Sunday, January 27, 2013

Bad Fruit



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! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 NKJV

We have been discussing this passage for a few weeks now, and considering what it tells us about many in the body living lives that certainly don't reflect the priorities God has in mind for His own. We have also mentioned the fact that this passage describes a negative progression of behavior once the choice is made to love self rather than God. Today we find what the final result of these attitudes are as Paul explains how they are manifested in a persons relationships with those around him.

If you take the time to closely examine the definition of each of the words Paul uses to describe these individuals beginning with “slanderers” and finishing with “haughty” you will find that they all have a common thread which can best be explained as describing a person who has become so consumed with self that he is virtually ungovernable. No one can tell him or show him the error of his ways because he is totally convinced that his direction and decisions are above reproach.

The end result is a person who has made the decision that making themselves happy, “lovers of pleasure”, is more important than pursuing a closer relationship with God, “lovers of God”. What Paul tells us here is that somehow Satan succeeds in convincing believers that they should believe the lie that they can make themselves happy by pursuing whatever they want rather than putting God first in their lives and allowing Him to bring us the true happiness that only He can provide. These people may go to church, say they believe, and try to give the impression they are true believers but because of their choice to chase happiness themselves Paul describes them as “ having a form of godliness but denying its power”.

How many people do you know that fit the picture Paul gives us here? People who want something so much that they totally ignore what God has said in order to be “happy”? By making the choice to love self rather than to love God, they begin to become indistinguishable from the non-believer. Instead of being a light in a darkened world, they blend into the darkness themselves and do harm to the body. All this because they don't really believe that God will give them what they are seeking.  This is denying the power of God and His promises, which is then in reality just giving the appearance of having a true, working relationship with God.  It is because of this that Paul tells us to “turn away” from these types of people. The Greek word for turn away is apotrepō, which literally means to “shun or avoid”. Why is that? 

Paul goes on to tell us that these are the sort of people who can actually turn others away from God by convincing them that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. Within the body, this is best described as “compromise”. We are told that an even greater harm is done by those who choose this path when they convince others to do the things that they have chosen to do. This can happen when they meet a young believer who is not yet strong or mature in their faith and is struggling with something in their lives. They then convince the immature believer that it is okay to compromise just as they have done in order to bring themselves the happiness they desire. Their advice is to make the choice of “self-love” first rather than “loving God”. These people “talk the talk”, but never “walk the walk”.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now [you are] light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:6-10 NKJV

God's answer to the question of what choice to make in a situation such as this is perfectly clear.

Then He said to [them] all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:23 NKJV

One of the hardest decisions we make as believers is to deny self. It just seems so natural to want something and make the choice to pursue it. What could be wrong with that? Yet God tells us otherwise. Does it not make sense though that if we pursue whatever we feel we need, we take away from God the opportunity for Him to give it to us out of His love for us?

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NKJV

I find it very interesting to look back at the introduction of sin into the world at the Garden of Eden, and see exactly how Satan accomplished that. Adam and Eve had all of their needs met and were enjoying a life we can only imagine. Yet Satan was able to convince Eve of two things; one, there was something she needed that God had not provided, and two, God really didn't mean what He said when He told them not to eat of the tree. Do you see as I do that Satan hasn't changed his approach at all since time began? Simply convince us that there is something we need that God has not yet provided, and if we need to disobey God in order to get it then that is okay as well.

Do you find yourself in that position today? Do you know of others who claim to be believers but compromise their faith in order to pursue their own happiness? God is a God of forgiveness, and we have His promise that if we repent and turn from our sin He will forgive us. Paul makes it clear in this passage from Timothy exactly what the result will be if we make the choice to love self first rather than loving God. 

What do others see when they look at you? Someone who loves God and proves it by following Him, or someone who is consumed by self love and is lost in the pursuit of happiness?  May we all take a close look at the attitudes Paul reveals in this passage and look closely at our own lives to be sure we are reflecting the image that comes from making the choice to love God first, and trust Him to provide all our needs.

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. "For every tree is known by its own fruit. For [men] do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:43-45 NKJV

"Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7:20 NKJV

Who [is] wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct [that] his works [are done] in the meekness of wisdom.
James 3:13 NKJV

Keep watching.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Dysfunctional Family


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! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 NKJV

How often have you heard the comment that someone you know or knew at one time was “just like their parents”? Children grow up watching their parents and looking at them as an example of how to be, and in many cases begin to imitate the behavior they observe. As we have considered this passage in the past few weeks, we have seen the attitudes it describes seem to lead one to another in a downward spiral of ungodly attitudes which manifest themselves in what we could describe as “people behaving badly”.

What we see next seems to be a description of what happens to the family as children observe these attitudes in their parents, and begin to be affected by them. The first effect we see is described as disobedience to parents. In the Greek, the word for “disobedient” is translated “non-compliant” which to me seems to indicate that this is the attitude they observe when parents are consumed with the pursuit of riches. How often do you hear of someone who is wealthy explain that they achieved their success by breaking the rules, doing things their way, and in essence being “non-compliant” to the idea of caring more about those around them than in their own personal achievements?

Once the seeds of disobedience are planted, the fruit that quickly grows from them seem to be internal attitudes that will later explain the ungodly actions towards others in their interpersonal relationships. In order, Paul tells Timothy that disobedience to parental authority leads children to be “unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving”. Now is it possible that anyone has had the occasion to either observe or hear these particular attitudes used separately or collectively to describe the youth of today? I know that I read a commentary not too long ago in a national publication which did exactly that when talking about some of the social ills we face as a nation today.

Unthankful”. In the Greek; acharistos...ungracious. Personally, I see this as a manifestation of an attitude I see a lot of now in the workplace and elsewhere in which many people feel that they somehow are deserving of whatever it is they want rather than having to work for it and being thankful that they got it. Their attitude is that life owes them something so there is no reason to be thankful for it. In children, this would mean that rather than being thankful for the work and effort their parents put out to provide for them, they simply take it for granted.

Unholy”. In the Greek; anosios...wicked. This another way of saying evil and it describes someone who has an attitude of first looking to do the wrong thing rather than the right. One definition calls an evil person “morally bad”, which I think is a perfect description of someone who believes that the rules don't apply to them. When they are faced with a decision on a course of action, rather than thinking of the possible affects on others, they base their actions on how best to get what they want without considering whether those actions could be considered “right” or “wrong”.

Unloving”. In the Greek; astorgos...unsociable. Why does this one not surprise me? When someone is so consumed with their own life and their pursuit of whatever they feel is owed to them, why worry about those around you? It takes time and effort to develop personal relationships with others, as well as having the desire to actually care about them. It certainly makes sense that it is difficult to think and care about others when your priority is “self”. Where Jesus teaches us to care about others first, the world teaches self-centeredness with no thought about others.

Unforgiving”. In the Greek; aspondos...truce-breakers or untrustworthy. Go figure. Paul tells us that someone who is so consumed with self and their pursuit of personal gain will be the sort of person you can never trust to keep their word. In other words, a liar. How far we have come from a time where a man's word was enough to be considered legally binding to where we are now in a society where lying and cheating to gain advantage is the norm.

How unfortunate it is that what Paul describes to us in these verses is exactly what many would claim we see around us today. A society where love of self and love of money results in a generation of children who are unthankful, immoral, unsociable, and untrustworthy. All because of the decision to take the step of loving self first, rather than thinking of others as God has instructed us to do. I can't read this passage and all that it describes without thinking of the description of the church at Laodiciea that we find in the book of Revelation.

"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, [that] the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:17-20 NKJV

How difficult it is to accept the fact that Jesus tells us here that just before He returns for His Church, the attitudes of the majority within the church mimic those we find Paul warning Timothy about. Again, as easy as it is to look at those around us to see if these attitudes are present, we must never forget to look in the mirror first and take an honest look at ourselves. Have we made the decision to put others first, and show them the love that God has shown towards us?

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34 NKJV

If we make this decision and put it into practice, our children will see it and learn it from us. Let us be an example to them and to those around us by showing God's love not just in word, but in deed.

Keep watching.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Form of Godliness



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! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 NKJV

We have been discussing these verses in Timothy as a sign of the last days, and exactly what it might mean regarding what individuals, or society as a whole could look like as we approach the return of Christ for His church. Last week we asked the question “who do you love?” because in this passage it tells us clearly that men will love themselves more than others, and love money as a way to measure their self-worth. I also mentioned the possibility that what we see in these verses is a progression of traits that are a result of self-love.

We have looked at the love of self and love of money and if you follow the progression idea, does it surprise anyone that the next three attitudes on the list describing these individuals concerns boasting, pride, and verbal abuse?

Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 NASB

Paul tells Timothy that someone who is concerned solely with himself and his monetary riches will certainly tell others about it. Rather than just being content to know what he has accomplished by his own efforts, he wants to make sure you know it as well and is more than happy to let you and everyone else know just how special he is. Yet his boasting is empty according to God because none of what he has accomplished is a result of the pursuit of a loving relationship with the Lord, and the knowledge that comes as a result of that.

For all that [is] in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 NKJV

His boasting is a result of pride, which is the attitude that one usually gets when they believe they are somehow better than you, which in this case is a result of having more than you do. The Greek word used here for pride is defined as not just feeling superior, but also actually “despising others and treating them with contempt”. I find it more than interesting how quickly, just two steps down this path, we see that one will start to act or exhibit outwardly the worldly, ungodly attitudes that God truly hates.

The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
Proverbs 8:13 NKJV

The third attitude we come to is that of blasphemy. In the Greek, the word used here is blasphēmos which is translated... “speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive”. Again we find an attitude which is exhibited overtly in a persons actions towards others. Can you imagine being so proud about your own accomplishments that you actually begin to talk down those around you?

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked [what is] perverse.
Proverbs 10:32 NKJV

It might seem easy right about now to begin to think that these words do indeed describe the “world” and those individuals who have never made the decision to follow Christ, yet before we fall into that trap I would like to point something out that we find in the latter part of this passage. After listing all of these attitudes and the actions they produce, Paul tells Timothy an interesting thing. He also describes these individuals as “having a form of godliness but denying its power (v.5)”. In his teaching on this chapter, Ray Stedman put it this way;

But what the apostle wanted Timothy -- and us -- to know, he clearly outlines: "Understand this," he says, "that these will be dangerous times, times of great stress, times when our faith will be pushed to the limit of its endurance, when we will be under attack and under threat." Furthermore, Paul reveals a rather startling thing, these times of stress will be characterized by and caused by two major factors, which he goes on to describe. The first factor is very startling indeed. The striking thing about this paragraph is not what I read in Verses 1-4, but what is in Verse 5:”... “In other words, Paul says that the primary cause of these repetitive cycles of stress and danger is the hypocritical lives of Christians who outwardly look pious, religious, committed and devoted, but are actually unchanged inside and have no power to overcome evil in their lives. Hypocritical Christianity -- that is the bottom line in these times of stress.”

While it is sometimes easy to read scripture and think that it does not apply to us, I believe we should always be willing to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if it is possible we are the ones God is speaking to with His Word in any given passage. The first step on this road which we talked about last week is the decision to put self above God. Is God our first love? Do we seek only to serve and glorify Him, or in these times are we more concerned with providing for ourselves and doing whatever it takes to improve our situation?

The times in which we find ourselves today are described by many as being “bad and getting worse”. However it is in times of trouble that those around us are watching closely to see how we react. Are you living what you have been preaching? Are you being faithful to love God and serve others even though you may be hurting? As believers we must not only talk the talk, but walk the walk so an unbelieving world can see us and ask the question “why”?


Keep watching.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Who Do You Love?



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! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:1-7 NKJV

I would suggest that if you were to ask someone why they believe we may be living in the end times their response would probably be to start talking about earthquakes, hurricanes, superstorms, global warming, and just about any other natural disaster they could think of. I too, see these things occurring and believe they are indeed signs that we are approaching the deliverance which the Church has longed for since Jesus gave us His promise that He would return.

Yet while everyone focuses on natural disasters, in this passage, and others, when the Apostle Paul addresses the subject of the last days he tells the reader they should look not at those things but rather the actions of people and how they choose to live. Now when I first realized this I admit I had to take some time to think about what Paul was trying to tell us, and to sort of wrap my thoughts around what the world might look like if the majority of people lived as Paul describes here. My conclusion was that not only does it describe what could accurately be called a “me first” society, it could also easily be describing the country we live in today.

So I thought we might spend a few weeks looking closer at the attitudes Paul describes here, especially in the order that he gives them to us because it seems to me that if you consider the order, it might suggest that one follows another in what could be called a progression of moral and spiritual decay. With that in mind, let's look at what Paul describes first.

For men will be lovers of themselves,”. The Greek word used here which translates to the phrase “lovers of themselves” is philautos, and it means loving one's self, too intent on one's interest, selfish”. Isn't it interesting that the very first attitude we find prevalent in society in the last days is the complete opposite of what Jesus commanded all of His followers to do?

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:34-35 NKJV

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Galatians 5:14 NKJV

But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
1 John 3:11 NKJV

Without question we must acknowledge that as believers our first responsibility is to focus on others and to demonstrate to them the love that God has shown to us. Yet I wonder how many of us have taken the time to consider “why” we are commanded to do so? I believe that the passage in Timothy clearly shows that if we fail to take this first step, what follows is a journey down the opposite path which eventually results in the inability to be of any use to God and His work. Instead of focusing on serving God by serving others we begin to focus on ourselves and what we want from this life and how best to get it. Rather than doing God's will and allowing Him to reward us in His good time and ways, we make the decision to focus our efforts on attaining whatever it is that we desire without concern of how we accomplish that.

The result of this decision is the second step we see in the passage from Timothy, “lovers of money,”. In the times in which we live, does it not seem that the answer to the question of how best to get what I want is to simply get more money? How many people today have fallen for the lie that money will bring you happiness? The Greek word used here is philargyros, which translated means “loving money, avarice.” Avarice is most often translated as greed or covetousness, and what it really means is that one becomes consumed by the desire to the point that it becomes an obsession. The obvious problem with this is that when this happens the result is that you can never get enough to satisfy the desire. Therefore all of your efforts are focused on getting more for yourself, and obviously not on serving God and others.

For the love of money is a root of all [kinds of] evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15 NKJV

What do you see when you look at the society we live in today? Do you see a people concerned with loving others more than themselves and doing what they can for their fellow man, or do you see a population focused on themselves and whatever they can get? Do you read words like loving, caring, and serving in the news, or is it more like selfish, angry, and entitlement? I asked the question last week “do you see what I see?” Look around and ask yourself if Paul is describing to Timothy exactly what we see today all around us. Whatever the world has to offer will never satisfy what God can offer.

Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
John 4:13-14 NKJV

In these times as life becomes increasingly difficult, it is hard not to focus on taking care of our own needs first. Yet to do so is to take away from serving others, and most of all not allowing God to take care of us. As a body we cannot forget what God has called us to do, and always remember our first concern is for others and not ourselves.

Keep watching.