People can be downright evil. In fact, most people are downright evil. When we think of evil people, we tend to think of the most evil—like dictators who wipe out major portions of their countries’ populations or the guys who flew planes into the World Trade Towers. Those were evil, right? But Paul wrote of a wider range of people in 2 Timothy 3.1-5:
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (NASB)
Did you know God wants us to avoid some people? How can we live on earth if we avoid all these? I don’t think it means we should never be around them, but that we should not make close friends with these kinds of men and women. We should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6.14).
These godless people don’t follow God. They don’t act like God exists, but they act on their own authority and do only what feels right to them. They don’t love others and are happy to trample anyone who gets in their way.
The fact is, anyone who does not know God falls into this paragraph. Paul wrote also of Christians to say, “And such were some of you,” reminding us we once had hearts like this.
After Paul wrote this list of ungodly characteristics, he told Timothy, “You, however…” (2 Tim. 2.10-11):
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
Timothy followed Paul’s teaching and imitated Paul’s life, which included faith, patience, love, faithfulness, and endurance of persecution. By their fruits you shall know them, Jesus said. Timothy’s fruit proved who he was…just as the fruit of the godless prove who they are. We want to be close friends with Timothys and avoid the godless.
Paul continued to contrast the godly with the godless in 2 Tim. 2.12-13:
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Paul continued with another “But as for you…” (2 Tim. 2.14-17):
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Today, we call these Scriptures of which Paul wrote the Old Testament, but to Timothy they were “the sacred writings” and “Scripture.” Timothy didn’t have a copy of the New Testament. He loved God’s breathed-out word and had firmly believed it, and God made Timothy wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus through those Scriptures.
The godless hate God’s word. They don’t follow it. They don’t adore it. They don’t submit to it.
The godly love the sacred writings. God’s word leads them in every way and equips them for every good work.
We can (and should) judge people by their works. We don’t judge hearts which we cannot see, but we judge deeds that we can. There are people we should avoid, and there are people we should gather around us.
How can we know if God has saved us? Do we follow Paul’s example in patience, faith, and endurance? Do we adore God’s word, hold fast to it, and submit to it? Those are key characteristics of every believer, exposing the gulf between the godless and the godly.
Let us praise God for His faithfulness to His people, for saving us out of this godless generation, and for creating in us a new heart which seeks His kingdom above all else.