2 Timothy 3:1-9

There have always been depraved men and women in the world. Anyone who is not in a right relationship with God is by definition unrighteous, but that does not mean they are also by definition depraved or evil. Many people who are not in a relationship with God still do their best in their own strength be good people. They are not the type of people that Paul is writing about in these verses.

He describes 18 different characteristics of the people who will bring about terrible times in the last days. These are not people who are seeking to do their best to be good, they are people who have given over to desires rooted in selfishness and depravity. In their selfishness, they have no love for others or for God; they will lie, cheat, steal, and kill to get what they want. They are brutally uncontrolled and hedonistic in their behavior. These people are not newly arrived upon the scene; they existed at the time Paul wrote his letter to Timothy, and they still exist today.

When we look closely at what Paul says, he is not warning Timothy against Christians who may be struggling, or even non-Christians who has never had an encounter with Christ and need to hear the gospel. He is not even warning against a non-Christian who has rejected Christ. Paul is warning Timothy about the person who has encountered Christ, rejected him and now sees the gospel as an opportunity to use God. Their outward appearance is not an accident; they work very hard at camouflaging themselves in religious talk, and church attendance. He is describing a wicked person who is pretending to be a Christian in order to carry out evil depravity.

We must never label someone as “depraved” lightly. However if they are truly depraved and evil, Paul’s instructions still apply. We must avoid having anything to do with such a person. God does not want the church to allow the wicked to hide among us.