I want you to listen very carefully
this morning as I describe to you and warn you of these last
days and perilous times that we live in. In 2 Timothy, the
book of 2 Timothy chapter 3, God's Word warns us of the very
last days preceding the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. when
He shall come and destroy this world and take His people out
of this present evil world, He calls it. And here in 2 Timothy
3, verse 1, it says, This know also that in the last days perilous
times shall come. Perilous times. And these verses
clearly describe the day in which we live. And I want you to notice,
there's no mention in these verses of disasters and wars and calamities
and things of that nature, but it seems to indicate the opposite.
A time of great prosperity and lethargy and peace and security. Let me read it to you. It says,
in the last day, perilous time shall come, men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truth-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, Lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness,
or that is, religion. But they deny the power thereof.
He says, of such turn away and come out from among them. Paul
is warning a young preacher named Timothy. Come out from among
them, God says to all of his people. And he said, this know
also. He just exhorted and told a young
preacher named Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. Don't
be ashamed of the Gospel. Be a partaker of the afflictions
of the Gospel. Be an outspoken witness of the
truth. Don't be entangled in the world. He tells him to preach the Word
in season, out of season, whether it's popular or not. Reprove,
rebuke, correct, instruct. Time will come, he says, that
we will not endure sound doctrine. People will turn away their ears
from the truth. Now he says, this know also that
in the very last days preceding Christ's coming, it will be perilous
time, dangerous time. Though it doesn't seem to be.
The times are very dangerous because of the things of this
world. He says, first of all, men will
be lovers of their own selves. This is a characteristic of the
last day. They're lovers of their own selves,
self-love. If that doesn't describe the
day we live in, There's even a magazine entitled, Self. Everyone
is interested in themselves and in love with themselves. What
can everyone do for me? Well, verse 2 says that lovers
of their own selves covetous. Covetous. Covet, materialism,
things of this world. When Scripture says, Love not
the world, neither the things of the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2.15. Our
Lord said, Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is.
Now, there's no evil in things. The Lord God gives things to
us, as Scripture says, that we might enjoy these things. But
when men and women and young people begin to love these things
over and above God, when they begin to covet these things and
long for these things and forget God, That is covetousness, and
that is idolatry, Scripture calls it. Men should be covetous. There's
never been a more materialistic world than the one we live in,
a society. He goes on to say, the perilous
times, men and women are boasters, and young people, boasters, boasters,
big talkers, talk, talk, talk. It used to be just 40 or 50 years
ago that people let their work do their talking for them, their
walk did their talking for them. But now, social media and all
of this, where everyone has something to say. Scripture says, fools
are known by a multitude of words. It says, the wise man studyeth
to answer, a man of few words. Oh, this is a talkative generation.
Everybody's got something to say, boasting, boasters. If you ever experience the mercy
and grace of God, if you ever come to know the God of the Bible,
Scripture says, God is in heaven, you're upon the earth, let your
words be few. And you certainly won't boast
or brag of anything about yourself, knowing that what you have and
what you are is by the grace of God. Because what do we have
we have not received, the Scripture says. Now if we've received it,
Why would we boast? Why would we brag as if we had
not? The only person that would is that person who knows not
God. We have a society full of boasters,
proud. Oh, how God hates pride, worse
than anything else. Proverbs 16 says, six things
the Lord hate, yet seven are an abomination to Him. And the
first thing is a proud look. And oh, how you see that on the
faces of men and women and even young people all over the world.
Pride. Here's what Isaiah said. Here's
what God says. The lofty looks of man shall
be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. The Lord alone shall be exalted
in that day. He goes on to say, the loftiness
of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall
be made low. Oh, how God hates pride, because
man is nothing. God is all. Blasphemer. In the last days, perilous times,
be blasphemers. Everyone be blaspheming, taking
God's name in vain. Do you not hear it? Do you not
see it? It sickens me. It makes me ill. It grieves me. Everything I see and read, people
are saying, oh my God, giving no thought that they're taking
God's name in vain. And He said He will not hold
him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Those who know God,
Fear Him. They fear His name. They will
not use His name except in worship, in praise, in thanksgiving, in
reverence, in fear. God's name is to be feared. God's
name is to be exalted. It's not a byword. It's not a
curse word. But those who do not know Him,
it's evident these are the last days because His name is on everyone's
lip and they don't give it a thought. Blasphemer. And there's no worse
blasphemers than religious people, than religion everywhere. Yes,
religion. You see these signs, these billboards
everywhere? It's called the God Campaign
that is supported by most Protestant churches everywhere where they
write something on a big black billboard that supposedly God
says and they sign His name to it. God didn't say those things. How dare men say something that
God said and sign His name to it? That's blasphemy. Blasphemy. It goes on to say, They'll be
disobedient to parents. Oh my, it's a world full of unruly,
undisciplined, spoiled, worthless, useless, demanding, impotent
children. Disobedient to parents. No respect
for authority, for elders, none whatsoever. Unthankful, it says,
unthankful. That's what Romans 1 says, that
we're not thankful. Why? Because they don't believe
God gave them what they have. Unthankful to God, unthankful
to one another, demanding, expecting things. He goes on to say, they're
unthankful. And they are unholy. Unholy,
that is unjust, unrighteous. Holiness is things that are dedicated
and consecrated to God. Whatever is true, honest, just,
pure, lovely, of good report, virtue. Unholy is the opposite. Unholy is filth, vice, wickedness,
uncleanness, wretchedness. Oh, that describes the day we
live in. Look around you. Unholy, without natural affection,
it says, without natural affection. Romans 1 talks about how that
when people reject God, then God gives them over to filthiness
of the flesh, fornication. Homosexuality is rampant. It's absolutely an abomination
to God. It's filthy, men with men, women
with women. It's filthy, and it will receive
just recompense, Romans 1 said, judgment. God calls it an abomination. Animals don't even do that. Without
natural affection, and he goes on to say, truce breakers, covenant
breakers, marriage, friendship, no one's word means a thing today.
False accusers, it says. False accusers, slander, gossip,
tail-bearing, liars, people accusing one another and loving nothing
more than to bring someone's reputation down. Is that not
the day we live in? Traitors, heady, heady, so full
of vain conceit, vain glory, high-minded. Oh, what grandiose
schemes and things that men think about man. How high we're going
to go. Lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. Lovers of pleasure. more than
lovers of God. He says they're incontinent,
that is, unable to restrain their temper, their passions, their
lusts, their desires, intemperate in all things, food, drink, sex,
fierce, violent, despisers of those that are good, calling
people that warn others of these things homophobic when they're
just telling the truth about what God's Word says, trying
to warn people, despise those that are good, They call them
straight. Well, God says straight is the
gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to eternal life. Well,
it says they're lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God and they
have a form of godliness. They're religious. Religion's
everywhere. But they deny the power thereof. What power? The life-changing walk-changing, mind-changing
power of the Gospel of God, the Word of God that takes a child of Satan and makes him
a child of God. They deny it. In every work,
they deny it. And religion is the worst. They
deny the absolute sovereignty of God and put everything in
man's hands, giving man a free will when the Scripture says
no such thing, that God works all things after the counsel
of His will. Well, he tells young Timothy,
and I'm telling you, all who hear this today, come out from
among them from such turn away. Come out from among them. Be
you separate. God said, and I'll be your father, I'll be your
God, and you'll be my people. What do you think about the world
we live in? God says it's filthy, vile, and wretched, but
He has a people in it, and they're still here to testify of the
truth. And I'm here to tell you today,
in the name of God, from His Word, that if you come To Christ,
if you call on Him, He'll save you from this untoward generation. Repentance and faith toward the
Lord Jesus Christ is salvation. Come to Christ. Come out from
among them. In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Amen.