For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

In these two verses from his letter to his young disciple Timothy, Paul describes conditions during the last days before the return of Jesus Christ. The phrase “itching ears” in verse 4 could be translated, “an itch for novelty.” Isn’t that an apt description of people in the church today? I am amazed at the crazy things that people who profess to be Christians will buy into. It seems as though every few years some new doctrinal fad or teaching comes along that everyone gets worked up about.  People get caught up in nonsense, and it is an itch for novelty. After awhile, they tire of it and run off to some new thing. It’s because they have never learned to love the Word of God.  The Bible tells us that in the last days, there will be false teachers, there will be a false gospel, and there will be false miracles. Only those Christians who are conversant with the Word of God and are biblically literate will be able to identify them.

Jesus said we are to go “and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). The church is a place where the Bible should be taught and where God’s people should learn the teachings and the requirements of the Word of God. It should be a place where we worship, pray, and use the gifts God has given to us.

Novelty isn’t what we need, it is consistency. A steady day-by-day walk with Jesus and a daily commitment to mine the treasures of His Word will not only bring us the maximum amount of joy in life, it will also protect us from false teaching and false messiahs.