Hear and Heed
“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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” II Timothy 4:3-4
I was just reading an article online today in which the author stated that one of our main problems today is that some people, let’s call them “the elite”, are attempting to change the truth about pretty much everything. I have news for them. No one can change absolute truth. Men cannot have babies. Girls can’t be boys, and boys can’t be girls. There are still only two genders that God created. Men were meant to marry women, not other men. Two and two still equal four. Abortion is taking the life of a baby, not a blob of tissue. So called “climate change” is not going to destroy the world; God is going to do that. Satan still rules the hearts of multitudes of individuals. Good works still cannot save a soul. Women are not to have authority over men (I Timothy 2:12). Those who have been born again by God’s grace through faith are still born again. God is still God, and Jesus is still Lord and Savior. God’s word is just as relevant as it was when it was written.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he gave him one last and most vital charge before God and Christ as witnesses because they are the Ones to whom all people will be held accountable. All people include the “quick”, those whose spirit has been made alive in Christ and also the “dead”, those who have rejected Christ and thus whose spirits are dead to Him. The “quick” will appear before Christ at His judgment seat (II Corinthians 5:10) wherein they will receive their designated rewards for how they lived their Christian lives before the world. The “dead” will face God in the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11) to be judged for their works and receive sentence. Because they failed to repent and receive Christ, their destiny to hell is already established. These judgments will take place when Jesus returns to earth again as King and Judge (I Corinthians 15:24-26).
The vital charge to Timothy was to “preach the word”. He was not to preach notions, ideas, suppositions, or any other word that is not the gospel. Anything other than Christ as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) is false. Those men who are called to preach must be prepared to present the gospel to whomever is in need. They also have the responsibility to rebuke those who have backslidden from the truth of God’s word and/or have allowed sin to control them rather than the Holy Spirit. Some folks complain that the preacher has “quit preaching and gone to meddlin'” when he begins to preach about sin, but isn’t that his job? Isn’t the life of a Christian about avoiding sin and serving the Lord? I don’t know if you have noticed or not, but the Bible speaks of sin a lot because it is a big deal to God whether or not it is to people. If it wasn’t a big deal, then why would God allow His Son to suffer and die to pay the penalty for man’s sin?
Even with diligent and consistent warnings and admonitions, Paul understood that the time would come when people would no longer listen to the doctrine of God’s truth but would rather follow their man-made doctrine of doing whatever pleased them. This has been going on for a long time, but now with the instant communication that we have, it seems like we are bombarded with messages, thoughts, ideas, and policies that are contrary to the word of God. And there is no shame anymore. People flaunt their sin. They look for teachers, preachers, and politicians who only say what they want to hear, and what they say will send folks to hell. People don’t want to hear that they are sinners in need of the Savior, Jesus Christ, but they would rather take their chances at providing their own ways of trying to please and placate God or refuse to believe that He exists. Even those who believe that there is a God don’t believe that they will be called to account for their sins. It all goes right back to the fact that folks are attempting to change the truth.
People now say that the Bible is irrelevant or that it is nothing more than a book of fables and allegories. Many people do not even own a copy of God’s word or, if they do, they never read it, thus they really do not know God, who He is, what He requires, and His future plans for mankind, leaving them ignorant of the truth and, instead, believing lies and man-made stories. There are even Christians who do not know much about God’s word because they don’t read it either so when they do hear someone speak about scripture, how do they know it is the truth? Only the truth can set one free (John 8:32). The only way to know God is by reading His word, and the only way to know Him personally is through repentance of sin and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Any other way will not work.