Flipping through my Bible this morning, I was trying to find all the places, in the New Testament, that talked about the end times. Specifically the signs of the times. My eyes fell upon the title in 2 Timothy 3- "Perilous Times and Perilous Men" it says the following:
3:1-7
"But know this, that in the last days perilous time 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.
Those in bold are what really stuck out to me. Reading it again, even more stick out to me as being so true in today's generation.
How interesting it is that this passage begins with men being lovers of themselves. One must love himself, but not to an extreme of loving himself so much that he loses sight of others and places so much emphasis on himself that he believes that he is able to do everything in his own strength. We must die to ourselves daily. We must know WHO we are in Christ and not label ourselves by the worlds standards. Who are we to think that we are something without Christ?
Onto those that stuck out to me the most:
Having a form of godliness but denying its power.
~ What comes to mind as I read this is religion. Pure religion instead of relationship. Labels. How we put a look and a label to christianity. How we say and do all the good and right things when God doesn't look at the outward appearance, He looks at our heart. This goes to the deepest core of relationship. A relationship with our Creator (and the list can go on and on about who God is), a relationship that embodies holiness and righteousness through Christ alone, and recognizing the power. The word form shows me that we literally have our own picture or structure of what godliness should look like which limits, confines and restrains its purpose and power. What is the power of godliness? I'll investigate this further and let you know my discoveries.....
Always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
~What a statement! To be honest, I've certainly felt this way before, but in the right sense. Learning from the Lord through His word and through confirmation from other people, but not actually stepping out and doing anything about it, or not completely knowing what to do with the information given to me. This statement contrasts this similiar feeling but ends with the fact of never being able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The very essense of the truth. In the verse after this it talks about how they resist the truth. Essentially, those who are always learning but never letting the truth sink in deep, instead putting their time and effort into learning more and more, when it comes down to coming to the full knowledge and understanding of the truth---Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. Ultimately, the ability to come to the knowledge of the truth is deeply rooted in truly knowing Truth (Jesus/Father/Holy Spirit) not just with the mind but with the spirit, actually being able to live the truth, and walk in the fullness.
So, do we have a grasp of what godliness is? Are we walking in the godly manner outlined in Scripture and not the worlds form of godliness? Are we seeking Truth Himself to give us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding into who we are in Him, who He is, and how He desires us to walk in the knowledge He gives us as He draws us closer and calls us to be One with Himself?
