John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."Scripture identifies itself as true teachings. Scripture is God's inspired word.(2 Timothy 3:16). Whatever scripture says, then, is truth. As such preachers are false teachers if they fail to preach exactly what scripture says. Of course there is interpretation and context, but scripture means whatever it was at the time. Along with that, God's word is unchanging (Luke 21:33). What was written 2000 years ago applies to now as it did then. If preacher's teach differently than what scripture says, they are heretics!
Let's go with preachers who still preach truth. They are few and their numbers are dwindling. They can be identified as truthful when they preach what scripture says, not what they wished it said!
When truth is taught the listener can do four things with it: 1) accept, 2) reject, fail to listen or 4) ignore. In truth most people just ignore truth. It's not necessarily done intentionally, but Satan's emissaries puts confounds around to distract people from accepting truth. It may be thinking on lunch, watching people or even a baby crying in the sanctuary. Distraction is a technique of evil forces. Most people get distracted and are not even aware of it. They neither accept nor reject.
On the other hand some people intentionally ignore truth! They know it's the truth, but they still are rebellious. They want to do it their own way and take their chances with a graceful God. This means that the listener prefers the lie to the truth. They do what's right in their own eyes while sub-consciously knowing they are wrong; or just don't care!
Some reject the truth. They claim that it's outdated or science is advanced since scripture was written. They ignore the claim of scripture that it is unchanging. They believe that truth is dynamic. It changes with the times!
Others reject truth because pleasure is, well, more pleasurable. It's fun they want and in truth, righteous living is not fun. It brings joy, but fun is if the flesh. It's what the world offers. It's what your true god (you) wants to appease you. Pleasure is your idol, You worship your own flesh and the world provides that pleasure.
Those who reject truth often get angry because truth interferes with pleasure or false belief. On one occasion my preacher preached against abortion and shacking up. There was a young woman there that day with her boyfriend who came with her Christian parents. The young couple were shacking up and she had just aborted her baby. Rather than the parents being grateful that God had inspired truth to be preached, they got angry with the preacher for preaching the truth!
2 Timothy 4:2 " Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."In all honesty fables fare easier than truth because truth requires a person to change! Being "born-again" a new creation is all about change. That means the person who is born again endeavors to live a righteous life without sinning. That takes all the fun out of life for them! They would rather hear false doctrine which does not require righteous living. As such they get angry when truth is spoken.
If people aren't getting angry in church at what's preached, chances are the truth is not being preached. That's because human nature is to reject truth and only by grace and at the instigation of the Holy Spirit are hearts willing to change. People mostly say two things on this subject 1) "Don't judge me!" and 2) "I won't change for anybody!" Their ears itch to hear things with which they agree even when they know they are wrong! It seems that if they reject truth they are not accountable. That's a way Satan deceives.
The desired way to respond to truth is to accept it as such. We've seen that many people accept the truth, but still continue on in their old ways. That's spiritual laziness. "I'll do that later when I'm too old to have fun and pleasure means less to me." That day may never come! People keep putting off obedience until the last seconds of their life and by then their hearts stull aren't ripe for change. They serve two masters: God and Self, but it's God they hate! (Matthew 6:24) because if they love God they will obey him (John 14:15).
Then we have those who accept and obey. There IS no other way for faith without works is dead! (James 2:20). Being a Christian is all about grace, but God's will is that Christians live by truth. That's obedience. Loving God is not being tolerant of sin and sinners, but rebuking sinners who are living in sin. God's truth requires obedience, not tolerance, but liberal churches teach tolerance and misuse "thou shalt not judge". Sure we're not to judge harshly, but to rebuke we must have an opinion that the person is a sinner!
So there are the choices. Most reject truth and get angry because their god (the Self) wants to do what appeases it. It wants to have fun and have people bow to it. Modern preachers now bow to their own"selves" and to the many "selfs" of the congregants. They are destined for hell and they are going together! In hell sinners will hate the preacher who preached falsely to them and the preacher will hate them! The consequence of rejecting truth is eternal hate! That's not much fun for anybody.
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