2 Timothy 4:3-4
"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."
God did not give us His Word so that we can take It and compromise It in any way. How do we prevent ourselves, as believers, from falling into the category of people to whom Paul is referring in his letter to Timothy? To hear certain passages of the Word preached today can be very easy and warming if those messages (in different forms and through different titles) are about how we can be abundantly blessed with possessions and experience as few problems in life as possible. If we cling to these types of messages, hearing stern messages about how God requires obedience from His children are far more difficult to process. In fact, among many of us in today's Christendom, it is very hard to accept many Biblical truths due to an abundance of messages from reputable teachers who teach otherwise.
For example, many Christians believe that, because we are human, God winks at our sins and somehow sweeps our willful deeds under the rug. Why? "Because God understands that we're only human." The truth is, John 1:12 tells us that to those who believe on Him, He gave POWER to become the sons of God (children of God: males and females). Giving us power to become His children begins with Jesus death, burial, and resurrection to which believers respond by faith. But what about going forward? We have power from on high to actually live for Him in obedience. This is encompassed in having power to be His children for us who believe on Him.
So, we don't have to live in bondage to "I'm only human." Living a repentant life, we can live for Him, Who is able to keep us from falling. (Jude 24; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 15:1-7; Romans 7; 1 John)
Of course, this very true statement ("I'm only human"), which can mislead us into living a willful lifestyle of sin, is not taught by all teachers. There are teachers who teach the actual gospel of Jesus Christ and trust Him not to twist His Word to fit the agenda of man - in any subject at all.
So, when choosing who to listen to as a preferred teacher/preacher of the gospel - especially with access to Internet and other media - listening for God's Word in the speaker/writer will determine if that person is someone to listen to. Additionally, I believe there are other attributes to consider when deciding if we will listen to a teaching:
1) When a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit, he/she has a Teacher Who will teach us all things. John 14:26 says, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Of course, we know Jesus was speaking to His disciples here and told them to teach the world what He taught them. So, this applies to us who believe as well.
When listening to or reading a lesson from a gospel messenger, we rely on the Holy Ghost to bring back to our remembrance God's Word that will either agree or disagree with the message being delivered.
I remember as a single woman in Christ, I was approached by a few males who had told that God told them I was to be their wife. (There were also people who said to me, "You are to be So and So's wife".) There are young women who have found themselves in bondage taking heed to these approaches. What gave me peace was always knowing that if God did not bear witness to me that I was to be some man's wife, then I didn't have to listen to any of that. In the 80's, I remember there being a heavy issue of people feeling bound to obey somebody else because that somebody else used "God told me for you to do this/that" in order to get the person to comply.
(Of course, I do believe that God will send us to people and say, "God says you need to repent...God wants you to know that you are not to cheat on your spouse or cheat your employees...God wants you to trust Him...or something that truly aligns with His Word).
But when we hear someone telling us to do something - such as in a grey area not addressed in the Word - we have every right in our faith to say, "I'm going to go ask the Lord myself on that" or to seek Him on the spot for clearance directly from Him on any matter.
2) Regularly spending private time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer simultaneously gives the Holy Spirit opportunity to teach us God's Word One-on-one. Like a child sitting under their parent to learn about life in so many areas. He will teach us. As He uses teachers/preachers to come behind Him and expound on the Word for our clarification, God also uses those teachers'/preachers' messages to confirm something He may already be speaking to us about within our converted hearts. And what those messengers say will align with God's Word that is already taught to us in private devotional time with Him, the Spirit of God.
3) We will know a messenger sent by God by the lifestyle they live. Matthew 7:16-20 tells us (in Jesus' Words): "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
4) To sum up all the above points, a teacher/preacher from God will stick to the text of God's Word Itself. They'll neither add to the Word nor take away from It in order to prove their own propaganda.
We should all beware that some teachings will put a misleading light on a passage in order to make it say something that is not being said. Some teachings will take away from God's Word or make a passage seem less important in order to promote something that goes against God's will.
How do we beware? How do we not miss the mark? How do we ensure that what we heed to in teachings everywhere that we'll listen and within our own converted hearts will actually be God's Word and His will?
"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."
God did not give us His Word so that we can take It and compromise It in any way. How do we prevent ourselves, as believers, from falling into the category of people to whom Paul is referring in his letter to Timothy? To hear certain passages of the Word preached today can be very easy and warming if those messages (in different forms and through different titles) are about how we can be abundantly blessed with possessions and experience as few problems in life as possible. If we cling to these types of messages, hearing stern messages about how God requires obedience from His children are far more difficult to process. In fact, among many of us in today's Christendom, it is very hard to accept many Biblical truths due to an abundance of messages from reputable teachers who teach otherwise.
For example, many Christians believe that, because we are human, God winks at our sins and somehow sweeps our willful deeds under the rug. Why? "Because God understands that we're only human." The truth is, John 1:12 tells us that to those who believe on Him, He gave POWER to become the sons of God (children of God: males and females). Giving us power to become His children begins with Jesus death, burial, and resurrection to which believers respond by faith. But what about going forward? We have power from on high to actually live for Him in obedience. This is encompassed in having power to be His children for us who believe on Him.
So, we don't have to live in bondage to "I'm only human." Living a repentant life, we can live for Him, Who is able to keep us from falling. (Jude 24; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 15:1-7; Romans 7; 1 John)
Of course, this very true statement ("I'm only human"), which can mislead us into living a willful lifestyle of sin, is not taught by all teachers. There are teachers who teach the actual gospel of Jesus Christ and trust Him not to twist His Word to fit the agenda of man - in any subject at all.
So, when choosing who to listen to as a preferred teacher/preacher of the gospel - especially with access to Internet and other media - listening for God's Word in the speaker/writer will determine if that person is someone to listen to. Additionally, I believe there are other attributes to consider when deciding if we will listen to a teaching:
1) When a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit, he/she has a Teacher Who will teach us all things. John 14:26 says, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Of course, we know Jesus was speaking to His disciples here and told them to teach the world what He taught them. So, this applies to us who believe as well.
When listening to or reading a lesson from a gospel messenger, we rely on the Holy Ghost to bring back to our remembrance God's Word that will either agree or disagree with the message being delivered.
I remember as a single woman in Christ, I was approached by a few males who had told that God told them I was to be their wife. (There were also people who said to me, "You are to be So and So's wife".) There are young women who have found themselves in bondage taking heed to these approaches. What gave me peace was always knowing that if God did not bear witness to me that I was to be some man's wife, then I didn't have to listen to any of that. In the 80's, I remember there being a heavy issue of people feeling bound to obey somebody else because that somebody else used "God told me for you to do this/that" in order to get the person to comply.
(Of course, I do believe that God will send us to people and say, "God says you need to repent...God wants you to know that you are not to cheat on your spouse or cheat your employees...God wants you to trust Him...or something that truly aligns with His Word).
But when we hear someone telling us to do something - such as in a grey area not addressed in the Word - we have every right in our faith to say, "I'm going to go ask the Lord myself on that" or to seek Him on the spot for clearance directly from Him on any matter.
2) Regularly spending private time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer simultaneously gives the Holy Spirit opportunity to teach us God's Word One-on-one. Like a child sitting under their parent to learn about life in so many areas. He will teach us. As He uses teachers/preachers to come behind Him and expound on the Word for our clarification, God also uses those teachers'/preachers' messages to confirm something He may already be speaking to us about within our converted hearts. And what those messengers say will align with God's Word that is already taught to us in private devotional time with Him, the Spirit of God.
3) We will know a messenger sent by God by the lifestyle they live. Matthew 7:16-20 tells us (in Jesus' Words): "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
4) To sum up all the above points, a teacher/preacher from God will stick to the text of God's Word Itself. They'll neither add to the Word nor take away from It in order to prove their own propaganda.
We should all beware that some teachings will put a misleading light on a passage in order to make it say something that is not being said. Some teachings will take away from God's Word or make a passage seem less important in order to promote something that goes against God's will.
How do we beware? How do we not miss the mark? How do we ensure that what we heed to in teachings everywhere that we'll listen and within our own converted hearts will actually be God's Word and His will?
