3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.
There is such elaborate description in this admonition about a falling away from godliness in the final days that it's clear that the author of Timothy sees around himself a lot of what he is describing. It is quite a list of many of the behaviors that human beings participate in when they don't have a sense of inner peace that Salvation from Christ brings. Especially interesting is the phrase in verse five that says, "holding to a form of Godliness although they have denied its power". I looked up this verse to get a clearer sense of the meaning and found this entry on bibleref.com that explains it this way:
"Here, Paul states that evil people are known for putting on the "window
dressing" of faith in God, but rejecting the actual power of the Holy
Spirit. This echoes Paul's condemnation of evil in Titus 1:16. In other
words, these wicked ones want to be seen as good people, or as spiritual
people, or as teachers, but were not truly following God (1 Timothy
1:3–7). They had religion, but they did not have a legitimate
relationship with God built upon truth (2 Timothy 3:16–17). This would
also include those who overtly pick and choose when to obey God, and
when to dismiss His message."
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