Day 66: the Best Benadryl for Itchy Ears

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:1–5

Our modern age is intrigued by the concept of some kind of knowable God. But the Bible also reveals the supremacy of our Savior Jesus Christ—that a relationship with Him is the only way to truly know God or be rightly reconciled to Him (John 14:6). And that exclusivity, which is the very cornerstone of Christian orthodoxy, is what fosters the indignant resistance that seems to be rising in the world around us. Humanity has always longed for the divine; we just don’t want the divine to give us directives.

It’d be easier if Scripture had simply referred to Jesus as a life-coach instead of the Lord of all lords (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16), wouldn’t it? I mean no one could accuse a cover-to-cover, Bible-believing Christian of being narrow-minded or judgmental or legalistic then, right? Fortunately, we don’t have the authority, much less the power, to mitigate the promises and parameters God established for the redemption of mankind. And if we did have the capacity to widen the Gospel gate He designed, we’d do irreparable damage. Because when people step outside of the boundaries our Creator Redeemer established for all of our good, they don’t just walk away from the future and hope He’s planned for us as His image-bearers, they actually forfeit their freedom.

Sin is an attractive recruiter at first, with an alluring sales pitch about how you can enjoy a life without limits. But it soon morphs into an abusive and increasingly restrictive master, unwilling to loosen the shackles that keep its victims captive. We’ve all experienced it at some point—that thing we once thought would give us freedom eventually put us in chains.

So stay the course, dear ones. Don’t turn aside toward myths or be afraid of the truth. Resist the post-Christian cultural trendiness of only adhering to inspirational Bible passages that fit your personality type and editing out the ones that step on our all-too-human toes. The holy and holistic Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths (Ps. 119:105) and without it, we’re bound to ram our heads into so many walls that we’ll lose the ability to think straight! I’m pretty sure he’d be dismissed as a hatemonger if he were alive today, but I still think John the apostle says it really well in his valediction:

Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book. He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen. (Rev. 22:17–21)

• What Bible passage seems to be the brightest light for the pathway you’re on this season?
• What specific sort of sin struggle tends to promise you freedom while luring you back into chains?
• What places in Scripture step on your toes? Why do you think that is actually a good thing in the end?