“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, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, 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” (II Timothy 3:1-7).
Did the apostle Paul “time-warp” into the future and read my local newspaper? Did he watch religious TV broadcasts? Was he here when the presidential elections took place and hung around for the post-election protests? I believe that the Word of God is eternal, because the Word of God is absolute truth. There is no expiration date on the truth. Paul could write these words about what our world would look like, because the Holy Spirit of God inspired his writing. It is important for you and me to catch this thought today. The words in our Bible are not words of men, but words that come directly from the heart of God to us! This is why we ought to spend time daily in this incredible book!
The description Paul wrote here is more than accurate for the days we are living in today. Because this is the world we are living in, it is vitally important that we follow the instruction that comes later in this chapter. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (II Timothy 3:14). This verse brings back precious memories of my mom teaching us the Word of God. She taught us in Sunday School. She taught us in Jr. Church. She taught us in our home. More importantly than all these, she lived these truths for us every day we were alive. She (and my dad) lived these truths all the way until the time she stepped into Heaven.
Today our world is a mess. Today our world seems to be in a spiritual “free-fall.” But today, I still have the honor of opening the Word of God and finding it’s truths to be stable and dependable. I will stand today on the spot I was taught from my youth. My mom taught me the little chorus: “I stand alone on the Word of God … the B-I-B-L-E!” Her parents stood there … she and my dad stood there … my wife and I are standing there … our kids and their spouses are standing there … I pray our grandchildren will stand there too!