The End is Near? November 5 Readings: Jeremiah 24–25, 2 Timothy 3:1–4:8, Psalm 119:121–128, Proverbs 27:4–6

Links to November 5 Readings: Jeremiah 24–25, 2 Timothy 3:1–4:8, Psalm 119:121–128, Proverbs 27:4–6

I am not a date-setter concerning the Lord's return; the Bible is clear that we ought never to engage in that practice. Will Christ return in my lifetime? In a hundred years? A thousand? I don't know. You don't either and we ought not speculate.

One thing I do know is that the world Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is similar to the world we live in today. He described how things would be "in the last days" and gave a spot-on prophecy of our world. Is any of this NOT true in our world, even in the Christian world?

But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.

We have exalted the love of self over the love of others, though Christ called us to join him at his Cross. Can anyone argue that it is unfair to describe Americans as "lovers of money" or that we tend to love pleasure more than we love God? Of course, these qualities are part of the sinful human nature and have always been present, but these trends have escalated dramatically in my lifetime. 

Not only are people boastful and proud today, but we are encouraged to be so - self-assertion and self-adulation are part of a "healthy self-image" according to many. Again, children have always disobeyed their parents, but now the very concept of parental authority is often undercut. Our culture demonstrates a distinct lack of "love for what is good", especially in entertainment. 

The last line is one that haunts me. Religion abounds in America, but I often wonder how much of it is simply a form of godliness - going through the motions of Christianity - without really living in the power of God through his Holy Spirit. 

Again, I don't know what the Lord's time schedule is. Today? Tomorrow? 3014? Who knows? But I know we are living in the kind of wicked world Paul described to Timothy. 

What should we do? Despair? Stand by and complain about the wickedness of this world, shaking our heads in judgment? That was not Paul's response. He pointed Timothy to the inspired scriptures (in 3:16) and told him they were useful for dealing with life in a sinful world. In fact, they were able to make one "complete, equipped for every good work." 

In the next chapter (remember, those chapter divisions are not part of the inspired text), he reminded Timothy to preach the word and persist in it (4:2) in spite of those who would reject the truth and gather lying teachers around them. 

What is the point? We live in a wicked world. Maybe the end is near, maybe it is not. I don't know and neither do you. What we do know that is that the Word of God is powerful, inspired and  useful. It can change lives as we proclaim the message of Christ. 

It was by continuing to proclaim Christ faithfully in a sinful world that Paul was able, just before his death, to say, in 4:7,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

We may live in an awful world - sinful, fallen, broken, brutal. But we have an awesome God who has given us a powerful Word by which to live. We must not be discouraged by the wickedness of the world, but must continue to persistently proclaim God's truth, knowing that the power of God works through the preaching of his word.

Father, may I never despair at the wickedness of this world, but may I rest and hope in your sovereignty and the power of your Spirit to change hearts.