Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” And that is EXACTLY the time in which we live. So many people today don’t want to do what the Bible actually commands, and they don’t want to give up this world or the entertainments and pleasures of sin, so they look for someone who will tell them “You don’t have to do that!” And there are countless HUGE churches in today’s world filled with people who have turned away from listening to the truth and wandered off into sort of myths and lies!
And the really sad thing is, there are countless people eager to make a fortune off of those who are blindly following these myths, so they write all sort of books and teachings and say things like “I’ve found the secret!” or “This is what the Bible REALLY means…” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 tells us, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” I really feel sorry for these people when they stand before God and have to give an account of how they have led thousands, if not millions, of people astray from the truth!
The Bible is VERY clear about the truth and what is righteousness. Jesus Himself told us, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15) The Apostle John wrote “By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3) and “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, summed it up for us in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
The truth is, if it cost Jesus Christ the hatred of the world, the ridicule of scoffers, and ultimately His death on the cross, why should we expect it to cost us nothing to follow Him? There is no “secret” to following Him – just do what He commands!