Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
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: Creeds and Confessions-help/hurt? |
Bible Note: Dear Brother John, Thank you for your question. It is a good one. Most modern American evangelicals have very little understanding of the purpose of creeds and confessions. I can find very few who have even invested the time in reading the most famous of the confessions and creeds of history. (As Thomas Fuller once wrote, "He that knows least commonly presumes most.") I'm certain that the modern philosophies of individualism and pragmatism have contributed to this deficiency. There's a modern hubris that deems anything of the past to be primitive and unsophisticated. But I'm equally certain that much of this is a part of the legacy of Finneyism. Many of the larger churches are simply non-confessional. Consequently, we often hear the mantra, "No creed but the Bible!" Of course, those that declaim creeds most loudly are simply following their own creeds -- creeds that are simply unpublished. :-) A. A. Hodge wrote, "The real question between the church and the impugners of human creeds, is not, as the latter often pretend, between the creed of God and creed of man, but between the tried and proved faith of the collective body of God’s people, and the private judgment and the unassisted wisdom of the individual objector." You point out the importance of creeds and confession when joining to a church. I can't imagine someone committing themselves to a church without first knowing what that church believed. Nor can I imagine a church wanting a member that would not first join in the concensus of the other members of their fundamental beliefs. Subscribing to a confession is, ultimately, an act of courage, honesty, and self-denial. So much could be said about this! I think of J. Gresham Machen's analogy, "Suppose in a political campaign in America there be formed a Democratic club for the purpose of furthering the cause of the Democratic party. Suppose there are certain other citizens who are opposed to the tenets of the Democratic club and in opposition desire to support the Republican party. What is the honest way for them to accomplish their purpose? Plainly it is simply the formation of a Republican club which shall carry on a propaganda in favor of Republican principles. But suppose, instead of pursuing this simple course of action, the advocates of Republican principles should conceive the notion of making a declaration of conformity to Democratic principles, thus gaining an entrance into the Democratic club and finally turning its resources into an anti-Democratic propaganda. That plan might be ingenious. But would it be honest?" The analogy is a valuable one when considering the value of creeds and confessions. Well, these are the thoughts that surface as I read your post. It certainly doesn't come close to fully answering the question. I hope it provides, however, more food for thought. In Him, Doc PS One day it would be interesting to uncover the confession and creeds that are expressed within the pages of Scripture. |