Today In The Word - Moody Bible Institute Charge to Be on Guard Against Sins of the “Last Days” Read 2 Timothy 3:1–9 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:1 When opposing Moses and his message to let God’s people go, the magicians of Egypt found initial success (Exodus 7–9). They, too, were able to turn their rods into snakes and water into blood, as well as to conjure up frogs. From the fourth plague of gnats onward, however, they were clearly outmatched by God’s power. In the end, God freed His people from bondage! Just as surely as those magicians, wrote Paul, false teachers will be exposed and fail (vv. 8–9). In the meantime, during the “last days,” we can expect “terrible times” (v. 1). The “last days” can be read the same as “later times” (1 Tim. 4:1), that is, as the period of time between the first and second comings of Christ (Heb. 1:1–2; 1 Peter 1:20). Like Paul and Timothy, we, too, live during this time in history. We, too, live in a period in which people love many things ahead of God, including themselves, money, and pleasure (vv. 2–5). They embrace sins such as pride, greed, anger, and dishonesty, and reject virtues such as love, forgiveness, and self-control. How does such a lifestyle qualify even as a “form” of godliness? Thinking again about the false teachers in Ephesus, they claimed to know God, yet were empty of His truth and power. Sound doctrine and sound living require godly discernment. Many things will try to masquerade as holiness. As mentioned, the false teachers might appear to have limited success, but their days were numbered (vv. 6–9). They wouldn’t get far—truth would win out. While they might victimize some “gullible women”—perhaps the “new Roman women” described on July 7—their irrational folly in opposing God’s truth would inevitably be uncovered and collapse. For more than two millennia, Christian believers have waited for the Second Coming. The cry of our hearts is “Maranatha” or “Come, Lord!” (1 Cor. 16:22). The NIV text note reveals that “Maranatha” reproduces an Aramaic expression use by early Christians to express their strong desire for Christ to return. Let “Maranatha” be our prayer today!
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 14:10:29 +0000