2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 DO NOT PARTICIPATE WITH THEM

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

We are to “mark” what St. Paul is saying; that is, we are to take note and understand. The first thing we must understand is that the “last days” is the term used in Scripture for the new age that began with the arrival of Jesus and not some future time. So the Apostle is giving a list of attitudes and behaviors that are characteristic of the times in which we live. Therefore, the fact that these are so apparent today should not be taken as a sure sign that Jesus’ return is immanent, but rather as the description of worldly behaviors that believers are to avoid. With the phrase, “having the form of godliness but denying its power,” St. Paul includes the nominal church as a willful participant in such attitudes and behaviors. These days will surely provide large patches of rough and stormy water for the community of believers.

It would be easy to decide that St. Paul is telling us to “Have nothing to do with” the listed characteristics of the people of this time. And, at a certain level, that is of course true. But he uses “people” as the subject in his description. It is clear that the “them” we are to “have nothing to do with” refers to those both in the world and in the church who fit his description. The question for us is who does not in some way fit that description?

Jesus describes his disciples as being in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-18). Being in the world means that we are not to physically separate ourselves from those who live lives that are hostile to God and/or deny the power of godliness. After all, Jesus came into the world and died to save us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). St. Paul went to the synagogue in Iconium and preached the Gospel, and when faced with hostility, the record in Acts tells us of his response. “So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord” (Acts 14:3). He did not leave the synagogue until he was thrown out. However, he did not join in their false teaching (do anything with them), but in contrast spoke boldly for the truth. For believers who are in positions of authority in the church this probably means exercising church discipline. For the rest, it means standing as a witness for the truth and against false teaching and worldly behavior. The smallest light is brightest in the darkest night.

Jesus, through your Spirit ignite in me the flame of your Gospel and empower me to take that flame into the darkness caused by human God-denial so that your fire might provide light and heat for those who are wandering in blindness. Save me not from their darkness but from the darkness that dwells within me. Amen.