By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2 Timothy 3:13
Do you remember the scientific Law of Entropy? Rather than evolve or improve upwards, things tend to gradually decline into disorder.
This verse gives us the Law of Spiritual Entropy. The closer we get to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be a regression, a gradual worsening of spiritual conditions.
Simply put, godless people will deteriorate. Laws put in place by more God-fearing people will be repealed. Taboos will be discarded. There will be more antagonism to the Lord. Men will become more brazen in their pursuit of sin.
Our verse points out the deceptions that accompany this degeneration. One lie paves the way for another.
We see this in history, don’t we? Unbelief in God and His Word (known as German rationalism) fed into Darwinian evolution. Infidelity gained traction. Fewer and fewer children were anchored in truth as they grew up. As men dropped their familiarity with the Bible, inhibitions waned. The morals of the entertainment industry declined toward the gutter. Beaches became voyeur hotspots. Alcohol flowed. And vices and stupidity of 101 forms grew.
Today, humanity has truly sunken. It’s obvious to those who have eyes to see.
However, while evil men and seducers decline, the believer in Christ remains firmly grounded and stable. The following verses urge Timothy to continue in the things he was taught as a boy from the Bible. God’s Word teaches us, corrects us, and perfects us. It is adequate to thoroughly equip us to be men of God who resist the downward flow of culture.
I will either deteriorate with the culture or remain stable. My devotion to God’s Word determines the difference.
Father, thank You for the contrast these verses present. While the world around us is disintegrating, You enable us to be joyful, peace-filled Christians who live righteously. Thank You for Your truth which stabilises Your people. Keep us true to You, I ask in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Dapto pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.