August 26, 2007 - Letters To My Son: Continue In What You Have Learned

Scripture Meditation: 2 Timothy 3

INTRODUCTION

• I'm not a betting man- but I'd be willing to make this bet
• If you're a born-again child of God:
• You're interested in eschatology
• Even if you don't know what 'eschatology' is
• Let's see if I'm right
• Eschatology is based on a Greek root word eschatos- which means 'last' or 'final'
• The suffix 'ology' means 'the study of...'
• Put it all together and you've got 'eschatology'
• The study of final things
• Or more specifically- the branch of theology that deals with:
• The events leading up to the Second Coming of Christ
• And the end of historic time
• So...did I win my bet?
• Are you interested in eschatology?
• I thought so!
• Actually when it comes to eschatology most Christians fall into one of two camps:
• People who are terrified of the subject- and carefully avoid books like Daniel and Revelation
• And people who are obsessed with the subject- and do nothing but read books, study time-charts and search for obscure 'signs of the times'
• The reason I bring all this up is because today we're going to be looking at 2 Timothy chapter 3
• And for the most part 2 Timothy 3 deals with eschatology
• Granted- Paul makes a few detours along the way
• But mostly 2 Timothy 3 focuses on eschatology- and what it says:
• Should reassure Christians who are afraid to think about the final days
• And serve as a needed check on those folks who become infected with 'Second Coming fever'
• So- let's get started. Please read 2 Timothy 3:1

THERE WILL BE TERRIBLE TIMES IN THE LAST DAYS...

3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

• The Greek word translated as 'terrible' is chalepos-
• It literally means:
• 'Chaotic- violent'
• 'Troublesome- dangerous'
• 'Stressful- hard to bear'
• So notice what Paul is saying here:

There will be chaotic- violent- troublesome- dangerous- stressful- hard to bear times in the last days before Jesus returns to Earth

• Please read Revelation 8:6-13
• Now let's read Matthew 24:15-22 and see what Jesus has to say about the final days
• Kind of blood-curdling- isn't it?
• Look- the Bible doesn't pull any punches
• The period of time preceding Jesus' Second Coming will be filled with danger and peril for Christians!
• Of course-
• Most scholars believe this passage in Matthew 24 refers to an event that happened in the year 70 AD-
• The Destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Roman army
• But make no mistake about it:
• There will be chaotic- violent- troublesome- dangerous- stressful- hard to bear times in the last days before Jesus returns to Earth
• All of which raises the question: When will these terrible final days begin?

PEOPLE WILL BE...

2 Timothy 3:2-5

• I want you to notice what's going on here:
• Paul is telling Christians how to know they're living in the final days before Jesus Comes Again
• When you see people living lives of extreme wickedness and moral depravity you can KNOW you're living in the final days
• Now look at the way Paul describes these people's lives. He says they-
• Are selfishly focused on themselves at the expense of others
• Ruthlessly chase after the almighty dollar
• Lack the virtues of Christian love and compassion
• Are obsessed with sexual immorality and perversion
• And they're caught up in a 'New Age' spiritually that has nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
• Whoa baby! This sounds kind of familiar- doesn't it?
• I mean even if you discount tabloid freaks
• What you've got is a description of the way vast numbers of people live their lives today!
• Now think about this with me
• If...
• People today are living the kind of wicked lives Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3
• And if 2 Timothy 3 is describing the way people will live in the days preceding the Second Coming
• That must mean WE'RE living in the final days before Jesus' Second Coming
• Right?
• AB-SO-LUTE-LY!
• To me that's exciting stuff
• These are the final days before Jesus Comes Again
• The most awesome event in eternity- and we're living in the final days before it takes place
• BUT- you've probably noticed that I haven't
• Sold all my possessions
• Bought a white robe
• And gone to sit on a mountaintop waiting for Jesus
• That's because in 2 Timothy 3 Paul is talking about people who were living in HIS day and time!
• Look at what he says in verse 5: Have nothing to do with them
• Paul's warning was based on the reality Timothy faced
• Paul knew Timothy was going to meet people who lived this kind of wicked, depraved lifestyle
• Which mean...Paul and Timothy lived during the final days before Jesus' Second Coming
• Right?
• Absolutely! No doubt about it!
• Which- I know- doesn't seem to make much sense
• How can WE be living in the final days before Jesus Comes Again in 2007- and we are
• If Paul and Timothy were living in the final days nearly 2000 years ago- and they were
• The problem is- we're thinking in human terms
• To us an expression like 'final days' means a relatively short period of time
• You know-
• A few weeks or months
• Certainly not much more than a year
• But when you're talking about Jesus' Second Coming
• You can't think in terms of human time
• You've got to think in terms of eschatological time
• Please read Acts 1:4-11
• What the angels have done here is establish the boundaries of eschatological time. They told the disciples:
• The final days began the moment you saw Jesus ascend into heaven and disappear in the clouds
• And the final days will not end until Jesus Returns to Earth a second time!
• Let me try and illustrate what we're talking about:

**********************************************************
*-------------------- THE FINAL DAYS --------------------- *
* A ---------------------------------------------------------- B *
* Jesus' ascention --------------------------- Jesus' return *
**********************************************************

• This is the point where Jesus ascended into heaven
• And this is the 'still-to-be-determined' time when Jesus will Return to Earth
• Everything between here and here can be accurately described as 'the final days'
• Now if you're still having trouble understanding this-
• Hang in there with me.
• It should all begin to make sense in a minute
• Biblically speaking- between here and here is a period of time known as 'the final days'
• Paul lived in them- Timothy lived in them
• We're living in them
• And if Jesus doesn't come again for another 20,000 years Christians in the year 12,007 will be living in them
• Now I want you to notice one more thing about Acts 1
• Read what Jesus says in verse 8
• What Jesus has described is the birth, the life, the mission and the ministry of the church
• Do you begin to see how all this fits together?
• The period between here and here are the final days before Jesus comes again
• And that period of time happens to constitute the lifespan of the church!
• To put it another way: The church- the people of God on Earth...
• Always have been
• And always will be- living in the final days!
• What does this mean in practical terms? As the people of God on Earth
• We've got to live with the expectation that Jesus might return today
• But also realize He might not come again for another 10,000 years!
• We'll let Jesus have the last word on this matter. Matthew 24:36-42

THE PERSECUTIONS I HAVE ENDURED

• Now with all that in mind- let's skip down to 2 Timothy 3:10-13
• Folks:
• This is not a 'don't worry- feel happy' passage of Scripture
• It says that in the final days- the lifespan of the church on Earth- Christians can expect to be persecuted
• Now the idea of being persecuted is not a pleasant thought
• Persecution involves severe suffering for the cause of Christ
• Persecution seeks to intimidate, silence, punish, or even kill people for their faith
• Which is why I get sick and tired of hearing American Christians and T.V. evangelists talk about being persecuted
• Look- persecution is not about...
• People making fun of you on television shows or in movies
• Or calling Christmas trees- holiday trees
• Or removing compulsory prayer in the public schools
• Persecution is about having someone come up to you and offering you a terrible choice:
• You can deny Jesus and live
• Or you can profess your faith in Christ and be imprisoned or killed!
• Now here's where you need to understand something: There have always been Christians who faced this kind of persecution on a daily basis
• In Biblical days Paul did- Peter did- John did- Timothy did
• Even today Christians are being persecuted for their faith
• The South Korean missionaries who are being held hostage in Afghanistan are
• So are Christians living in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Indonesia
• Please read Mark 13:9-13
• Make no mistake about it: As a Christian- living in the final days- you can expect to have your faith tested
• It's not a question of 'if'
• It's a question of 'when, where and how'
• But when you face times of testing or persecution Jesus wants you to keep your eyes on the prize:
• As a born-again child of God you will spend eternity with the Lord in heaven!
• It may happen when:
• You die physically
• Jesus comes again
• But it's GOING to happen!
• And THAT will put everything you faced here on Earth in perspective
• Please read Romans 8:17-18
• And just in case you still wonder if it'll be worth it- read what 1 Corinthians 2:9 says.

CONTINUE IN WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

• Getting back to 2 Timothy 3- let's look at what it says in verses 14-17
• Earlier I mentioned that when it comes to eschatology some Christians become obsessed. They do nothing but...
• Read books
• Study charts and time-lines
• Search for obscure 'signs of the times'
• And develop elaborate theories about Jesus' Second Coming
• These obsessives will proudly say things like this: "I'm a dispensational, pre-millennial, mid-tribulationialist"
• REALLY? That's weird!
• You certainly don't LOOK like one!
• Look- there's nothing wrong with reading books on eschatology or subscribing to a particular theory about the Second Coming
• As long as you remember one thing
• This Book (hold up the Bible)
• God's holy, infallible, inerrant Word-
• This Book- trumps everything else
• This is Paul's point to Timothy
• If you stay grounded in the absolute truth of God's Word
• You won't drift into error, heresy or confusion
• To put it another way:
• If your hope is built on the solid foundation of the Word of God
• You can know- beyond a shadow of a doubt- that'll you'll be o-k no matter how God elects to have it all play out

CONCLUSION

• See- that's the part of eschatology that a lot of Christians miss
• Some people find it so intimidating- so scary- they ignore it all together
• While other people become so obsessed with it- they miss everything else
• But when you turn back to the Bible- it will:
• Liberate you from fear
• And release you from obsession
• Please read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
• It's interesting that while this passage contains the most direct teaching on the Second Coming found anywhere in the Bible
• The main focus is not on the event itself
• The main focus is on the hope we have as born-again, 'saved-by-grace' believers
• After all the terrible times- after everything works itself out according to God's plan- after Jesus finally Comes Again
• Every born-again child of God will be in heaven!
• We'll be together- in the presence of the Living Lord- for all eternity!
• Now THAT'S good news! Let us pray