In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

Instantly Itching ears

There are some obvious places we can go here with this passage of Holy Scripture, but if you have been following my work in Christ here at Apprising Ministries somehow you knew “I’m not going there” as the kids say. The Lord knows that I do give my best—as one God has called to be a pastor-teacher—to follow this command of the Lord. These verses cut to the heart of the subject of “opinions.”

Opinions are much like noses in our society today, everybody’s got ‘em. Although this passage of Scripture is especially applicable for those of us called to fill the pulpit, it is extremely important for any of us who truly belong to Jesus today as we wallow through this seeker sensitive nightmare of postevangelicalism and the emerging church. And as soon as more true Christians begin to do what these verses instruct us to do, it will serve to clear up a whole slew of huge misconceptions people have about Christianity.

2 Timothy 4:2 — Preach the Word. This would be the Bible; Jesus tells His Body to — Preach the Word — not our opinions about the Bible, but what the text of Holy Scripture itself actually says. The critical importance of doing so is evidenced by verse 1 — In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge. The inspired Apostle Paul lets us know here that he is very well aware of just Who it is that is watching over what he is teaching here.

As Dr. Duane Litfin points out:

The content of Paul’s charge represents the central thrust of every minister’s task: Timothy was to preach the Word. All the weight of verse 1 bears on this entreaty. Paul could hardly have emphasized the matter more strongly.
(The Bible Knowledge Commentary, NT, 757, bold his)

And since every Christian is a minister (the word means servant) of Christ while still in this tabernacle, then God the Holy Spirit commands all of His servants to — Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season. The King James Version says — be instant in season, out of season — and this means whether people like it or not, or whether they even believe it or not. All of God’s true witnesses—His genuine representatives must — Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct; rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Why? Verse 3 — For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. One teacher the Lord used to influence me—the late Dr. Walter Martin—was a foremost defender of the true historic orthodox Christian faith in our generation. Dr. Martin offered the following comment about the above verse, and specifically the phrase to say what their itching ears want to hear. “Do you really want to know what this means,” he asked? “I’ll tell you; it means: to tell them exactly what they already wanted to hear.

Men and women, just in my own lifetime I have seen how this has already been happening. In the 60’s the Christian Church in America began to seek ways to make the Gospel less offensive and more appealing to an increasingly secular nation. And in slithered the vociferous viper Robert Schuller to begin spreading his poisoned satanic swill right within the evangelical camp itself. Psycho-philosophies which depend on vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8, KJV). This sly serpent even took in Billy Graham whom he befriended. For it was Graham who would make the ill-fated decision to suggest: Bob, you need to take your message to television; and this current apostasy would thereby receive its evil energizer.

Are We Really At The End Of The Age?

Here’s the essential issue: If we are close to the end of the Age of Grace—and/or the Second Coming of Christ—as so many today suggest, then the time has come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Can you see this? Do the names Rick Warren or Rob Bell or Joel Osteen happen to ring your bell? If the time really is drawing near, then the best thing we can do at this point is to teach people what God has said in the Bible. It is our job — In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus to use every tool available at our disposal to do just that.

Beloved, we must be sure we are using proper hermeneutics and sound systematic theology as we help others to learn from the great preachers in the rich history of the Body of Christ. This of course would include Jesus Christ of Nazareth—the Master Teacher Himself, Christ’s Apostles, their own disciples—the early Church Fathers, as well the Reformers and great missionaries and teachers like David Brainerd and A.W. Pink.

Here is something written by one of those early Church Fathers, a personal disciple of the Apostle John named Ignatius, who would literally go on to give his very life for Christ. He in turn is writing to encourage Polycarp, another disciple of John who was also to become a martyr for the Faith of our Lord. A Faith I might add, which is so casually treated, and so easily maligned by the weak-willed man-pleasers all too common among our evangelical “teachers” today:

Let not those who seem worthy of credit, but teach strange doctrines, fill thee with apprehension. Stand firm, as does an anvil which is beaten. It is the part of a noble athlete to be wounded, and yet to conquer. And especially we ought to bear all things for the sake of God, that He also may bear with us, and bring us into His kingdom. Add more and more to thy diligence; run thy race with increasing energy; weigh carefully the times.

Whilst thou art here, be a conqueror; for here is the course, and there are the crowns, Look for Christ, the Son of God; who was before time, yet appeared in time; who was invisible by nature, yet visible in the flesh; who was impalpable, and could not be touched, as being without a body, but for our sakes became such, might be touched and handled in the body; who was impassible as God, but became passible for our sakes as man; and who in every kind of way suffered for our sakes.
(The Ante-Nicene Fathers,The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp, chapter 3, CD Rom, emphasis mine)

So Who Is It You Are With?

You know, I didn't happen to notice anything here about the purpose driven life, a personal mystical spirituality or a perverted version of an abundant life. The above inspiring words from a real man of God are not quite like the ear-tickling “feel-good” messages we hear so often today in postevangelicalism and the emerging church centered of the self circles are they? As we encourage people to turn aside from these myths so prevalent today in this seeker sensitive nonsense in the American Christian Church we should also be introducing them to sound Christian pastors like Charles Spurgeon and John MacArthur, as well as to strong defenders of the Faith like Dr. Martin and Dr. John Ankerberg. Does that make sense?

And no, in these times it really shouldn’t make a bit of difference what denomination these particular men came from—nor are we going to agree with every little thing they ever said. However, when all is said and done, the absolute truth is, one is either a genuine Christian—or they’re not. As our Lord Jesus teaches us — He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters (Matthew 12:30). Modern translation: “You are either with Me, or you are, in fact, against Me.”

So let’s fuse this all together. The single best way we as Christians can deal with the plethora of opaque opinions rumbling about in this clueless society, and to turn aside their myriad myths concerning God, is to follow the admonition to Preach the Word — the Bible itself — in season or out of season — whether people like what they hear or not. For following is a sure word to the wise, based solidly on the Rock of Truth speaking above in Matthew 12:30:

People-pleasing preachers, and all who are like them, you need to listen very carefully: There is no middle ground in this great spiritual war for the souls of men. You see, what is truly at stake here is where you are going to spend all eternity. You will either be with Jesus, or without Him.

And let us never forget…forever…is a long, long time…