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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: Unification Just For Unity's Sake? |
Bible Note: Unification Just For Unity's Sake? "Why are you dividing the Body this way? Why are you attacking Christians? These people love the Lord." [This is a question that, in various forms, I have repeatedly been asked, especially when I dare to question the teachings of certain TV preachers and others who "end up teaching things that are a bit bizarre and weird." --Radioman2] - - - - - - - - - - - - - 'I'm deeply concerned about any rush to unification just for unity's sake.' - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Christian:" A Sound or a Word? by Gregory Koukl 'I think the medium of TV lends itself to excess, such that people who are not well trained in theology can be launched into positions of high influence and authority, and end up teaching things that are a bit bizarre and weird. When that happens I take exception and try to be a defender of the truth, as I understand it. But then people call in and say, "Why are you dividing the Body this way? Why are you attacking Christians? These people love the Lord." 'If you've been around for a while and understand the issue of tactics here--especially the suicide tactic-- you notice that this objection immediately defeats itself because this person is calling me on the air and publicly telling me that I am wrong for speaking on the air about other people who are wrong. In other words, they are accusing me of doing the very thing that they are in the process of doing. It doesn't bother me because I don't think there is anything wrong with that, per se. But their whole point is that I'm so divisive. Why don't we stay unified? After all, we're all Christians. We all love Jesus--as if there is something magical about this sound "Christian," or this sound, "love Jesus," such that those who have a commitment to the sound should therefore not have any meaningful differences between them. 'My view is that "Christian" is not a sound, it's a word. And the phrase "loving Jesus" is not two sounds, it is two words. The difference between a sound and a word is that a sound is a noise and a word means something. It has particular and peculiar content. 'I would be the first to agree that sometimes we major in the minors. Christians get all hot and bothered about minuscule theological issues, and Paul himself says don't fuss about it; don't waste your time with the silly things. I think one characteristic of an ill-educated church is that they create a tempest in a teapot. They fuss over the things that mean very little and they ignore the things that are really critical. 'What's the difference? If you know anything about church history, you know the difference. It is easy for someone to say, "Koukl, you think that what's important to you is really critical, and the rest is insignificant. Well, maybe you're wrong." 'Well, maybe I am wrong, but I'm trying to line up my understanding of what is critical with what the church has characteristically lined itself up with over the last 2000 years. I'm trying to maintain a historical perspective and not simply play my own evangelical joy-toy, my own hobby horse. A historical perspective will help protect you from doing that. 'I'm deeply concerned about any rush to unification just for unity's sake. This is the problem with the World Council of Churches. Their idea is, "Let's just ignore our differences and get together." But any love that is not based on truth--as a teacher of mine once said--is not love, but adultery. 'I want you to think carefully about this for a minute. It really hinges on the distinction between the sound and the word. 'I might ask you then, "What unites us?" And you say, "We all love Jesus. That's really what is important here. Not all those little theological minutiae." My response is going to be, "Why do you want to be so divisive?" You'll say, "What do you mean?" I say, "Why would you exclude all these people who call themselves Christians, but who don't feel about Jesus the way you do? In other words, they don't 'love Jesus.' Why do you want to impose this doctrinal standard of 'loving Jesus' on them? That's very divisive. You probably want to start your own denomination of people who are the 'Love Jesus' denomination, excluding all those who don't love Jesus."' ____________________ "Christian:" A Sound or a Word? by Gregory Koukl This post is an excerpt from the above commentary. To read more go to: (http://www.str.org/free/commentaries/index.htm). On 5-15-2003 *only*, you can go to (http://www.str.org/cgi-bin/daily_commentary.pl). |