2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NLT)

I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

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Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT)

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

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Hebrews 2:1 (NLT)

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

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I. Biblical truth isn’t subjective or conditional, it is consistent and absolute.

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Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

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John 14: 15 (NLT)

If you love me, obey my commandments.

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1 John 5:3 (NLT)

Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

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A. The Bible is Truth

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“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible’s teaching is offensive to you assumes that, if there is a God, He wouldn’t reveal any teachings  that upset you.  Does that belief make sense?”

- Timothy Keller

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2 Timothy 3:13-17 (NLT)

But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived. But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

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II.  The bible confronts and convicts instead of entertaining and affirming.

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2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NLT)

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

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Matthew 5:13 (NLT)

You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

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Jesus called us salt not sugar.  You’re here to preserve what is true, not make it sweeter for the world to accept.

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Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

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Isaiah 40:8 (NLT)

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

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Matthew 24:35 (NLT)

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

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Genesis 3:1 (NLT)

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

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III.  The word of God, and the will of God both leave you better off and show you a better way to live.  

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John 10:10 (NIV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

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Psalms 119: 11 (AMP)

Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

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Luke 11:28 (ESV)

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

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2 Samuel 22:37 (NCV)

You give me a better way to live, so I live as you want me to.

We want to follow up on this week’s message with a few questions that help you respond personally to what God is saying through His Word. Let this be a time of honest evaluation and spiritual reset.

1. When you encounter something in Scripture that challenges your opinions, desires, or lifestyle, how do you typically respond?
2. Hebrews 2:1 warns that we can drift away from the truth if we're not careful. What influences or habits in your life could be slowly pulling you away from God's Word?
3. The message reminds us that the Bible is meant to confront and convict rather than simply entertain and affirm. Where might you be seeking affirmation when God is inviting you toward transformation?
4. Jesus said, "If you love me, obey my commandments" (John 14:15). Is there an area of your life where you know what Scripture teaches but have struggled to put it into practice?
5. Practice: Spend 10 minutes each day this week reading 2 Timothy 3:14–17 and 4:1–5. Before reading, pray, "Holy Spirit, show me what needs to change." Write down one instruction or conviction from Scripture and take a specific step of obedience that day. Let God's Word shape your decisions rather than simply inform your thinking.