Itching Ears

 

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. 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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV).

 

I have never been known as someone who shies away from what I believe. However, my hope is that I have also been someone known for applying equal measures of grace. I believe that there must be a balance between “truth-telling” and “grace-giving.” If we cannot achieve this balance we become people who are the example of what the Apostle Paul speaks clearly to in our reading today. To get the full truth in this reading I think we need to look at the exhortation to the two groups of people the apostle mentions. Remember, all of this is in the context of Paul’s admonition to the young preacher Timothy. The warning is very serious, and, unfortunately too common today.

 

§  First, the exhortation to the listeners: We must be on our guard against having itching ears. We need to open our hearts, minds, and ears to biblical teaching including that which may not be our preference or the cultural norms of our day, but rather stands the test of biblical authority. In being exposed to sound doctrine we must not seek out teachers and teachings that suit our own desires of what we want to hear. We need to pray for our pastor and other spiritual leaders that they will not succumb to the pattern of this world which is a great temptation. That means that sound preaching will include teaching that is faithful to the Scripture but may be and increasingly will be contrary to culture.

 

§  Second, the exhortation to those who preach or teach: We need to examine our heart and align it with biblical teaching. There is a great temptation to go along to get along but that is not our call. A neutral message or silence when God’s Word speaks clearly on a matter is not faithfulness to truth. Our first priority must be, what does God want proclaimed, not what do people want to hear. Many years ago I heard this succinct definition of responsible ministry as “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable”. Our loyalty must align with the Scripture not our culture or any group within that culture. This is the only way to stop the wandering away to myths.