Daily Bread
2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
Observation:
There is always a lot of speculation if we are in the “last days” or not. As we look over this description, we might be able to recognize these traits on our “tv shows”, movies and the latest People magazine. But in fact these traits have been with us since the beginning of man’s original rebellion from God. Whether it is worse now, than say 30 years ago, is certainly up for debate. But there does seem to be an increasing amount of godlessness that we see in our culture today.
What I see is a decreasing sensitivity to violent and perverse behavior. What used to turn heads or cause someone to shake their head is a lot different now, than 30 years ago, especially with our younger generation.
Part of Paul’s point is that this is also happening with those who would claim to have godliness, maybe even some who would call themselves a Christian, but deny its power. This is certainly true today as we see that American Christians often don’t look a whole lot different than those who are not in churches on Sunday morning.
I think Paul hits it on the head when he says, “They have a form of godliness, but deny its power.” Paul implies that if believers were living in the power God has given them through the Holy Spirit they would be able to move toward a more Christ-like life.
Application:
I know many people who bemoan their spiritual lives and wish they were more godly, but often feel an underwhelming ability to live a life worthy of their calling as a Christian. One of the reasons that I have experienced is often we try to create our own godliness through our own power! It never works!
Just as we could not justify ourselves by our own works and need Jesus to save us. We cannot sanctify ourselves by our own works and need the Holy Spirit to set us apart to be different than those in the world. As we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to overshadow us (see Elizabeth in Luke’s gospel as she learned that she would be bringing into the world the savior!) can we live out a life worthy of the Good News we have received through Jesus.
True godliness and being able to separate from the description of the godlessness that marks our age, can only come as we are set apart by the Holy Spirit and are guided by that same Spirit in obedience to God’s Word, which shows us what this kind of life looks like. Of course we will never become perfect or mature in this life, but the Spirit will create a longing in us to separate from the world and become the son or daughter of God we were called to be!
So the next time you decry how evil the world is becoming, realize that these people are only acting the way anyone would who does not have the power of God operating in their life. May it be reminder of God’s grace that saves wretches like you and me!
Prayer: God may we not try to portray a godliness that lacks the power to truly show what those who follow you can become. When we see godlessness in the world bring us to our knees to pray for those who are powerless without your love and grace to change and also be examples of what your power can do in a human life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
Observation:
There is always a lot of speculation if we are in the “last days” or not. As we look over this description, we might be able to recognize these traits on our “tv shows”, movies and the latest People magazine. But in fact these traits have been with us since the beginning of man’s original rebellion from God. Whether it is worse now, than say 30 years ago, is certainly up for debate. But there does seem to be an increasing amount of godlessness that we see in our culture today.
What I see is a decreasing sensitivity to violent and perverse behavior. What used to turn heads or cause someone to shake their head is a lot different now, than 30 years ago, especially with our younger generation.
Part of Paul’s point is that this is also happening with those who would claim to have godliness, maybe even some who would call themselves a Christian, but deny its power. This is certainly true today as we see that American Christians often don’t look a whole lot different than those who are not in churches on Sunday morning.
I think Paul hits it on the head when he says, “They have a form of godliness, but deny its power.” Paul implies that if believers were living in the power God has given them through the Holy Spirit they would be able to move toward a more Christ-like life.
Application:
I know many people who bemoan their spiritual lives and wish they were more godly, but often feel an underwhelming ability to live a life worthy of their calling as a Christian. One of the reasons that I have experienced is often we try to create our own godliness through our own power! It never works!
Just as we could not justify ourselves by our own works and need Jesus to save us. We cannot sanctify ourselves by our own works and need the Holy Spirit to set us apart to be different than those in the world. As we allow the power of the Holy Spirit to overshadow us (see Elizabeth in Luke’s gospel as she learned that she would be bringing into the world the savior!) can we live out a life worthy of the Good News we have received through Jesus.
True godliness and being able to separate from the description of the godlessness that marks our age, can only come as we are set apart by the Holy Spirit and are guided by that same Spirit in obedience to God’s Word, which shows us what this kind of life looks like. Of course we will never become perfect or mature in this life, but the Spirit will create a longing in us to separate from the world and become the son or daughter of God we were called to be!
So the next time you decry how evil the world is becoming, realize that these people are only acting the way anyone would who does not have the power of God operating in their life. May it be reminder of God’s grace that saves wretches like you and me!
Prayer: God may we not try to portray a godliness that lacks the power to truly show what those who follow you can become. When we see godlessness in the world bring us to our knees to pray for those who are powerless without your love and grace to change and also be examples of what your power can do in a human life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment