Every generation presents crises and problems to try the souls of men. David could well have been writing for today when he prayed, “Do thou, O Lord, protect us, guard us ever from this generation. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the sons of men” (Ps. 12:7, 8).
Our Lord spoke of the people of his own time as “an evil and adulterous generation” (Matt. 12:39) and also predicted that in the end times “iniquity will abound” (Matt. 24:12).
The Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1:18–25 the unspeakable depths of degradation of which mankind is capable, and his letter to Timothy tells what may be expected in the “last days.” These will be “times of stress,” or “perilous times,” says Paul. He then gives a detailed description of those who are to walk the earth during those days: “Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it” (2 Tim. 3:2–5).
Whether we are living in the last times no one knows, but those conditions that Paul tells us will obtain at the end of the age are surely upon us now. The accuracy of his prophecy can be seen in any newspaper, any day.
When he says to “Avoid such people,” Paul unquestionably means that we are to avoid their evil ways and to show by our own lives that the Christian is different, that he lives in the world to glorify God and not himself in all that he does.
Having described the godless generation that will bring about perilous times, Paul gives Timothy some detailed advice: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed” (v. 14).
To “continue,” to “endure,” to be “faithful”—this God requires of his own. We continue in our faith because of the utter sovereignty and trustworthiness of God. In reminding Timothy of the origin of his faith, which was rooted in the holy Scriptures that are “able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 15), Paul proceeds with an incomparable affirmation of the integrity and authority of the Word of God: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (vv. 16, 17).
Can it be that many young men now graduate from our seminaries as spiritual cripples because their faith in the truthfulness of this statement has been destroyed?
Several years ago an evangelical scholar was invited to speak at a world-famous liberal seminary. In later conversations one of the students remarked, “We have enjoyed your lecture because you are the first scholar we have heard since I came here who has convictions on the eternal verities.”
The Apostle Paul gives Timothy a solemn charge: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths” (4:1–4).
In the face of apostasy Timothy was told, “Be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (v. 5).
Here is a lesson for us today. All around us there are signs of multiplied and multiplying evil, of subversions of the truth, of apostasy. We must stand firm, look beyond these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, and realize that he is eternal, always the same. What he requires of us is faithfulness. What he has supplied is his unchanging Gospel. There is much talk today about “making” the Gospel “relevant.” Well, it is the most relevant thing in all the world because it speaks to man’s ever present need, that of a new heart.
I regretfully admit that for some the message of the Gospel has been reduced to a sequence of clichés, correct in form but lacking in power. The power of the Gospel rests solely in the love that prompted God’s redemptive work and love in our hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit. A loveless orthodoxy is a travesty, one of which many of us have often been guilty. At the same time a Christless humanitarianism may make the bodies of men more comfortable but leaves their spirits barren and empty.
Paul’s admonition to Timothy speaks clearly to us today: In the face of evil on every hand, stick to your message, a message based, not on the philosophy or opinions of man, but on the holy Scriptures with their offer of salvation through Christ. These, Paul affirms, are inspired by God and because of this are “profitable” in meeting man’s basic needs for:
“Teaching”—man is ever searching for truth, and that truth is to be found in God’s revelation, not in human speculation.
“Reproof”—like a wayward child, man needs repeated warnings against sin and reproof, lest he continue in the way that means certain death.
“Correction”—the level, the square, and the plumb line enable the builder to erect a house properly. The Bible shows man where his life is out of line with God’s requirements and gives him the solution to his moral and spiritual problems.
“Training in righteousness”—man needs reproof and correction, and he also needs training in the ways that are right. In the Scriptures he finds the answers to the problems of everyday living, and clearly stated principles by which he is put on the right track and kept there.
Finally Paul tells Timothy that with the Scriptures as the basis of faith and life, the Christian may become “complete, equipped for every good work.”
It is precisely at this point that we are weak today. We are influenced too much by man rather than by God and his Word. We are more prone to accept the philosophical presuppositions of man, even when contrary to revealed truth, than to accept truth itself.
Because the days are evil, we must look as never before to God for his sustaining grace. He does not require of us anything for which he does not provide the necessary wisdom, strength, and guidance. Because he is faithful, we must be faithful; we must endure hardness and keep hearts and minds open to his leading. The distractions are legion, the attacks come from every side; but the “whole armor of God” is complete in every detail. The Sword of the Spirit is the one weapon against which Satan cannot stand.
