depravity & difficulty

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 Timothy 3:1

Paul reminds Timothy that he is ministering in the last days. Yes... that’s right... two thousand years ago in the Roman Empire, as Christianity was still in its infancy, the perspective on the times was that Jesus could return at any moment to judge the present world. This is why the days were difficult. Paul instructed Timothy to preach and guard the gospel, not to usher in some mythical utopia, but to counteract the evil of the last days. The days are expected to be difficult.

The days are difficult because the people are depraved. Verses two through five rattle off a long list of depravity as it is clearly seen in a culture. These are things that drive people who are outside of the gospel. These are what we should expect of human beings. They look quite familiar:

- loving self     - loving money     - proud

- disobedient     - heartless     - arrogant

- ungrateful      - insatiable      - abusive

- unholy      - slanderous     - not self-controlled

- brutal     - hating good     - treacherous

- reckless     - conceited     - loving pleasure rather than loving God

- appearing godly by lacking power

The last two in particular show that these elements of depravity infiltrate and threaten the church. They are not distant threats on some eschatological timeline yet to be. Paul saw them as a present problem and warned Timothy to “avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5).

So what is my perspective to be? I have to believe I too am living in the last days when it comes to gospel ministry. And I have to adopt the same mindset that the early church had on this. These are difficult days (they always have been) because the light of truth always confronts the darkness of evil. I should expect to see the gospel opposed because it is ALWAYS opposed. I do not live in some utopian culture where nationalistic Christianity is to be expected or even advocated. That circumvents the gospel from doing it’s necessary convicting and confronting counter-culture work! In these times of difficulty I must believe, trust, guard, and proclaim the gospel to a difficult culture. Depraved people need the transformative gospel. Only Jesus can turn sinners into saints!