunts’ of the macho mentality of this present age!

‘They are wrapped up in conceit and folly, blinded by a false sense of their own self-importance’, the text says.

They ‘put pleasure in the place of God, prefer good times to worshipping Him.’

They are ‘puffed up with pride’, conceited, rash, ‘swollen with self-importance.’

And, then Paul ended with this thought: ‘These have an outward form of religion yet are a standing denial of its reality.’

As you can see - this is not a very inspiring nor pretty view of these ‘last days’ - is it?

But - try as we may, we cannot escape the accuracy of these prophecies.  We are living on the very edge now - today - whether we care to accept it or not!

Now - before we go on - let me ask a rather provocative question. It is this: are we, as part of the Lord’s people, as part of His church, taking part, either purposely or inadvertently, in these ‘last days’ events that are diabolically designed to pull us into that same direction?

Or - are we firm about not being willing contributors to this downward spiral of evil?

Ask this question within the confines of your own heart while you personally look into the face of Jesus Christ.

I know, especially for young people, this is not an easy question to answer. It is particularly hard when we are asked to accept it ‘by placing our faith and trust’ in Christ when there is no tangible or discernible evidence of Him that we would like to see at any given moment.  

I know this is difficult but the difficulty of it does not alter the fact of it - I hope you will always remember that. 

Let me say that again: the difficulty of believing Christ, of placing our faith and trust in Him, does not change the fact that ‘He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’. Hold on to that! 

Nothing about Christ ever changes - nor will it ever change, no matter how the world views Him and will continue to view Him.

He did what He came to do, He is Who He said He was - the Son of God - and His power is still operating within those who accept Him by faith, whether we can see it or not!

So - the Christian does not need to live and operate on the same plane the world does. He must not add evil to evil.

He is called to stand up straight and tall, look evil into the eye, and proclaim with strong and unyielding faith that Jesus Christ is Lord! 

The Christian has been chosen to walk through life in agreement with that mind of Christ!   

For, like it or not, the object of the world’s history is concentrated in Him. It is the light of the Lordship of Jesus Christ that is to triumph over the darkness and evil of this present world.

It is He Who is destined to become ‘all in all’! Inevitably, all things have to be subdued under Him to the end that God is all and in all.

It is to those who see this and live this that Jesus promised to say one day: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’

Can you believe this with all your heart? Are you willing to live in the Lordship of Christ with all your heart and not be among those who carelessly contribute to the world’s ills by going along with its evils?

Or - is this too much to ask? 

Now - I  know that what I am about to say is hard for some of us to accept, especially when we look at some of the atrocities of the day. 

But - every one of us has within the seed to every one of these evils Paul listed in our text for this evening.

We all have that same tendency that is off from what God has originally designed as the ‘norm’ of life. We are all infected with this ‘dry rot’. That is the base we start with.

But from this base, we either submit ourselves to the new base secured for us through Christ, or we continue building on the old base. 

No small child intends to grow up to become a murderer, a sexual pervert, or to engage in any of these evils.

He becomes what he becomes by feeding on those influences that come from the old base and lead in that direction.

What he has been fed and what he feeds on solidifies his actions in the end.

It is like the illustration given often of the enormous pillars that are formed by the steady dropping of water from the roof of a cave.

Slowly, steadily, silently, one little drop of water finds its way down through the roof of the cave and drops its sediment on the floor of the cave. Then another follows and does the same thing, and then another, and another, and so on.

Each one adds to the first until the icicle of stone had grown and finally becomes a huge, rocklike pillar that will last forever.

This is like the process that takes place in every human being. 

Each thought is like that one drop of water that seeps into the mind and does its work until the thoughts have solidified into action. 

Yes - it is eternally true: ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ 

Give the inner man evil thoughts and that will work through to establishing evil habits. 

This is the invisible, evil power that constantly governs. 

Universally, man is paying a ready submission to it as it finds its way into this list of evil acts given by Paul.    
   
So - how do we overcome this consequence of evil thinking that tends to evil actions?

First, look in the right direction! Let the evils of this world go to hell - that is their proper place!

Instead, look to Jesus Christ. It is there where you will take on His mind and start thinking His ways.

Jesus knew of the evil power in men’s minds and hearts. He knew what kind of food it fed upon.

Thus He said of Himself: ‘I am the Bread of Life. I am the living Bread, the perfect food that answers to man’s every need.’

It is the habitual thought of Him that frames itself into life lived in Him. By the thoughts we harbor of Him, our lives are being shaped by Him. 

Yes - one thought out from the living Christ within us  engenders another thought about Him and then another, and another - just as the drop of water seeping down into the cave - until it solidifies and builds life toward eternal values.  

He is our well of thought from which we are to draw. Fill our cup with Him and there will be no room for anything else!  

The more we draw from Him, the clearer, the stronger, the more fruitful the Christian life becomes.

With time and perseverance, things will rearrange themselves and we become polished - like pure gold.

So - look in the right direction first! Look to Jesus Christ, the author and the finisher of faith!
 
Then, on the other side of the picture that goes along with this, ‘do right - do right until the stars fall!’ That is the trumpet sound heard the world round from the eternal ages!  

Do right! Yes - think right thoughts - then - follow them up with the right actions.

The two go hand in hand to keep from evil ways. Right thoughts alone do not produce the right actions.

I have often said: ‘Put your boat into the water first, and then start paddling!’

So - think right! Do right! Let your thoughts soar to the living Christ and see if He does not, in His discipline, lead you to right actions too! 

Then, finally, place all your faith and trust in the living God Who gives the power to be delivered from evil through the death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son. 

His Son is the One Who has been predestined to provide the power to overcome evil.

Did you take note of Paul’s important statement in verse 5? He told Timothy that the ones who engage in evil have religion but it is only a form!

They actually are strangers to the power of Christ. In fact, they turn their backs on His power. They resist its influences! They just carelessly say ‘no’ to Him!

Yes - that is the underlying problem: the power to resist evil in a steady, consistent, increasing way is not there! There is no life! 

Except we feed on Christ, we have no life, no power.

To follow right thoughts and right actions is good! But the power to do it comes through Jesus Christ! That is life, for He is the power of God unto salvation.

He said: ‘He that eateth Me, even He shall live by Me’.

‘It is the Spirit that quickens...the words that I speak...they are Spirit and they are life.’

Every time we announce Jesus Christ is Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit and stand firmly in His power and victory, the Prince of Darkness is pushed back into his defeat. 

This is the ‘salvation we are to work out with reverence and awe! 

Yes - it is ‘God Whose power creates within both the desire and the power to execute His gracious will.’

Is it easy to take such a stand? Of course not! Yes - we will suffer the scars of the uphill battle with its share of pain and problem.

Will we be popular? Absolutely not! ‘All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution,’ Paul told young Timothy in verse 12 of this same chapter.

Christ is the only triumph of light over this darkness of evil. 
Everything centers around His light and His power He has brought to this present world by His Holy Spirit. 

We cannot circumvent that truth! And - we never need to be ashamed nor confused about it either!  

I will close for tonight. But - let me urge all of us to remain ‘fixed’ in Christ; stay on course; hold fast to what you have learned of Him and are continuing to learn of Him. (If you read on in the text, you will see that in v 14).  

It is this that will make you wise to accept God’s salvation in Christ Jesus as you refuse to contribute to this world’s hellish trend. 

Do your living out from the heart of Jesus Christ Who lives within. Draw from His grace in these difficult, stressful times. It is your only safe route through life!

I pray we all will take these things into our hearts and let the Holy Spirit minister Christ to us in the power of His might. 

So - this week - ‘let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’

Amen. 

Let us pray.