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2 Timothy 4:3 – Why Do You Believe What You Believe?
People will believe what they want to believe. We are that weak, and that should scare us. For proof of this, let’s look at history to see how messed up people can be while claiming to use the Bible. And I mean really messed up!
There was a heretical “Christian” sect called the Cainites. A sect is a sort of denomination. We learn about the Cainites in Irenaeus’s polemical treatise Against Heresies. He describes them as being licentious (same problem in 1 Corinthians 5 and Romans 6 for those who twisted God’s grace). Pay close attention to what follows concerning how this “Christian” sect interpreted the Bible. They credited Cain (Genesis 4) and the Sodomites (Genesis 19) with having their origin from “the power above.” These Cainites venerated Judas, who understood “the mystery of betrayal” and underwent “sinful and abominable actions” to attain perfect knowledge in the name of an angel who attended and incited them.
Paul warns against angels bringing a different gospel (Galatians 1:8). Peter warns against twisting the scriptures leading to destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Why do people do this? One way to put it is people want their ears tickled (2 Timothy 4:3). Another way of saying it is people want to believe what they want to believe. Nothing has changed. We can make the Bible say anything we want, even when it doesn’t say it. Isn’t that scary? Why do you believe what you believe?
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