HEAPING UP TEACHERS Charging the evangelist Timothy, the apostle Paul says, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Tim. 4:1-4). Are we guilty of heaping up teachers for ourselves? It is inevitable that we are going to have teachers and preachers, who for one reason or another, we prefer. However, is the reason we prefer our favorite preachers because they teach a particular doctrine just like we like it preached? In other words, do we prefer them because they teach our brand of the THE TRUTH, satisfying our doctrinal desires and scratching our itching ears (as if there are diverse “brands” of THE TRUTH)? As disciples of Christ, it is critical that we learn to accept and embrace truth, whether we “like” its message or not! If God’s word paints a very ugly picture of the life we are now living, should that not be what any truth-seeker wants to hear? Those who are seeking pretty pictures of their sinful lives have no interest in the truth—they love lies. Such lie-seekers cannot possibly seek to follow the Lord Jesus, because He is “The Truth” (cf. John 14:6). Little do they realize, they are following the devil! Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?” (John 8:44-46). Let us never be found guilty of heaping up teachers for the wrong reasons. Let us seek those who will tell us the truth, no matter how hard it is for us to hear. If we all become lovers of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10), false teachers will have nowhere to peddle their lies. So, whether it involves the books we purchase, the audio we download, and especially here on Facebook with the posts we like and the teachers we choose to follow, let us strive to make it aim to surround ourselves with teachers who will tell us THE TRUTH, no matter what! Let us not be like those whom Paul rebuked, people who choose to make enemies of teachers who will tell us the truth (Gal. 4:16).
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 21:52:08 +0000