| An Itch for Novelty |
An Itch for Novelty
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and
wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for
teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They
will reject the truth and chase after myths.
— 2 Timothy 4:3–4
In describing the last days, the apostle Paul said, "A time is coming
when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.
They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell
them whatever their itching ears want to hear . . . " (2 Timothy 4:3–4).
The phrase "itching ears" in verse 4 could be translated, "an itch for
novelty." Is that not an apt description of people in the church today? I
am amazed at the crazy things that people who profess to be Christians
will buy into. It seems as though every few years, a new fad comes
along that everyone gets worked up about.
People get caught up in nonsense, and it is an itch for novelty. After a
while, they tire of it and run off to some new thing. It is because they
have never learned to love the Word of God.
The Bible tells us that in the last days, there will be false teachers, there
will be a false gospel, and there will be false miracles. Only those
Christians who are conversant with the Word of God and are biblically
literate will be able to identify them.
Jesus said we are to "go and make disciples of all the nations"
(Matthew 28:19). The church is a place where the Bible should be
taught and where God's people should know what the Word of God
says. It should be a place where we worship, a place where we pray,
and a place where we use the gifts God has given to us. But we are
getting away from that. And that is why there is such a vulnerability to
false teaching today.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and
wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for
teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They
will reject the truth and chase after myths.
— 2 Timothy 4:3–4
In describing the last days, the apostle Paul said, "A time is coming
when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.
They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell
them whatever their itching ears want to hear . . . " (2 Timothy 4:3–4).
The phrase "itching ears" in verse 4 could be translated, "an itch for
novelty." Is that not an apt description of people in the church today? I
am amazed at the crazy things that people who profess to be Christians
will buy into. It seems as though every few years, a new fad comes
along that everyone gets worked up about.
People get caught up in nonsense, and it is an itch for novelty. After a
while, they tire of it and run off to some new thing. It is because they
have never learned to love the Word of God.
The Bible tells us that in the last days, there will be false teachers, there
will be a false gospel, and there will be false miracles. Only those
Christians who are conversant with the Word of God and are biblically
literate will be able to identify them.
Jesus said we are to "go and make disciples of all the nations"
(Matthew 28:19). The church is a place where the Bible should be
taught and where God's people should know what the Word of God
says. It should be a place where we worship, a place where we pray,
and a place where we use the gifts God has given to us. But we are
getting away from that. And that is why there is such a vulnerability to
false teaching today.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |