The Terrible People Of Terrible Times
The Terrible People of Terrible Times
© 2010 www.RevEarlJackson.com
2Ti 3:1-9 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
The word here for “perilous” could also be translated as “terrible”. Terrible times have come. This is clear from even a simple reading of this passage. The ascriptions given to these terrible people of the terrible times that Paul speaks about, are clearly describing the people of our own day. There is no question here that Paul is describing “lost people”. He says that they are “men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith”. Reprobates are not Christians. Neither are most of the terrible people in our world today.
It has become fashionable for the Christian community to not only be tolerant of the lost, setting the trends, and determining even the direction and tone in Churches, but we have also lost the ability to criticize them based upon the plain words of scripture. I was at a church recently, where a gay pastor was installed and a queer lifestyle was openly endorsed, even to the point of same sex marriage. This, I find to be a incredible violation of scripture, and blasphemy to God. Christians are to be people who stand for what is right, and who determine what is right from God’s word. That means we speak of things in the same terms that God speaks of them. It means that if God says that they have “corrupt minds”, we will not hesitate to say that their minds are corrupt also. If the Holy Spirit says they are “reprobates” then that’s what we should call them as well. But sadly the language which should distinguish us from the world, is missing today, because we have let the world tell us how to think. The world says that if we call homosexuals, or any other God-rejecters, “reprobates”, or “men of corrupt minds”, that we are not being loving and kind. We are being homophobic. We are being prejudiced. If you listen to this nonsense, you are letting the world dictate, not only your choice of language, but your doctrines and beliefs as well.
Since when does the world define what “loving and kind” means for believers? What they mean is that we should embrace their effeminate, homosexual, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, non-offensive, Jesus who throws daisies and rose petals everywhere he goes. If they view our language as offensive and harsh, then they say it is not loving and not kind. If you are a Christians you need to evaluate what is going on around you, and maybe even in your church. These people would call the real Jesus, the real Apostles and Prophets, unloving and unkind as well. So who are you going to follow? the real Jesus and His Apostles? or these reprobates who are trying to turn the church into a sinners country club, where they can cozy up to the bar and get drunk on new wine, but live in open sin, brazen defiance of God and teach others to do the same?
Does the language Paul uses here to describe these “terrible people”, who bring about “terrible times”, sound “loving and kind” according to the worlds definition? “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. Sounds like pretty harsh, straightforward non-pussyfooting language to me. Sounds like Paul is calling an Ace and Ace and a Spade a Spade. Of course the language is harsh and condemnatory. I don’t sense any jellyfish wobbling to bow down and be compassionate to these “terrible people” who are Godless Christ-rejecters. We are nowhere commanded to “love sinners”. I hear that unbiblical stuff all the time “we are to love the sinner, but not his sin”. Where is that in the Bible? We are to do neither. We are to condemn sinners and their sins, because neither they nor their sins will enter God’s kingdom of holiness and righteousness (Isa. 55:7; Rom. 1:18; Rom. 3:10-19; 1Cor. 6:9-11). We are commanded to “love the brethren” (1Pet. 2:17) and to “love one another” (Jn. 13:25), but we are nowhere commanded to love ungodly men or their ungodly deeds. Jesus’ commands to ’love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27; Lk. 6:35) have reference to what to do when being persecuted, and really have no bearing on witnessing to the lost at all. To turn Jesus words into commands to love the ungodly, is simply to twist what He taught. He loved us, when we were ungodly, but there are plenty of people whom he hates, and we should do the same (Ps. 26:5; Ps. 101:3-8; Ps. 139:21-22; Hos. 9:15: Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13). When the world tells us to love the sinner, they are telling us lies, they are telling us to be wishy-washy, and to allow what he is doing, and to be tolerant and gushy with a false compassion. The time has come when the righteous need to use God’s language to condemn the ungodly and their invasion into the churches. These people are “lovers of themselves” and not lovers of God. They are “unholy, blasphemers”. Their godliness is all in outward “form”, traditions, rituals, liturgy, false doctrines, emotionalism etc. and They have no “power” in their religion. The religion of Christ, the Apostles and Prophets is a religion of “power” and that is evidenced by their powerful speech (Jn. 7:46; 1Cor. 2:4). Our religion is weak and meaningless today, because we refuse to speak the words of the Bible. If our religion were power filled, then our words would be also power filled, and scriptural. We will assess men, and call them what God calls them. Failure to do that, is complicity in their sins. Failure to speak the truth, is the exact opposite of love. It is the real hatred, because it hates what God has said, and prefers to mollycoddle the evil ones.
Times are indeed terrible. Blame it on the “terrible people”. You are one of the “terrible people” yourself, if you are ashamed of the Lord and His plain speech recorded in the scriptures. Recognize these evils, and call them what they are. Align yourself with God, and quit letting the world tell you how to think, how to speak, and how to serve God. The church takes directives only from one, and He is not a woos who does not know how to use the powerful words of truth and godliness. We must start talking like God. If we don’t, things will only get far worse. May God raise up a new generation who will freely wield the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
© 2010 www.RevEarlJackson.com
2Ti 3:1-9 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
The word here for “perilous” could also be translated as “terrible”. Terrible times have come. This is clear from even a simple reading of this passage. The ascriptions given to these terrible people of the terrible times that Paul speaks about, are clearly describing the people of our own day. There is no question here that Paul is describing “lost people”. He says that they are “men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith”. Reprobates are not Christians. Neither are most of the terrible people in our world today.
It has become fashionable for the Christian community to not only be tolerant of the lost, setting the trends, and determining even the direction and tone in Churches, but we have also lost the ability to criticize them based upon the plain words of scripture. I was at a church recently, where a gay pastor was installed and a queer lifestyle was openly endorsed, even to the point of same sex marriage. This, I find to be a incredible violation of scripture, and blasphemy to God. Christians are to be people who stand for what is right, and who determine what is right from God’s word. That means we speak of things in the same terms that God speaks of them. It means that if God says that they have “corrupt minds”, we will not hesitate to say that their minds are corrupt also. If the Holy Spirit says they are “reprobates” then that’s what we should call them as well. But sadly the language which should distinguish us from the world, is missing today, because we have let the world tell us how to think. The world says that if we call homosexuals, or any other God-rejecters, “reprobates”, or “men of corrupt minds”, that we are not being loving and kind. We are being homophobic. We are being prejudiced. If you listen to this nonsense, you are letting the world dictate, not only your choice of language, but your doctrines and beliefs as well.
Since when does the world define what “loving and kind” means for believers? What they mean is that we should embrace their effeminate, homosexual, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, non-offensive, Jesus who throws daisies and rose petals everywhere he goes. If they view our language as offensive and harsh, then they say it is not loving and not kind. If you are a Christians you need to evaluate what is going on around you, and maybe even in your church. These people would call the real Jesus, the real Apostles and Prophets, unloving and unkind as well. So who are you going to follow? the real Jesus and His Apostles? or these reprobates who are trying to turn the church into a sinners country club, where they can cozy up to the bar and get drunk on new wine, but live in open sin, brazen defiance of God and teach others to do the same?
Does the language Paul uses here to describe these “terrible people”, who bring about “terrible times”, sound “loving and kind” according to the worlds definition? “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. Sounds like pretty harsh, straightforward non-pussyfooting language to me. Sounds like Paul is calling an Ace and Ace and a Spade a Spade. Of course the language is harsh and condemnatory. I don’t sense any jellyfish wobbling to bow down and be compassionate to these “terrible people” who are Godless Christ-rejecters. We are nowhere commanded to “love sinners”. I hear that unbiblical stuff all the time “we are to love the sinner, but not his sin”. Where is that in the Bible? We are to do neither. We are to condemn sinners and their sins, because neither they nor their sins will enter God’s kingdom of holiness and righteousness (Isa. 55:7; Rom. 1:18; Rom. 3:10-19; 1Cor. 6:9-11). We are commanded to “love the brethren” (1Pet. 2:17) and to “love one another” (Jn. 13:25), but we are nowhere commanded to love ungodly men or their ungodly deeds. Jesus’ commands to ’love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44; Lk. 6:27; Lk. 6:35) have reference to what to do when being persecuted, and really have no bearing on witnessing to the lost at all. To turn Jesus words into commands to love the ungodly, is simply to twist what He taught. He loved us, when we were ungodly, but there are plenty of people whom he hates, and we should do the same (Ps. 26:5; Ps. 101:3-8; Ps. 139:21-22; Hos. 9:15: Mal. 1:3; Rom. 9:13). When the world tells us to love the sinner, they are telling us lies, they are telling us to be wishy-washy, and to allow what he is doing, and to be tolerant and gushy with a false compassion. The time has come when the righteous need to use God’s language to condemn the ungodly and their invasion into the churches. These people are “lovers of themselves” and not lovers of God. They are “unholy, blasphemers”. Their godliness is all in outward “form”, traditions, rituals, liturgy, false doctrines, emotionalism etc. and They have no “power” in their religion. The religion of Christ, the Apostles and Prophets is a religion of “power” and that is evidenced by their powerful speech (Jn. 7:46; 1Cor. 2:4). Our religion is weak and meaningless today, because we refuse to speak the words of the Bible. If our religion were power filled, then our words would be also power filled, and scriptural. We will assess men, and call them what God calls them. Failure to do that, is complicity in their sins. Failure to speak the truth, is the exact opposite of love. It is the real hatred, because it hates what God has said, and prefers to mollycoddle the evil ones.
Times are indeed terrible. Blame it on the “terrible people”. You are one of the “terrible people” yourself, if you are ashamed of the Lord and His plain speech recorded in the scriptures. Recognize these evils, and call them what they are. Align yourself with God, and quit letting the world tell you how to think, how to speak, and how to serve God. The church takes directives only from one, and He is not a woos who does not know how to use the powerful words of truth and godliness. We must start talking like God. If we don’t, things will only get far worse. May God raise up a new generation who will freely wield the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.
©2012 Earl Jackson All Rights Reserved
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PERMISSION IS GRANTED to post this article on any website or blog, or other electronic media, provided it is posted in it's entirety without alteration, and a clear link is included back to this website. No permission for hard copy, print, or other use is hereby granted. This article may not be sold or used on for profit websites or projects. CLICK HERE to send us any links to the places where you put this article.
