A Time for Itching Ears and Accommodating Preachers

About this sermon

Introduction: There’s a thought that has been on my mind a lot in recent days as I’ve reflected on the 3rd and 4th verses of this 4th chapter. Does anyone ever expect to live in a such a time? Would we recognize if we were in that time? And, are we prepared to be faithful despite such a time? We are very familiar with the charge that Paul delivers around this sandwiched warning. We are familiar with the charge regarding a faithful handling of the Word of God. We are familiar with Timothy’s need to be sober-minded, to endure suffering, to do the work of an evangelist, and to fulfill his ministry. But do we really allow it to sink in, that these exhortations to faithfulness were given with REAL CONCERN? With a REAL challenge in mind? A REAL challenge, not an imaginary one. And a DISTINCTIVE challenge. The local church ALWAYS faces challenges in this world. Difficulty for the church is always in season. But what Paul has in mind is a special kind of season. It is not so much a challenge from the OUTSIDE, as it is a challenge that will arise from the INSIDE. Paul gives these charges with a dark future reality before his mind’s eye. He knows that his time is short. He knows what is at stake regarding the future of the church. He knows man’s capacity for unfaithfulness and defection, having already experienced it very recently in his own life (vs.9-18). And He knows how vital it is that Timothy, and every saint, be prepared to be faithful during some very difficult times that the church would experience in the future. I asked the question earlier whether anyone really expects to live in such a time as Paul describes, and whether we would recognize it. I SAID THAT, BECAUSE THE VERY NATURE OF THE KIND OF TIME THAT PAUL DESCRIBES, IS THAT IT WILL BE A TIME WHEN PEOPLE WILL BE LIKE THE PROVERBIAL FROG IN A KETTLE. They’re being boiled to death but it’s happening so slowly they don’t recognize it. A time when truth is not only in the minority, it’s wearisome to people. A it’s wearisome in the strangest place of all. It’s when truth becomes intolerable TO THE CHURCH. I mean to the professing church. When people who profess to be Christians will no longer listen to what they need to hear. When healthy teaching is rejected and teaching that affirms sinful desire is sought after. It’s a time we can describe from these verses in this way: “A time for itching ears and accommodating preachers.” And if you wonder why I’ve chosen this text today, it’s because of what I’m witnessing in our time. I believe we are living in such a time. We are living a time of sleepy congregations. We are living in a time when commitments that once made perfect sense to God’s people —because they’re commitments that reflect biblical convictions and priorities — are now ignored, disregarded, and sometimes even rejected as extreme. Commitments like faithfulness to worship gatherings. Commitments like sacrificial giving. Commitments like personal evangelism. Commitments like holy standards in our homes.