STAYING SAVED IN THIS WICKED WORLD


(2 Tim 3:1 KJV)  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

(2 Tim 3:2 KJV)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, 
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

(2 Tim 3:3 KJV)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, 
fierce, despisers of those that are good,

(2 Tim 3:5 KJV)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such 
turn away.


(2 Tim 3:1 TLB)  You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is 
going to be very difficult to be a Christian.

(2 Tim 3:2 TLB)  For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be 
proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and 
thoroughly bad.

(2 Tim 3:3 TLB)  They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be 
constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough 
and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good.

(2 Tim 3:4 TLB)  They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with 
pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God.

(2 Tim 3:5 TLB)  They will go to church, yes, but they won't really believe anything they 
hear. Don't be taken in by people like that.






(2 Tim 4:3 KJV)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but 
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

(2 Tim 4:4 KJV)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned 
unto fables.

(2 Tim 4:3 TLB)  For there is going to come a time when people won't listen to the truth 
but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.

(2 Tim 4:4 TLB)  They won't listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their 
own misguided ideas.

(Heb 10:23 KJV)  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is 
faithful that promised;)

(Eph 6:13 KJV)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able 
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

(Eph 6:14 KJV)  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on 
the breastplate of righteousness;

(Eph 6:15 KJV)  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

(Eph 6:16 KJV)  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to 
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.


INTRODUCTION:  Every generation of Christians has known perilous and deadly times.   
The early church was in danger of attacks from without and treachery from within.  
Down throught the years men and women have given their lives for their testimony and 
faith in Jesus.  Some stood firm with deep committment; others recanted.




The perilous days which we face may be a bit more sophisticated than other generations.  
Sometimes, the devil's approach is so subtle that we never hear his steps.  Satan has truly 
become an angel of light; his methods are crafty and cunning, he is a master deceiver.

In my life-time I have witnessed the horrors of foreign  unbridled dictatorial leaders who 
killed their own people;  a sky rocketing crime rate in this country; prayer and the Bible 
removed from the classroom; destructive civil disorders; the lowering of morals until 
pornography has become a multi-billion dollar business; the signing of the most 
permissive sex bill in the history of our country; the parading of homosexual behavior in 
the streets, movies and television.

The demons of hell are having a celebration, cheering the moral bankruptcy of our 
generation!!

It is in the sin blighted environment that we are commanded to "hold forth the word of 
life." (Phil. 2:14)

Paul states in  (Phil 2:15 KJV)  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, 
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as 
lights in the world;

The question is "How can we stay saved in these wicked days?"

I.  We must have a true experience in Jesus Christ.  Vibrant; alive.
	a.  The word "Christian" must be more than a catch-phrase.
		1.  A daily walking with Him.
		2.  A complete trust in Him.
		3.  A sacrificial love for Him.
	b.  He must be ther One to whom we are the most devoted.
		1.  No one between us and Christ.
		2.  The Lord (Savior/Master) of our life.






II.  We must be empowered by the Holy Spirit.

(Acts 1:8 KJV)  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: 
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, 
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

(Acts 4:33 KJV)  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of 
the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

(1 Cor 2:1 KJV)  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of 
speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

(1 Cor 2:2 KJV)  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified.

(1 Cor 2:3 KJV)  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

(1 Cor 2:4 KJV)  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's 
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

(1 Cor 2:5 KJV)  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power 
of God.

	a.  He is the dynamo which God has provided for us.
		1.  He is the anointing Spirit who gives us power to pray, teach, cast out 
devils, heal the sick, defend the faith, and defeat the power of sin and the devil.
		2.  He generates within us the new life we have received as sons and 
daughters of God.
		3.  He imparts to us divine and holy strength and knowledge which 
surpasses the abilities of our natural flesh.
	b.  He has been given to us for our help.
		1.  He counter-acts and causes to be ineffective the work of the unholy 
spirit which constantly attacks us.
		
		2.  Since Apostolic days, the commission of the Holy Spirit has been to 
prepare and defend the Bride of Christ (the Church).
		3.  His sword, the Word of God, is our offensive weapon.

In addition to salvation and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, in order to stay saved in these 
wicked days ...

III. We must be willing to resist the devil, and fight purposefully.
	(James 4:7 KJV)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he 
will flee from you.
	(1 Cor 9:26 KJV)  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that 
beateth the air:
	
	a.  Make your defense against evil count.  (no shadow boxing.)
		1.  Too many people are serious enough about fighting sin and the devil.
		2. Many try to co-exist or co-inhabit with sin.
		3.  Many Christians sadly shake their heads at the conditions around them 
but do nothing to stop the onrushing tides of filth and blight.
		4.  The remedy is Jesus.  We must not keep Him locked away in our hearts 
and churches.  We must share His life with the sick and hurting.
	b.  Don't be afraid to stand for Jesus and the Christian life.
		1.  Don't be intimidated by pseudo-intellectuals Bible scholars, or liberal 
preachers, or cultists, or other sinners.
		2.  Consider what the Bible says in these scriptures:

(Eph 5:27 KJV)  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or 
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

(2 Pet 3:14 KJV)  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that 
ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Staying Saved in a Wicked World
R. Scroggins - 
Renton, Wa.  5-18-97

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