For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.     2 Timothy 4:3-4 HCSB

What we need to hear and what we want to hear are often two very different things. Sometimes the truth is a wonderful thing to hear. Sometimes we don’t want to know the truth because it brings about remorse, regret, and sadness.

The truth is I know if I eat healthy and exercise, I will lose weight slowly and be able to keep it off. But what I want to hear is that by eating M & Ms, drinking Dr. Pepper and chocolate malts, I can lose 30 pounds in a week. I also want to hear that I can continue to eat whatever I want and never gain the weight back.

We want to hear what we want to hear. We want to hear that our sin is all good and God will not judge us. We want to hear that we are so special we can go about and never honor or praise Him and He will bless us beyond measure. That’s about as true as the M&M, Dr. Pepper, chocolate malt diet.

We need to hear that we serve a loving God, but He is a God of judgment. We need to hear that He will judge us. We need to hear that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23). We need to hear that God provided the way to have eternal life in glory with Him through His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16). We need to hear that Jesus is the only way to receive salvation (John 14:6).  We need to hear that those who reject Christ will be given over to evil (Romans 1:21-24). We need to hear that those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

False teachers not only are plentiful today, but they are literally becoming filthy rich by spreading lies. They are telling people what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. They have become popular because like our Scripture passage says, people’s ears itch to hear what they want to hear. They want to hear that it’s all okay. They want to hear that their sins will not hurt them. They want to hear that God will just overlook them not doing what they are called to do. They want to hear that He will overlook them doing what He has commanded them not to do.

My friend, I am here to tell you it doesn’t work that way. We are told that God will judge both the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1).

If you find a preacher that preaches the truth from God’s word, don’t get angry, embrace Him and thank Him for being truthful. Don’t just listen to the truth in God’s word but do as we are told to do in James 1:22.

The truth is none of us know how much longer we will be here. We must be prepared to answer to God for all we have said and done. Don’t let anyone tell you that God would never judge His people. Don’t believe their lies.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in His word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Don’t be enslaved in the bondage of sin and lies, know the truth and be free.

Have a great day!