No itchy ears!

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 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 4:1-4 ESV

Paul wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy, from prison. Timothy had been sent to the church in Ephesus to address several issues. In this final chapter, Paul instructs him in the strongest possible terms, claiming the endorsement of God the Father and God the Son in anticipation of the approaching judgement. In this charge, we who sit in the pew get a picture of what we need from our pastors and leaders. It’s quite a list.

After doing some research into language, I discovered that Paul, God the Father and Jesus Christ believe that we sheep need:

• Reproof (elegche): the conviction or exposition of wrongdoing, often through clear evidence or confrontation. The aim is to make people aware of their sins or errors (John 16:8; Ephesians 5:11).
• Rebuke (epitimeson): a sharp admonition or correction of someone for their fault. It is a stern warning intended to prevent further misbehavior (Mark 1:25; Titus 1:13).
• Exhortation (paraklesis): encouragement that goes beyond mere platitudes such as “atta boy” or “don’t worry, God loves you”. It’s a passionate appeal to take positive action, based on the belief that, with God’s help, you can succeed. We are here to help. (Acts 27:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:1)

All these things come through sound teaching. We need to hear it repeatedly (“complete patience!”). Apparently, teaching us can be rather trying. Either we don’t always understand the first time, we forget over time, or probably both. We need these things continually, in every season, so that we do not wander off to follow entertaining but foolish teachers and turn away from the truth.

Thank God for pastors who provide what we need. Let’s go to the assembly of the saints this week, ready to receive it. No itchy ears!