2 Timothy, Part Twenty-One

Terrible Times, Sinful People and the Last Days, Part 1

2 Timothy 3v1-5

Part 1

13^th November 2026

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, was was serving as the pastor of the church in Ephesus in the middle of the first century. The purpose of his letter was to instruct Timothy about church leadership and to encourage him to trust God and be bold in the proclamation of the truth. He begins the third chapter of this letter with the words:

2 Timothy 3v1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

This passage begins with Paul informing Timothy that There will be terrible times in the last days. He then describes the character of some of the people who will live in the last days. The passage ends with Paul telling Timothy to Have nothing to do with such people. It follows that these people were alive at the same time as Timothy, and so Timothy, who lived in the first century AD, was living in the last days.

This is one of many scripture passages that show that the phrase "the last days" does not refer to a short period at the end of the church age, just before the Second Coming of Christ. The last days had already begun when Timothy was alive.

Many famous preachers speak about the last days as if they're entirely in the future. Many claim that they're about to start. These ideas are spoken about so often in churches and in books that many Christians assume them to be correct, but saying something many times doesn't make it true. The Bible says the last days have been with us for 2,000 years. This is shown in such passages as Luke's account of Peter's sermon on the first Christian Pentecost:

Acts 2v14-18
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.'"

It is also confirmed in:

Hebrews 1v1-2
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

James 5v1-3
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

So, taking these scriptures together, Jesus was alive in the last days, the Holy Spirit was given to the church in the last days, the first-century rich people hoarded wealth in the last days, and there were terrible times in the last days.

Timothy needed to know that there would be terrible times in the last days because he needed to be ready to lead the church through those terrible times. The times were terrible because people were sinners. Paul warned him:

2 Timothy 3v2-5a
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power.

People are still like that. People are still sinners. We are still in the last days.

Paul advises Timothy how to handle this situation. His advice applies to pastors today just as it did then:

2 Timothy 3v5b
Have nothing to do with such people.

It is contrary to a Christian's instincts to turn away from anybody. Jesus was called the friend of sinners (Matthew 11v19) and we want to be friends of sinners. He taught us to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22v39) and we want to obey Him. However, some people are so potentially destructive to the church, to the Gospel, and to individual Christian people, that we must turn away from them. Anybody whose conduct or speech consistently causes harm must be excluded from church.

Church disciple must be imposed. This has become a less popular doctrine than it once was, but it's vital for the heath and the mission of the church. Many pastors find this emotionally difficult but it's not an optional extra. Pastors - shepherds of God's people - must protect God's people.

If a severely damaging, disruptive, obstructive, sinful person has been excluded from church, and if he genuinely repents, then we can welcome him back, but not before.

Somebody might ask, "We're all sinners, aren't we? So how can we exclude some people and not others?" There is a simple answer: Some of us are repentant sinners, genuinely seeking the kingdom of God. Some of us are unrepentant sinners, seeking our own pleasure and power. They are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. We must discern who is in each group, and act accordingly.