Look in the Mirror
January 18, 2026
Morning Service
Paul is writing this letter to Timothy to prepare him to continue the ministry that God has begun through the Apostle Paul. That we may know “How you ought to conduct yourself in the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.” He is investing into Timothy (and us) to maintain the status of the church as the “pillar and ground of truth.” We finished up chapter 2 where Paul commanded for us to:
2Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Here we are called to be “diligent” (using great effort) to study and know God’s word well enough that we can “rightly divide the Word of Truth.” To rightly divide the word is to “cut it straight.” An approved worker handles the Word of Truth with precision and care as a master craftsman would as he builds according to his blueprints. We need to study in this diligent manner that we know the Word and are not easily swayed by false teaching. As we begin chapter 3, Paul both warns us of the perilous times ahead and also reveals what it will be like also. He then emphasizes again the value of the rightly dividing the word of truth will protect us in these times.
2Tim 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: (2) For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (4) traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Paul uses the term “last days” here putting an urgency on this warning. The last days is the time period from when Jesus ascended into heaven and runs until He returns to with a shout. (I Thess. 4) So, we are all living in the “last days” right now, here today. Isn’t it obvious? When we look at the descriptions of how men will be in that time, we can plainly see that Paul is describing exactly the world we live in! We see prophecy fulfilled right before our eyes. (Read verses 2-5) I know several people who appear to be living their life exactly as Paul describes here. We see it every night on the news in our country and all around this world. We see it in our broken political system and we know we indeed are in the last days. We are quickly becoming like the people in Noah’s time that were so evil God decided to flood the earth. It is so easy for us to look at others and clearly see these attributes on display. Many of us pride ourselves that we are able to see the evil in others as if it were a gift from God. But, I want to change that perspective we have and refocus it in another direction. David, a man after God’s own heart, prayed this prayer as I think we need to do with this list of evil attributes.
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; (24) And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
God is pleased when we use His Word as a mirror, not to see faults and evil in others, but to be able to recognize those things in ourselves. As I reread the list from verses 2-5 don’t look for these traits in others, look at yourself in the mirror and examine your life to be sure none of these apply to you. I will reread it with words that we are a bit more familiar with, so please sit down in front of your spiritual mirror and look deeply, honestly inside yourself. This exercise is not only for this scripture, but all scripture is written to help us see ourselves more clearly. Search me God, know me, try me, and lead me to do better.
Oh Lord am I in some way self–centered and conceited looking out for only myself? Am I greedy and willing to do anything for a dollar? Do I brag too much painting myself arrogantly better than others? Lord, do I deny you even in any small ways with my words speaking evil, using foul language, insulting and abusing others with words of hate? Am I rebellious and refuse to recognize any authority over me? Do I expect everything to be given to me and show no gratitude for any of it? Do I in some way hold nothing sacred showing contempt for anything that is righteous. Search me Lord to see if I am hard-hearted, callous, uncaring, lacking compassion for others. Do I refuse to seek or give forgiveness to others holding grudges for a lifetime? Lord, do I spread lies and rumors to hurt those around me? Do I have no boundaries acting fully upon only my own passions? Try me to see if I am rude, mean or hateful in any way. Am I a hater of whatever and whoever is good and oppose that goodness in some small way? Know me and see if there is no loyalty in me and see if I betray even those closest to me? Am I reckless and self-willed? Do I look down on others making empty promises to get what I want? Search me O Lord and see if I love the things of this world more than I love You.
How did you like that perspective?
I much more prefer seeing these things in others rather than myself, don’t you?
But that is what God is asking us to do, be sure there is no sin hiding down deep that we just don’t want to deal with. We are good at the part in verse 5 where we can “have the form of godliness, but denying its power.” We are good at keeping those faults we have hid in the darkness with a smile on our face and the Bible in our hands thinking as long as I look okay, I am okay. We all know we are only deceiving ourselves and trying to deceive others and even God. That is not the way a follower of Jesus handles sin in their lives. Listen to what James tells us in what should be a very familiar verse:
James 1:21-25 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; (24) for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (25) But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
James is telling us that when we recognize sin in our lives, as we may have done from that extensive list Paul gave us, it needs to move us to action. You don’t look at your messed up hair in the morning and just leave it that way, you fix it. When you look into the mirror of the Word and the Spirit shows you that there is something out of place, something not right in your life, sin is present, don’t ignore it do something about it! God promises here that He will bless when you do (v 25). Also know the opposite is true, He will not bless you if you don’t deal with it. When the Word and the Spirit reveal to you that you are living contrary to God’s will (sinning consistently and knowingly), follow the process and trust it to work.
1Jn. 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The process first begins with recognizing our sin. We need to look within ourselves and be totally honest with what we see and then deal with it. Don’t just leave the sin in the dark, bring it into the light by confessing it to God (and sometimes to others you trust around you if needed (James 5:16)). Your confession also needs to come with a spirit of repentance in that you are both sorry for what you have done and you don’t want to make that mistake again. Notice what happens when you do your part of repenting and confessing, God forgives you and cleanses you from all unrighteousness. He gives us much more than what we deserve. In cleansing us, God basically says He will remember our sins no more. Psalms tells us this truth:
Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
When we do our part confessing our sin God removes that sin from us and places it upon Jesus who paid for our sins, past, present and future, upon the cross with His blood. If God forgives us, then we need to trust the process and forgive ourselves. That sin becomes your past, who you were, not who you now are. I am forgiven. I no longer need to walk in shame as my sin has been brought to the light and removed by the work of Jesus. It is part of my story, but it does not define me, Jesus does. When we doubt our own forgiveness, we are really doubting Jesus and that is in essence denying our faith in Him. Trust Him. Trust His Word. Trust the process He has set in place and move forward in thanksgiving for the cleansing and a resolve to stay clean from that time forward. Then when (not if) sin arises again, we recognize that sin, confess, repent, and move forward continuing to follow our Savior. This is “rightly dividing the Word of truth and being a doer not a hearer only.”