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WHY PEOPLE REJECT TRUTH "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (II Tim. 4:1-4) One of the sad realities of living in these last days is the fact that believers must witness the continual rejection of Bible truth, even by people who claim to be Christians that believe the same book that we believe. As our text says, they just "turn away their ears from the truth." Why? Why is it that some people just will not accept the clear and truthful words of God? I. PEOPLE FOCUS ON THE MESSENGER, NOT THE MESSAGE. Far too many people aren't hungry enough for the truth to open their mouths wide (Psa. 81:10), so they take one look at the messenger, find some fault, then turn away. As a result, they never grow spiritually and amount to anything of any significance. Wise people love the truth enough to not be distracted by any flaws of the messenger, but rather to remain focused on the needed message itself. II. THEY WANT PRAISES, NOT REPROACHES. Hebrews 13:12-13 says, "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." Today's Christian has been conditioned to believe that his service to God deserves the applauds and praises of men, so anything that diminishes such is automatically rejected, and nothing will diminish your popularity more than unpleasant Bible truth. Rather than going unto Jesus WITHOUT the camp, today's Christian prefers to sit around the campfire with others singing Kumbaya. Truth isn't welcome there, so it gets rejected. III. THEY LACK THE CHARACTER TO ENDURE PERSECUTION. Jesus said in Mathew 13:20-21 that some would endure for a while and then become offended "because of the word." It was fun and exciting until the devil drew a target on their backs and fired a few shots. Now they pretend that they need to reject truth since it causes division. Instead, they'll just focus on the "love of Jesus." IV. THE LIFESTYLE CHALLENGE. Sometimes it's not so much persecution or the reproaches of Christ that turn one away from truth; it's just the simple lifestyle challenges that they'd rather not face. Maybe getting the truth means driving further to a different church. Forget it. Maybe it means one must start supporting missions. Forget it. Maybe it means he has to burn his worldly music. Forget it. There's a church just down the street that doesn't have a problem with his worldly ways, so he can just go there. He never even grows enough to have to deal with persecution or reproach. He just immediately takes the path of least resistance where he isn't required to bear a cross. V. THE HUMILITY REQUIREMENT. Many people turn away their ears from the truth indirectly by disqualifying themselves. They might want the truth, but God will not give it to them because of their proud hearts that will use it only for self glory. I Peter 5:6 tells us to humble ourselves so that God can exalt us in due time. A man who seeks to open his own doors and exalt himself is a man who closes the door of truth in his life. James 4:6 says, ". . . God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." It's hard to receive truth when God is resisting you. It's pretty much an uphill struggle with many obstacles, so the decision is usually made to take an easier path. Other points could be made, but those are some of the more common ones. Those are the ones that I've seen pull people out of church over the years and settle them in either Laodicean churches or no church at all. But "Jesus still loves them, and that's the main thing."