“For the time is coming when people will not       endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions”  2 Timothy 4:3

You might be thinking it has almost been 2,000  years since Paul penned his last letter to Timothy. The truth is that the true church, that is, those who follow the teachings of the whole Bible and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, has always been on guard regarding Paul’s warning.

When Paul wrote 2, Timothy, he was in prison in Rome and was awaiting his fate. Not too long after he wrote to Timothy, Paul was executed. Paul was concerned that false teachers would turn believers from the true faith into errors and myths after his death. Paul was worried that people would grow tired of the true gospel and reject it. Instead, they would turn in other directions, looking to replace sound or healthy teaching. Instead of following  godly teachers, his concern was that people would choose to follow teachers who told them what they liked to hear rather than what was true. The idea of “itching ears” meant that they sought something  different from the traditional, true gospel message.

In 2 Timothy 4:1-2, we see the instruction Paul gave Timothy to counter these false teachers: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,    who is to judge the living and the dead, and by       his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word;   be ready in season and out of season; reprove,        rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

Sometimes what I say can be construed as alarmist rhetoric. I have shared with you my concern that I believe that there are dark days ahead for all true  believers. For far too long, churches have watered down the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have turned   the house of God into entertainment centers.      However, God has warned His church to remain faithful and stand up to false teachers who would attempt to destroy the church. From the first day that God allowed Grace Harvest to become a body of believers, we have used His Word to guide         everything in the life of our church. What say, you Christian? Do you stand with me? As we continue    to serve God, will you strive to know God’s Word,     so you will be able to stand when others will fall    and have itching ears?

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark