Elder Chew Chong Kiat

Sweet Doctrines or Sweetened Doctrines

2Ti 4:3 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.

One of the signs of the last days is that men will not bear to hear sound doctrines. They don’t like the teachings that is contrary to the way they want to live. They love darkness more than light but the sound doctrines expose their deeds and their walk which is contrary to the ways of God. And instead of taking heed to the counsel of the Word of God, they resist the sound doctrines and turn elsewhere to seek a different counsel, one that allows them to remain comfortable in their sinful ways. They leave the church not because there is anything wrong with the preaching and teaching, but because "they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (1Joh 2:19). They seek for themselves teachers to scratch their itching ears. The false teachers will not teach the good and old paths of the Scripture wherein is the good way (Jer 6:16). These having itching ears will not walk in that old path to find sweet rest to their souls. But they will chose the sweetened doctrines of these false teachers that speak "peace" to their hearts (Jer 6:14) when there is no peace to be had in a life of sins and waywardness (Isa 48:22, 57:21).

These teachers teach what the hearers would like to hear. They are today hailed as grace preachers who are said to exalt the grace of God and liberate Christians to a joyful faith without the chains of the law. They teach that Christ has fulfilled the law of God on our behalf. I say amen to that. But they go on to say that because of that, Christians are no longer bound to keep the law of God. In other words it is okay to sin. They add that Jesus died for our sins and we are already forgiven of all our sins - past, present and future. We are under grace and not under the law. These are the voices of forked tongues that mix truth with a little error, twisting the Scriptures to their own destruction and the destruction of the hearers who are foolish enough to obey. The Scriptures say that God is light (1Joh 1:5) and they that break the law of God sin (1Joh 3:4). They that sin and remain in sin without repentance cannot be walking in the light and they cannot be the children of light (1Joh 1:6). Be not deceived! It is true that Christians do not keep the law of God to be saved, but they that are saved will certainly walk in righteousness before God, by taking heed according to the law of God. We cannot miss this clear teaching from the book of 1 John. Whilst we magnify the grace of God, we must reject the error of ‘hypergrace’ teaching which distorts God’s grace to condone sin and lawlessness.

A truly born again believer has a new relationship with the law of God - the law is now a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. All the doctrines of God become sweet to him. Ps 119:103 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! [yea, sweeter] than honey to my mouth!" Ps 19:10 "More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." Before salvation, the law of God is the sword that cuts and convicts sinners. After salvation, the law of God is the light that guides his narrow path to help him walk in righteousness and not in sin.

While some may classify exhortation and instruction in righteousness (2Tim 4:2, 3:16) as sweet doctrines, and rebuke and correction as bitter, the Scriptures call them all profitable (2Tim 3:16) and sweet. "When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul." (Pr 2:10). When we are rebuked or corrected and our hearts are tender and humble, we will turn to God with a broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17). What will follow is the return of peace, joy and gladness (Ps 51:8,12). Rebuke and correction may be grievous like bitter pills, but they are good like medicine, and after they enter the heart and are received with humility, they will work good and yield peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby (Heb 12:11). How sweet is correction and rebuke that lead the soul back to Christ the Saviour, in whom is the fountain of life and pleasantness!

Let us give thanks for rebuke and correction as much as for exhortation and instruction in righteousness. Pray for God to give us teachable and tender hearts (2 Ki 22:19) that we will prepared to seek the law of God and to do it and teach others also (Ezra 7:10).

Sweet or sweetened doctrines, which will we chose? I pray that we will chose the sound and sweet doctrines and reject the sweetened, false and pernicious doctrines. Amen.