2 Timothy 3:1-5

For some reason, this passage came to mind this morning, and I have been thinking about it all day,  especially verse 4, where we are told that men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. So I thought I would share some thoughts on the passage.
The apostle Paul, the author here, is writing to Timothy, a young pastor of a first generation church.  Timothy is of Jewish heritage and his church is a mix of former Jews and Gentiles.
As the chapter starts, Paul is explicit,  "in the last days men will be....." First things first.  We must not stumble on the meaning here.  We must not miss the Jewish elements so prevalent here.  As Jesus had fulfilled all the requirements of the old covenant,  it is passing away and will soon (in the original readers context) disappear.  And this has happened with every single other instance of covenantal judgment for covenantal unfaithfulness, so too now with the Jews rejection and crucifixion of Jesus.  God's ultimate act of love for his covenant people only resulted in their final rejection of him.  So now, the covenantal judgment will fall, death will come upon those who have rejected the new covenant head,  Jesus.
These are the last days of which Paul speaks.  The time of the old covenant and the Jews is coming to an end.
Paul gives a list of what the lifestyle of these people will look like: lovers of themselves, lovers of money,  proud, blasphemous, etc., etc. I want you to notice a couple of things here.  First,  these are men guilty of blasphemy.  Blasphemy only makes sense in a religious context.  As verse five says, these men have a form of godliness but deny it's power.
These are the Jews of whom Paul speaks.  These perilous times are referring to those people who claim a very religious life, yet live a life of selfish debauchery.
Two things must then be asked.  One,  what is meant by "lovers of pleasure"?  On one hand,  who alive is not a lover of pleasure?  Which one of us does not look forward to sleeping on a comfortable bed, in a warm house,  driving to work in a climate controlled car to work in a climate controlled office?  We choose from a myriad of culinary possibilities, the possibilities unparalleled at any time in history.  We wear comfortable clothes,  are meticulously clean, healthy and well rested.
Is this what Paul is talking about? Not specifically. It is important to recognize that we cannot compare our lifestyle with that of previous centuries.  What is normal and balanced for us today, would be sheer opulence  200 years ago.  We must look at comparative context.  Paul here is talking about a heart issue.  Paul is talking about the loves that direct our lives.  Do we live for pleasure?  What is on our mind, when we are not preoccupied with the necessities of life? Are we focused on scrumptious meals,  luxurious vacations,  mindless entertainment,  the opposite sex? Is our life and the money we earn focused on the pleasure and entertainment of the this temporal life?  This is what Paul is talking about.
Second,  what do we do about it? We need to wake up.  We need to step back and look at what WE are doing and spending.  Don't look at anyone else, don't compare yourself to anyone else. Where is your heart?
Paul tells us to turn away from such people.  If you are one of those people, Paul is telling you to change.
Perilous times were coming for people such as these in Paul's day.  The same will only be true for men in our day, or any day.  While temporal judgment is no longer hanging over us, we do still have the final judgment ahead.  This is not a judgment for sin,  Jesus already took that upon himself.  This is a judgment of responsibility.  What have we done with the life, love and power that God has given us in Jesus Christ?  Have we squandered it all on trinkets and empty entertainments?  Have we spent all of our time distracting and pleasuring ourselves?
The responsibility of the gospel is right in front of us. Don't miss it.