Merry Christmas, church! I want to thank every single person who has read and considered any of these messages we’ve put out in the last year. The 26 verses we’ve learned as of this week have been the bedrock on which I’ve been able to teach my own children the Bible and by which they have come to a saving knowledge and faith of the Word, Jesus Christ. At CrossTrain, we truly believe what the Bible says about itself, that it is all-sufficient for producing faith in us through the word (Romans 10:17). Further, God by his grace saves us through faith by the hearing of His word, all to His glory (Eph 2). So now, at long last, we have finally reached the last memory verse to close out the year!
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Why this verse? Well, because if bad doctrine doesn’t kill you, it will at the very least hurt you and those around you! The bible is FULL of warnings against false teachings and teachers. The way is narrow, church. Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. There is ONE God, ONE savior, ONE gospel, ONE faith, ONE baptism, and ONE way to peace with God. In our sin and by Satan’s scheming, many are in the world who deceive and say the things that we, in our flesh, want to hear. But in the end it results in death. There are many very famous pastors, teachers, and singers who speak the language, but spread teachings that lead to pain, suffering, and damnation. They speak the language, but only mimic their father the devil who disguises himself as an angel of light. Jesus himself warns us that many false prophets and “annointed ones” will come and even perform great signs and wonders to lead many astray (Matt 24). Paul even tells us “to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; AVOID THEM.” (Rom 16)
So don’t follow them, Church! We are to cling to Christ, his work, and his word. We’ve learned in our time this last year that the Bible alone is where we can find God’s infallible, perfect Word. The Bible is where we hear him speak to us and, through his Holy Spirit, understand what he is communicating. We are to test all things by the word and respond to truth claims with “where does it say that in the Bible?’. As for us, we are the “be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men and be strong” (1 Cor 16) as we discern what people say in the name of God. In love, we must boldly stand for the truth while graciously leading those found in error back to the truth of scripture. We ought to do this all while realizing that, just as our faith is a gift (Philippians 1:29), so is our knowledge of the truth (James 1:17).
Questions 2 Timothy 4:3-4 can answer
Will we always like what we are taught about the Bible at first?
How can we know if something is truth or myth?
May we daily pray not only that other’s eyes may be opened to the truth, but first that God would cause us to come to realize any error in our own thought and that we may better understand the truth, thus better understanding him. It has been a great pleasure to go through these scriptures with everyone and I pray that these verses will be as impactful on all our children as they have been on me. We earnestly, earnestly pray for the salvation of all our children and trust that God uses us as parents in our primary ministry role His word will not return void and that the Holy Spirit will bring these little sinner’s hearts of stone to hearts of flesh! We truly love every one of you church! We will have one final message next week with no memorization to summarize things. But in the meantime, may God richly bless you by the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ!
In Christ,
Adam and Audra Griffin