Castle's Keep

Wanting What We Want

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged the young evangelist with these words:

I solemnly 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, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
2 Timothy 4:1, 2 (NASU)

He then followed by explaining a quintessential failing of humanity: our desire to hear what we want to hear.

The Beginning of the Church

The coming of the body of Christ on the Pentecost (Acts 2) following the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered in something truly unique in the world. Through Christ, all men and women could become a part of a single family, united in purpose, in redemption, and in adoption as sons and daughters of God (Gal. 3:28, 29). This body grew throughout the entire Roman world within only a few decades (Col. 1:23).

An Important Stop

As the Apostle Paul was journeying back to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey, he stopped in Miletus so that he could have the opportunity to speak to the elders of Ephesus one last time. His words were one of encouragement and of challenge, specifically to “shepherd the church of God” (Acts 20:28, NASU). As an example of how to accomplish this, he reminded those gathered of his own boldness in preaching not just what people wanted to hear, but instead the entire message God had given him: The “whole counsel of God” (20:27) as translated in the KJV.