There is much about sin in these three letters by Paul to Timothy and Titus. Here is a sampling of some of the references to sin and sinners.

1. The law is for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and for anything else contrary to sound doctrine. (1 Tim. 1:9-10.)
2. Eve was deceived being in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. (1 Tim. 2:14-15.)
3. Elders and deacons should not be men given to wine, not greedy for money, not double-tongued, not proud, not a brawler or striker. (1 Tim. 3:1-13.)
4. Some in the latter times would depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Tim. 4:1.)
5. Some widows were living sinfully, wandering about going from house to house tattling. (1 Tim. 5:6, 13.)
6. Elders who sin should be rebuked before all that others may fear. (1 Tim. 5:20.)
7. The love of money is the root of all evil. Warn the rich about this danger. (1 Tim. 6:10, 17.)
8. 2 Timothy 3 is the longest section warning about the last days and perilous times that would come. Evil men wax worse and worse.
9. Paul described the people in Crete as liars, evil beasts, and lazy. (Titus 1:12-13.)

10) Jesus gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and

purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (Titus

2:14.)

There is a general apostasy being described in these passages. "Some shall depart from the faith" is the overall description by Paul. (1 Tim. 4:1.) These passages are not just the normal sinful condition of mankind, but rather a more widespread falling away from the faith of the Gospel. Other passages likewise speak of this apostasy. 2 Thess. 2:3---"Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first." This second chapter of the letter to the Thessalonians deals at length with this apostasy. Paul’s point is clear that the Second Coming of Jesus would not occur until after this apostasy. This church had much misunderstanding about the Second Coming of Jesus. Some had stopped their work because they anticipated Jesus’ return any day. We do not know for sure the reference Paul had in mind when he wrote about the man of sin. He said that when he was present with them he told them about these things. (2:5.) But he did not tell us!

We have other patterns of such apostasies in Scripture. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament often went into apostasy. In fact the history of mankind is that he does not stay faithful very long. There is a cycle of faithfulness, falling away, and repentance. Even in Jesus’ ministry, we have an example. At first, thousands of people followed him to hear him preach and watch the miracles that he performed. So many went away that Jesus asked the twelve, Will you also go away? (John 6:67.) There was an apostasy during the trials of Jesus. Most of his followers fled due to fear.

Causes of the apostasy are false teachers, wickedness among the teachers and disciples, love for money, Jewish opposition to the Gospel, a confused mixture of Judaism and Christianity, and persecution against those who live godly (2 Tim. 3:12). The foundation of security against apostasy is the holy scriptures which Timothy had known from childhood.

Many religious leaders often warn people that we are living in the last days. It seems to be a constant theme in their messages. This topic has become their "gospel." There are many motivations and reasons for this constant refrain. It may be that they sincerely believe that we are living in the last days; or they desire to sound like a prophet of God predicting the end of time; or to encourage people to come out of sin and follow Jesus Christ. There are millenarian and apocalyptic reasons. The problem with repeating this message is that people will soon lose confidence in your prophetic ability if the end does not soon come. (Deut. 18:21-22.) One author titled his book, The Last Days Again! (Richard Kyle, 1998, Baker Books.)

There are three major interpretations of the meaning of "the last days." They are: 1) the last days just before the last day, 2) the last days of Judaism including the life of Jesus, and 3) the entire Christian era from Jesus’ life to the end of time. The last two are biblically defensible positions, but the first is not. Note the following passages about the last days.

"It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-3, Micah 4:1-2.)

"And it shall come to pass afterward (last days) that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit." (Joel 2:28-29.) We have an inspired interpretation of this prophecy. This is not just a preacher’s opinion. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, when the church was established, that "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." (Acts 2:16.) Isaiah 2, Daniel 2, and Joel 2 are all fulfilled in Acts 2! Those claiming that the last days are in the 21^st century (they once said the 20^th century) cannot deal adequately with Acts 2:16. Peter said, This is it! The last days must include the Day of Pentecost when Peter spoke. We have more information.

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." (Hebrews 1:1-2.) The last days must include the days when Jesus preached and not when the Old Testament prophets spoke. The last days also included the days when Paul was writing to Timothy, about 58-60 AD. (2 Tim. 3:1.)

Putting all of this together, the last days were the days when Jesus spoke, when Peter preached and when Paul wrote. It could include the whole Christian era, but more specifically it refers to the last days of Judaism and the beginning of Christianity. It included the apostasy to which several New Testament passages refer. However, there are no passages that indicate that the last days are the last few days before the end of time.

Truth and light stand against all forms of evil. Wickedness takes many forms. That is what Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica. He wrote, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." (KJV, 1 Thess. 5:22.) The NIV says, "Avoid every kind of evil." Obviously, there is more than one kind. We probably think of sin in much too narrow terms. It is broad and all encompassing. It includes all that pertains to the darkness of the world and to tools of Satan to destroy the things that belong to God. The apostle John categorized them as lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16.) Paul used categories like lawless, disobedient, ungodly, sinners, unholy and profane. (1 Tim. 1:9.) There are five different Greek words for sin. They are hamartia (missing the mark), parabasis (a violation or stepping across), paratoma (a side-slip or lapse like slipping on ice), anomia (an illegal deed, an intentional breach of God’s law), and opheilema (something owed as a debt).

The list given at the beginning of this message included a number of sinful things. Some of the kinds of evil are: sexuality immorality (adulterers and homosexuals), murderers, those who deal in slave traffic, liars, blasphemers, coveting, false doctrines that misrepresent the will of God (like forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats), envy and strife over doctrines (1 Tim. 6:4), ignorance of the truth (2 Tim. 3:7), and religious heretics (Titus 3:10-11). Dietrick Bonhoffer defined the sins of mankind as those belonging to either his wickedness or weakness. Surely, there are many different forms of evil. We err greatly if we, like the Pharisees, narrowly define sin as just physical, overt acts of the body. Jesus said that one who hates his brother is a murderer and one who lusts has committed adultery already in his heart. The sins of the heart cause the sins of the body. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Matt. 12:34.) The Pharisees condemned others for their sins, but could not see that they were guilty of other kinds of sins. This is why condemning others is wrong. We may not be guilty of the same kinds of sins as others, but we are sinners nevertheless.

Read these two sections that describe the wickedness of the last days. One author said that there is a thin veneer that covers and holds civilization together. We have witnessed the extent to which wicked reprobate minds will go when they are motivated by religious fervor in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Apparently, others joined in who were not associated with the terrorists by mailing anthrax to prominent people. When storms destroy communities, thieves take advantage of the situation by looting demolished businesses. Even churches that seem strong spiritually can erupt any moment. There are always people waiting in the wings to join the fray when something happens. These are weak people who have not grown spiritually. They are like the mixed multitude who went up with the Israelites from Egypt and who followed the captives from Babylon to Jerusalem. (Exodus 12:38, Nehemiah 13:3.) They caused untold difficulties to the Jews.

Christians must go about building a better foundation for their lives. The corrupt sinfulness and evil that exists among those who do not know God brings about personal destruction and the fall of a nation. The wise man wrote, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach (disgrace—NIV) unto any people." (Prov. 14:34.) The Kingdom of God is God’s answer to a corrupt society. We must be born again to enter that spiritual kingdom. Jesus and Paul taught how we must behave in that kingdom.

(1 Tim. 3:14-15.)