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NASB | 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God's truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, |
Subject: Doctrine Divides |
Bible Note: Doctrine Divides '"Doctrine divides" has been the hue and cry. Yes, doctrine does divide - that’s its very purpose. It divides us from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and from those . . . who promote a distorted view of Christ and His atonement.' -- Paul R. Belli and G. Richard Fisher ____________________ Here on StudyBibleForum.com it's not unusual for me and certain others 'to be in the role of looking closely at people's doctrine and seeing what's being taught and raising questions and asking whether things are sound or accurate or right and true and good, even among members of the Body of Christ, members that identify themselves with Christianity. Some people get very uncomfortable with that. They accuse us of dividing the Body and assaulting other Christians and say that we shouldn't correct each other in public...As a matter of fact, we're called heresy hunters by some in a disparaging fashion. I don't consider myself a heresy hunter at all. I consider myself a Christian who's concerned with the truth and my attempts are to try and clarify what the truth is and challenge those things that are mistaken. 'Incidentally, I am not at all placing myself above everybody else in so doing because I consider it my duty to simply use the best thinking and resources that I have to try and determine what the truth is and to promote it. But in so doing I expect that others will do the same with regard to me. My issues, my ideas, my conclusions are certainly open to scrutiny like anyone else's. I don't threaten you with the Holy Ghost machine gun if you should challenge my notions on something. I think it should be an open field here where everybody puts their cards on the table and may the best ideas win whether they're theological ideas or ethical ideas or value ideas. ____________________ "And by the way, what is wrong with being a heresy hunter? Only criminals are afraid of policemen." ____________________ 'And by the way, what is wrong with being a heresy hunter? Think about that. Would it be better if no one was willing ask the hard questions, if no one were poking around looking for theological distinctions? Is that the kind of church that you want to live in? Let's get rid of everybody who asks the hard questions or who raises the concern. Let's get rid of everyone who points the finger. Sometimes pointing fingers land on guilty subjects. And there's only one way to find out. It's to point the finger and then look at the evidence. 'Has God not commissioned us to protect His word? Has He not commissioned the church in general, and if He has then He's commissioned individual people to be more alert to that than some others. That's the illustration of the body in 1 Corinthians 12. That's why every part of the body has a particular job. We work together for the fullness of the Body. You've got everybody doing a different job. So it seems to me if God is concerned about truth then there are going to be some people placed in the body that are especially concerned about watching for the nastiness that creeps in. Didn't Paul himself say "Guard the flock"? Didn't he warn the Ephesian elders in chapter 20 of the book of Acts that this kind of thing was going to happen? Didn't he tell Titus to refute those in error? Didn't he tell Timothy that many are causing division and problems? Didn't Jesus Himself talk about this kind of thing? This is a very important part of the church.' The Bible teaches that 'it's vital that we guard the truth and watch out for it. It doesn't mean that the heresy hunters are always right. They're not. We're not. 'Can you imagine someone saying, "Oh him? He's a policeman. That jerk is always slinking around looking for someone committing a crime. What a creep." Can you imagine that? "I wish all of those policemen would just disappear." What kind of person would make a remark like that? A criminal. A criminal makes that kind of remark. Only criminals are afraid of policemen. 'I'm not a theological criminal and that's why I'm not afraid of heresy hunters. Let them come on with force and pick at me from one end to the other because if there's something wrong with my teaching it's got to go. That should be the attitude of every Christian who is working on behalf of the Body of Christ in my view. And the only ones who squawk about the heresy hunters are those that have something to fear from heresy hunters. I think what Paul Crouch* is saying is don't hunt for heresy on my turf. 'My friends, I'm extending an open invitation for you to hunt for heresy right here where I live. If it's there then let's get rid of it. 'At least that's the way I see it.' ____________________ *"as Paul Crouch puts it". Crouch's Magic Word by Gregory Koukl (www.str.org/free/commentaries/theology/crouch.htm) |