The Dangerous Times of the Modern Christian

Dangerous is a modern word that is used quite a bit more than the older used word,"perilous" in our language today, but conveys most probably the same meaning for modern readers. While in thought and prayer this morning the following scriptures came to mind when reflecting upon our current state of affairs, and chillingly befitting today's societal state.

2 Timothy 3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

3 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

² For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

³ [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate andloose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

⁴ [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.

⁵ For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

With a loss of the fear of God, there is a loss of knowledge of truth. A myopic view of inflated egos an overestimation of our own greatness and ability to control the world rules the day. We now are faced with a situation of grave concern for the Christian Church. Comfort has replaced a dissatisfaction with the level of purity and righteousness in our own lives. A strong desire to be liked and accepted has replaced a deep concern for holiness and a deep concern for living with a clean conscious and pure heart before the Almighty.

 We are indeed living in a dangerous and hazardous time, having no knowledge that we are not living up to the true standards of Christ, we are of all people most pitiful, bastardizing the old standards and pure gospel preached by our founding church fathers. We rejoice and feel satisfied with our faith, we justify our personal standards, all the while we have lost our way. We may pick and choose individual sinful acts or situations and think we are pleasing God, even though our heart is far from the love of being right that truly pleases him.

 We would do well to remember the old words of Samuel in 1 Samuel, chapter 15 verse 22:  Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

While our days wind down, we must reevaluate our position and standards in the society within which we live or continue to go with the flow as it continues to circle faster and faster down the drain.