Quote

"The temptation to modify the teachings of Christ with the hope that larger numbers may 'accept' Him
is cruelly strong in this day of speed, size, noise and crowds. But if we know what is good for us, we'll
resist it with every power at our command."
AW Tozer: Born: 21 April 1897, Died: 12 May 1963

Scriptural Reference:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto myths"
2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them"
Matthew 7:15-20 15

"1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories"
2 Peter 2:1-3

"25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."
Romans 1:25

Reflection:

The trend towards a popular church is nothing new. AW Tozer reflected on this during his life time. The concept of making the service feel contemporary and accepting at the cost of limiting the depth of the gospel may be compared to a shallow pool where everyone will be welcomed but nobody will be challenged. Such modifications to the Gospel message continues even today as many Ministers aim at not upsetting people with the truth. Some may hope that the truth will come to them in some flimsy spritual way while others blatantly deny any of the foundational truths as stated in the Bible so as to justify their own agendas.

In the book f Timothy we find the only reference in the Bible to 'itching ears'. Paul is writing to Timothy and warning him against those who will seek out teachers, ministers or priests who will only say what they want to hear. Those things that affirm their inner desires and physical needs instead of the meatier matters of salvation and living a holy life. There is an understanding here that it is the listener who will openly seek out false teachings who are in error here. There will always be false teachers as long as there are those who want to be able to pick and choose what they listen to.

We as Christians are admonished to look out for these false teachers in Matthew 7:15-20 15. As mentioned there will always be false teachers, like peddlars of questionable snake oils, looking for anyone who will listen to them and follow their teaching. Our challenge is to be aware of our inner desires and constantly keep check on them. It can become too easy to venture into teachings that appear to be sound and Bible based and yet through slight variations they deseve and lead people slowly astray from the truth. An example of this I observed in a Uniting Church where each Easter Dawn service the Minister would proclaim that Christ is risen. Yet at other times and even when asked directly if the grave was empty or full he stated that nobody comes back from the grave and of course Christs body was still in the grave. At one level someone would be fooled into believing that the doctrine in the Church was sound and Bible based. As long as they accepted this and didn't delve deeper they would slowly fall into a sense of complacency and obsorbe the false teaching in small doses, never knowing thwey are moving away from the truth.

A story that highlights this is that of the student and the turtle. Three students in rural China wanted to modernise a small village. After multiple failures where every time the though progress was achieved the villagers would fall back into traditional ways. They asked an elder why this was. The elder told them to put a turtle into boiling water, which they did. The elder asked what happened and the students replied that the turtle jumped out of the water. The elder then asked them to put the turtle in cold water and to slowly raise the temperarture, which the students did. The elder then asked what happened. The students replied that the turtle just sat there as the temperature became hotter until the animal wasd cooked. The elder smiled as he had expressed the way suttle small changes can achieve more impact then larger noticable changes. People are like turtles, if they face a sudden change they rebel. If they slowly adjust to many small incrimented changes they adapt until they can't rebel.

In 2 Peter 2:1-3 we read that those who do choose to follow false teachers will do as much damage to themselves as to those who stand firm on the Gospel truth. The teachers will, as it explains, create fabricated stories. How often in our Post Cjristian world heard there are ever growing new interpretations of wht the Bible really means. Even our English language is constantly undergoing revision with the meaning of words changing dramatically. At one time the word Gay meant lighthearted, while today it is politiced and represents the LBGTQ community. Such fabrications are meant to continue to feed the selfish desires of the listoners.

Finally or in summation we read in Romans 1:25 a sort of summing up of the situation then as it still is today. They, both the false teachers and those who follow them, exchanged truth for lies. They chose to serve created things instead of the actual creator of all things. For some they will read this and surmise it refers to idols and rituals. For me I would deem this to also include anything that can be created and followed in place of God. Such as philosophies, wealth, sexual desires, life style choices and a mirriad of other man made creations that take up the place within each of us that should be reserved for God alone.

So in closing we are called to cpontinue to search the Bible, rely on the Bible and follow only the Bible and to stay away from any doctrine or techings that in any way would diminish the Gospel message with a human created surrogate god and truth.

Prayer:

Lord, Jesus the Christ.

I am not strong,
Lend me your strength.
I am not wise,
Teacg me your wisdom.
I am not clean,
Cleanse my intentions.
I am sadly incomplete,
Make me whole your Grace.

I pray these things in your loving name.

Amen