To say the times are changing in our present days can surely be regarded as an understatement, for after all, they have always been metamorphosing. The difference nowadays is that they are changing at a degree and speed never seen before, and this, in the technological, social, and moral realms. In fact, not only are the times changing, they are changing men and changing them unfavorably. Referring to this human declension, the apostle Paul wrote:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be …” (2 Tim. 3:1,2).
This, “men will be”, attests that a negative transition was going to take place in the very fiber of our society. Actually, the transition the apostle refers to was not going to be limited to the world; it was going to leak through the roof of many churches, as it does now, and affect many. Paul puts it in these words:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons …” (1 Tim. 4:1).
It is clear that what was to come has come and the moral descent is now underway in many congregations.
The nature of the declension
There is something else Paul wrote regarding this moral descent, something that should exhort us to watch and pray (take note of the future tense):
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 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; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:1–5)
Obviously, the future tense implies that what was not happening in Paul’s day was going to happen in latter days, i.e., the moral decay was going to penetrate our evangelical circles as never before and overcome the unstable Christians and those flirting with the world. Actually, Paul went a step further, he unbosomed the catalyser of the degeneration so as to leave no one ignorant:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine …” (2 Tim. 4:3).
It’s the passage from enduring sound doctrine to not enduring it that has triggered the great evangelical decline we are facing, and few are they who have spoken about it openly, and sadly enough, the ball keeps rolling down.
Enduring sound doctrine
The very wording of the warning explicitly affirms that sound doctrine must be endured. The Greek word for endure is ἀνέχω (anechō). It can also be translated “suffer” as in Hebrews 13:22 (KJV): “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” Or with the words “bear with” as in Acts 18:14. So we are called to suffer, or bear with, or endure sound doctrine. In other words, it demands fortitude and a tempered determination.
The cost of discipleship
Since things are as they are, anyone coming short of the conditions of discipleship is ill-prepared to tolerate sound doctrine. Actually, the difficulties are multiplied by the absolute moral decay surrounding the churches. The contrast between this present world and a genuine disciple is simply too big for the hesitant Christian. After all, if he wants to shine forth the sound doctrine we are talking about, he will have to expose himself to criticism, ostracism, and verbal abuses; for make no mistake, the world will show no tolerance to moral restrainers. The Scripture expresses it as follows:
So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.” (Isaiah 59:15)
This little verse, among others, explains why sound doctrine must be suffered and endured, for it demands by its very nature a sort of self-immolation. Jesus was crucified precisely because of the doctrine He preached and manifested. The same with Paul, Stephen, Peter, and many others who were killed because of the sound doctrine they proclaimed and exhibited. To take sides with the light will always engender confrontation, not only with the world but also with Christians who no longer endure sound doctrine. And you can be sure their number is on the rise.
The legacy of the catalizer
According to Paul, the refusal to endure sound doctrine will always lead to a moral downfall:
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; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Tim. 4:3,4)
Bear in mind that Paul is not referring to pagans here but to Christians—the context makes it clear enough. For instance, when Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine”, he was obviously referring to people who endured sound doctrine in his days, and surely, in general, the unbelievers were not.
So what are these disloyal Christians going to do next? Paul affirms that they will give way to their own desires, which in turn will engender itching ears. It is precisely this sort of ears that will cause them to heap up for themselves teachers who will tell them what they want to hear, “and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:4). Notice that this had already happened to the churches of Galatia. Paul had to confront them, saying, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16). However, what was taking place sporadically in Paul’s days is now taking place regularly. This is indeed a tragedy and the subject must be addressed, not tabooed by the relativists.
I leave you with the concluding exhortation Paul gave to Timothy:
“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:5)
Brethren! In the midst of this evangelical descent, we, as Timothy, must be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, and fulfill our ministry with courage and boldness. This, and nothing less, has been the path of the Crucified.
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