If you take the time, I believe you could find a church that will teach what ever you want to hear. In fact, they will take scripture right out of the Bible and rationalize any point of view a person could come up with. For example, recently I heard a person trying to sell his book about becoming rich through Biblical principles. He quoted a scripture about how the Christian will have an abundant life, which may be true, but it may not necessarily be in materialistic terms. God may very well bless you financially as He did many in Biblical times, but there is not a financial formula in the Bible to becoming rich. In 2Timothy 4:3 Paul talks about how people will gather around them teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. That was true then and is true now.
The second book of Timothy was St Paul’s last letter he wrote before being executed. It was to Timothy and others, passing the torch of leadership of the early church. I would encourage you to read this short letter because it is a summary of how we should live and what we should expect of our church leaders. Paul was in and out of prison and knew he did not have much time left on this earth, which gives even greater weight to his words in this letter. He did not have any other motive in this writing other than to give last minute instructions to those who would carry on his work and promote God’s plan. This is the most intimate and moving of all Paul’s letters, because it was his last.
Paul starts the letter with tenderness and love for Timothy, but reminds him of the qualities and sacrifices needed to spread God’s message. He tells him to remember the gifts God has given him to teach with boldness, staying disciplined and to be ready to endure hardships for the sake of Christ. He then warns Timothy to be ready to reject errors in doctrine, holding fast to the truth in the Bible. Paul warns him of the opposition that he would face in the last days from self-centered people, who would use the church for their own gain, teaching false doctrine. If you look at the churches today, you will see exactly what Paul was referring to. I have no idea if we are in the last days, but what Paul describes sounds so much like what is happening today.
Chapters two and three not only tell the Christian how to act, but also warns about what kind of people will be around us. In verses 3:2-5 it talks about in the last days there will be people who are “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, lovers of pleasure, etc. However, what Paul warns us of in verse 5 are people who will take on the form of Godliness, but will deny His power. What this is telling me is that people will be going to church and acting holy, but living according to the rules of society and not the commandments of the Lord. This is why it is so important we understand what the Bible calls a sin and the way God is calling us to live, because we can not always assume our church leaders are going to be spelling it out for us. We must take responsibility for our own actions by the choices we make and then hold our church leaders responsible for teaching the full truth as outlined in the Holy Word of God, the Bible.
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