In the Last Days Difficult Times Will Come—Reckless, Conceited, Lovers of Pleasure
March 20, 2006
Dear Friends
The next set of characteristics in 2 Timothy 3 is “reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.â€
“Reckless†is the Greek word propetes which means rash or ill-conceived. The only other occurrence of this word in Scripture is spoken by the town clerk of Ephesus in response to the riots there. Luke describes in Acts the nature of the situation. “The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater..So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.†(Acts 19:29, 32 NASB) To this the clerk said “You ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.†(v. 36) We would suggest that this rashness is not out of acting in haste because sometimes quick thinking is required. When our house is on fire, we can’t stand back and deliberate endlessly on the course of action. “Should I call the fire department first and then get some water or..†When we are faced with difficultly, we don’t need to be rash, we need to be prudent and wise.
We would suggest then that the opposite of propetes (reckless) is not long deliberation, but spiritual thinking. The opposite of being reckless is being careful and thoughtful in our decisions. This type of thinking brings calm to confusion and accord where there was discord. It brings the wisdom from above into the chaos of this world. Unfortunately, in the Last Days, it appears that this type of spiritual thinking will be in short supply.
The next attribute is being conceited (Gr. tetuphomenos). A bishop, according to Paul, was not to be a novice or a new convert in case he would be tetuphomenos and “fall into the condemnation.†(1 Tim. 3:6) In the same letter, Paul describes those afflicted with tetuphomenos. “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud (tetuphomenos).†(6:3, 4) There is a real paradox at play in this person and in that paradox lays a real danger. The sin of tetuphomenos in a perfect world would be basis enough to humble a man. Yet, since their sin is the inability to recognize themselves for who they really are, they have no ready solution to their problem. Perhaps this is what the writer of this Proverb was alluding to when he said “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.†(Pr 26:12)
There is a definite Bible echo in the next trait of being “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.†The echo, of course, is to the description of Moses in Hebrews 11. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin†(v. 24, 25) We too have a choice to make: do we choose the “passing pleasures of sin†or God? Again, it seems in the Last Days, far too many brethren will chose the “passing pleasures of sin.†The passage goes a step further in describing these people. They will be “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.†These hypocrites are only play-acting. They go about their lives imbibing the sins of this life and all the while projecting an outer appearance of piety. They see clearly enough to know that virtue is worthy to be mimicked, but not well enough to see that virtue simply mimicked is the worst of vices. They act this way because they deny the power of God. Had they acknowledged His power in faith, such hypocrisy would be impossible.
We will wrap this series up, Lord willing, next week.
Have a great week!
