Danger Ahead

Danger Ahead

Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-9

(READ 2 Timothy 3:1-9)

I hope you all understand that this is a warning, given by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor named Timothy. And make no mistake, it is a warning to him. Now we can view warnings in one of two ways… we can hear them, and see them, and be like, “Oh, this person is trying to manipulate me, or scare me, or keep from doing something I want to do…”. Or we can see it as a grace of sorts… a kind of mercy and kindness… for our good.

So if you’re driving down the highway and you see a sign that says, “Warning! Bridge Out Ahead.” You understand that heeding that warning is for your good right?!? That sign is a warning, but it is meant to protect you and prepare you for what lies ahead. So that you can act accordingly.

The Bible has a lot of these… and even Jesus gave warnings about things. In Matthew 18, He said, “Woe to them who would cause one of these little ones to sin… it would be better for them to have a millstone tied around his neck and drowned in the sea.” In Matthew 16, He said, “Beware the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” He even finished His Sermon on the Mount with two warnings – “Beware false prophets!” And, “Don’t build your house on the sand.”

So we should understand that Jesus gives us warnings out of His love for us. He is the Good Shepherd, and those warnings are Him acting in that role, calling His sheep away from danger, and trouble. And so too, here in our text, we have Paul, who also has a shepherd’s heart, teaching a young shepherd, and giving a warning, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

So, let’s look at that first verse…. It starts with a command, and urging… Paul says, “UNDERSTAND THIS.” Paul wants Timothy, and us who are reading this. To understand something. Not just give it a wink and go on with ourselves. But to grasp it, and act accordingly as we do. To not only hear his warning, but to heed it.

And so, he says we need to understand something… and here’s what we need to understand. “That in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”

Now, Paul and Timothy were in the early part of the last days, and I would say we are in the latter part of the last days. You all understand, that according to Scripture, the “Last Days” began at Pentecost right? That’s what Peter says in his Pentecost sermon. That the signs they were seeing was the pouring out of the Spirit, because of the last days. And you all understand, that this was the pouring… not the flowing stream… the pour. You pour out something and that’s it. 1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us very plainly, “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease, as for the word of knowledge, it will pass away. But love never fails.”

Hebrews 1:1-2, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son…”.

We don’t need those things, we have the full revelation of God, in Christ, given to us in Scripture. If you are a mature Christian, you don’t need those things, and probably shouldn’t even desire them… In-fact Paul tell us in 1 Corinthians 14:22, “Tongues are a sign for unbelievers…”.

So, we are in the last days according to God’s Word… we’ve been in them for almost 2000 years. And so this warning is applicable to us as believers in those last days. And Paul says, “In these days, there will come times of difficulty.”

Now the next question we should ask is – WHY?

Why will these be times of difficulty? Well look at verses 2 through 5.

It will be difficult for God’s people because those who are not God’s people love themselves and the world, and money, and are proud and arrogant, and abusive. Kids will disobey parents, people will be ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will have an appearance of godliness, but deny its power.

Pretty accurate description of where we find ourselves today right?

We live in a time of spiritual minimalism… Where we have just enough of the Christian faith and just enough of the Christian influence to seem, or appear godly, but the truth is, those things to many people are just an accessory. An add on. They could go on without it if pressed to do so. Their lives are occupied with all sorts of pursuits and priorities rather than what the Bible lays out for us as what a true follower of Jesus looks like.