Jump Start # 886

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Paul’s words to Timothy, our verse today, are not good news. Paul is realistic and sets forth this section of Scripture with two serious warnings:

1. “…in the last days, difficult times will come” (3:1)

2. “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (3:12)

As time went on, things were not getting better, but instead, worse. Resistance, opposition, and rejection of the very things that Paul and Timothy were trying to do would increase. For righteous people, this is hard to grasp. The best thing that could happen to the world is to accept the Gospel of Jesus. Better relationships, better marriages, better families, better communities would be the outcome if the world followed Christ. Love and forgiveness would be a new banner that all would rally around. Selfishness would be replaced with sacrifice and service. Gossip would be gone. Prejudice defeated. Goodness would prevail. Preaching Christ brings those things. Preaching Christ changes the world to a better place. Isaiah pictured warriors beating their swords into plows and the wolf and the lamb lying down together—scenes of the Gospel changing the nature of people.

It would be incredible if everyone, everywhere were a Christian. But that’s not the case. Jesus said that men love darkness more than the light. Paul’s words to Timothy illustrate a growing separation between the man of God and the man of the world. The man of God walks with Christ and lives godly. The man of the world is evil. More than that, he steadily sinks, going from bad to worse. The gap separating the man of God and the man of the world becomes more obvious. Fewer things are in common with the two. The man of the world becomes less interested in the things of God and the man of God becomes less interested in the things of the world.

The expression, “proceed from bad to worse” is most telling. Bad is not as bad as it can get. Bad is not the bottom. Below bad is worse. Have you thought much about that? How can one who is already bad, get worse? The thought is not so much in what they are doing, but in the moral destruction and the lack of conscience that corrodes the soul. Some think nothing of being vile, violent, disrespectful, hateful, obscene and ungodly. The words they say do not embarrass them, although it would peal the paint off the walls. Hurting others—physically, emotionally, mentally causes them to laugh. They do not care. That’s hard to grasp. There are people who simply do not care. They do not care that they offend you, hurt you, take advantage of you, or abuse you. They will swear that they are telling the truth when they are actually lying. They will steal from family. Honor and decency are never on their minds.

Why are they like this? They have gone from bad to worse. Removing God from life is like pulling the old plug in bathtubs, everything goes down the drain. Wrong becomes normal. Wrong is defended. Wrong becomes the standard.

Such words are bad. Can nothing be done to stop the tide of bad becoming worse? What did Paul tell Timothy?

Paul wanted Timothy to “continue in the things you have learned and been convinced of…” Continue. Don’t quit. Don’t get so discouraged that you feel it’s hopeless. Don’t have the motto of Popeye, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Continue on. Continue doing right. Continue walking with Christ. Continue letting your light shine. Continue your prayers. Continue growing your faith. Continue looking for the home in Heaven.

The bad to worse crowd was not to pull Timothy down. If anything, the contrast would be so dramatic and obvious that some would be attracted. The evil to worse crowd lives for the moment. They have no answers for hard times, suffering and especially death. The bottom drops out, they fall. The bad to worse crowd can’t explain why we are here, where did we come from and where are we going. They have no answers. The Gospel message is the answer. There is a better way to live.

The same words Paul gave Timothy works for us. We are witnessing things going from bad to worse. Legalizing drugs, redefining marriage, pushing God out, becoming tolerant of all things, even wrong things, more profanity, more immodesty, more immorality –these are the times we live in. Bad to worse. Many of us realize this. The TV shows we grew up with would never make it on Prime Time today. Schools are different. The music is different—not the style, but what they are singing about. People in general seem to be different. Neighbors are as “neighborly” as they once were. More people seem angry and sassy with their mouth. Liberal agendas in politics, religion, and education are pushing things that many of us simply cannot accept. Where is all of this headed?

The bad to worse process is hard to watch. It’s ugly and discouraging. Continue on with what we are convinced of is the answer. Continue to walk with Christ. Continue to find value and hope in Christ. Continue to stand for what is right. Continue to continue. That is the answer. Lincoln once said to be silent is to be a coward. There comes a time when the righteous need to say, “enough!” The world can stick it’s head in a toilet and flush it, but don’t include me. Don’t count on me helping you go from bad to worse. Don’t count on me standing around watching this. There will be some movies and shows on TV that I must say, “Enough!” Don’t count on me watching, nor supporting you in this trash. There will be some songs that I must say, “Enough!” I’m not buying the CD, going to the concert, or wearing the T-shirt. Enough.

I may not be able to stop the bad to worse process, but I certainly can get off that band wagon and not be a part of it. As society gets worse, God’s people must continue on the opposite direction. The world gets worse, and God’s people get better.

We don’t need to organize, campaign or protest. That’s not the answer. It starts with me and my house at home. When there is nothing good on TV, turn it off. Talk with each other, play a game, go for a walk, do something for someone else. CONTIUE with what you are convinced of. When the kids bring friends over, you set the rules in YOUR house. If they won’t go by those things, out the door they go. CONTINUE. Continue to worship regularly, and often. Continue to connect with God through prayer. Continue to grow your faith through a study of God’s word. Continue to be a servant. Continue to fill your mind with good things. Continue. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t be overcome and be one of them. Continue.

Bad to worse, have you noticed it? It’s happening. What are you going to do? I know what God wants you to do…Continue with Him!

Roger

Jump Start # 655

2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

Paul paints a realistic picture of what Timothy and other brethren would encounter. The verse before tells us that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” It’s the “will be” of that sentence that is disturbing. They will be, we will be, persecuted. Then follows our verse today. Things are not getting better with some. We are trying to swim upstream in a downstream world. The evil are getting more evil. Proceeding from bad to worse is not good news.

Society tends to have a three step approach to things that are wrong. First, there is the denial that something is wrong stage. This is where people question whether things are really wrong. They deny the harm that can come about. They deny warnings. It is a softening of things that ought to alarm folks.

Next, there is the acceptance stage. Things that are wrong are tolerated and accepted. No longer are there consideration, discussion and questions. Wrong is approved. Wrong is seen as right. Wrong moves out of the alley into the mainstream.  Wrong becomes normal

The final stage is the proclamation of wrong. Supporters of wrong become vocal. They promote wrong. They challenge those who disagree. They are loud, obnoxious and unwilling to discuss. They have moved from bad to worse. Their constant diet of deception have led them to become deceivers of others.

Most of us can see these three steps in our lifetimes. Divorce was once a bad stigma. A person was embarrassed to admit that they had a divorce. Anymore it is a badge that folks where proudly. Some have defined and even catalogued the various marriages many go through. The first marriage is now called the “starter” marriage. It happens when a couple is young. The next is the “child rearing” marriage. This is a different relationship with a different person. This is the time when the kids are born and raised. Finally, there is the “finisher” marriage. This takes place after the kids have moved out and this is the last marriage a person has. Three marriages. Cute names. Amazing analysis. Denial to acceptance to promotion.

We see the same thing with how society views adultery—denial to acceptance to promotion. We see this with crude language and curse words. Things that are allowed on TV today would never have been accepted a few years ago. What people say in public places would not have been tolerated a generation ago. Language has proceeded from bad to worse. Offensive language is seen on billboards, t-shirts, and on facebook. Denial to acceptance to promotion. We are seeing this taking shape with the homosexual movement—denial to acceptance to promotion. Proceeding from bad to worse.  We see this with the violent behavior of some. Shootings and mass killings once were rare and shocked us. Now we can name them off: Aurora, Columbine, Oklahoma City, Ft. Hood, Tucson…Proceeding from bad to worse.

The departure from God is not a journey to nothingness. Leaving God leads one to bad  and then to worse. No standards. No sacredness of life. No value. Selfish ambition. Denial of a soul. Denial of God. Filling hearts with hatred, selfishness and meanness only leads from bad to worse. Deeper in the pit a person goes, accepting things that they never would before. Shifting the standard of what is wrong and engaging in more evil, more darkness and more godlessness. I think some brethren have their heads in the sand when it comes to these things. They don’t want to see that some are this way. They don’t want to accept that some have gone from bad to worse. It scares them to think that there are many evil people out there. So they live in a fantasy world that things aren’t so bad. They are. Romans tells us that all have sinned. What happens when that sinner keeps sinning? He goes from bad to worse.  When evil speaks out or raises it’s head, these folks are shocked. Without God the light has turned out on the soul. This is the world we live in. There are people who have no moral guilt about lying to you. They have no conscience about taking advantage of you, ripping you off, making fun of you or using you to their advantage. Some delight in cursing the holy name of God. Some flaunt their sinfulness. They are not ashamed, embarrassed nor apologetic. Some of us don’t like to hear these words. Let’s not talk about that. Let’s just talk about good things and the good people. Evil is around us. Let’s be real.

Those old enough to remember, want to put the brakes on all of this and go back to an earlier time. We miss the days of innocence, simplicity and general goodness. What can be done to turn it around? It can’t as a whole. It’s gotten worse. It has already past bad and is the realm of worse. Bad would be an improvement from worse. It will continue to get worse. The only hope is teaching Jesus one by one to each person. Laws won’t change things. Rules are ignored. It’s hearts turning toward God that will make a difference.

The following verse is Paul’s advice to Timothy. “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of…” Don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t join them. Don’t accept their deception that what they are is normal. It is not. It’s bad. It’s worse. Keeping walking with Jesus. Don’t look around. Don’t take your eyes off of Him. In one way we might get discouraged and depressed because things are going from bad to worse. But in other ways we see those who are stepping out of this mess and coming to Christ. Everyday people are deciding that they have believed the world’s lies long enough. They are tired of living in the gutter of life. They want hope. They want forgiveness. They want Christ. We know from Revelation that the victory belongs to Jesus. Christ will win. Some may get loud and rude with their evil choices. They are no match for the powerful Christ.

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word.

Roger