THE COLLAPSE OF CHARACTER - PART 7

BLASPHEMERS

When Reverence Is Replaced by Contempt

“…for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers…” 2 Timothy 3:2 

Pride does not remain inward for long. Once arrogance settles in the heart, it inevitably finds expression in speech. Paul now exposes the next step in the downward progression of the last days: “blasphemers.” This is pride turned outward against authority—divine and human alike.

Blasphemy, in its simplest biblical sense, is contempt expressed through speech. It is irreverence verbalised. It is not limited to profanity alone, though profanity is often its most obvious form. Blasphemy is any speech that diminishes what God has declared sacred, mocks what He has established as holy, or treats His authority as trivial.

Scripture consistently links blasphemy to a hardened heart. Jesus warned that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). When reverence disappears inwardly, restraint disappears outwardly. Words become weapons. Language becomes careless. What once inspired fear now invites familiarity.

The Old Testament treated blasphemy with utmost seriousness because it revealed a soul that no longer trembled before God. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7) was not merely a command about vocabulary; it was a declaration about reverence. God’s name represented His person, His presence, and His authority. To treat it lightly was to treat Him lightly.

Paul warned the Romans of a society so far gone that “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you”(Romans 2:24). Notice the tragedy: blasphemy was not merely coming from pagans, but from those who claimed to represent God while living in contradiction to Him. When reverence is lost among God’s people, the world follows quickly.

Charles Spurgeon once lamented that irreverence had crept into public speech under the guise of humour. He warned that when sacred things become punchlines, a culture has already crossed a dangerous threshold. Blasphemy often begins as jest before it hardens into contempt.

History confirms this pattern. Societies rarely move directly from reverence to rebellion. They pass through ridicule first. Winston Churchill warned that mocking foundational values weakens the moral spine of a nation. When respect is eroded, restraint collapses. Words prepare the way for deeds.

Our own age bears unmistakable marks of this decline. God’s name is used casually, flippantly, and frequently as filler. Sacred truths are satirised. Biblical morality is caricatured. Authority—whether parental, pastoral, or governmental—is mocked rather than honoured. Disrespect is celebrated as authenticity. Irreverence is reframed as honesty.

Yet blasphemy is not only about what is said about God; it is also about how His established order is treated. Peter speaks of those who are “not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:10). Authority is despised. Structure is resented. Submission is scorned. Blasphemy spills over from heaven to earth.

This spirit does not stop at society’s edge. It presses into the church. Worship can lose its weight. Preaching can be treated casually. God’s Word can be debated as opinion rather than received as authority. Familiarity replaces fear. Jokes replace trembling. Paul warned Timothy earlier that men would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Knowledge without reverence produces arrogance, not obedience.

The contrast is found in Isaiah’s vision, where the seraphim cried, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). Holiness inspires awe, not sarcasm. Reverence bows; blasphemy scoffs. One leads to cleansing; the other to condemnation.

For the believer living in perilous times, this calls for guarded speech and guarded hearts. Words reveal what we honour. Casual irreverence is not harmless. It trains the soul to treat God lightly. And once God is treated lightly, obedience soon feels optional.

Paul places blasphemers early in his list because speech shapes culture. When reverence is lost in language, it will soon be lost in life. The last days are marked by mouths that no longer fear God because hearts no longer submit to Him.

The decline is unmistakable: Self enthroned. Desire unrestrained. Pride entrenched. Reverence discarded.

The fall continues, and it strikes next at the most basic structure God ever established.