Are you enduring sound doctrine – or justifying sin? This question is not meant to accuse, but to invite honest self-examination.

We live in a time when many no longer listen to or remain shaped by sound doctrine. Instead of allowing Scripture to form their lives, people increasingly reshape Scripture to justify what they already want to believe. If a behavior isn’t explicitly forbidden in the Ten Commandments, it can quickly be declared acceptable under the banner of “God is love,” as though love can be separated from truth, holiness, and restoration.

But is that really the full picture Scripture gives us? And are we willing to let God’s Word search us – not just affirm us?

A Warning from Paul

I 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, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 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. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
– 2 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV)

Paul’s charge to Timothy addresses a pattern that appears in every generation. There are seasons when God’s people grow weary of teaching that calls for repentance, endurance, and faithfulness. In those moments, it becomes tempting to prefer messages that comfort without correcting, affirm without forming, and reassure without challenging.

This does not mean the church should be harsh or unloving. But it does mean that love must remain anchored in truth. When sin is redefined – or quietly ignored – rather than named and healed, sound doctrine is no longer being endured.

As believers, we are called to remain rooted in God’s truth, even when that truth confronts us and calls us to change.

The Trend of Twisting Scripture

This trend is not new, but it has become increasingly visible and normalized. Churches, leaders, and everyday Christians sometimes use Scripture selectively to justify actions that stand in opposition to God’s revealed will. When this happens, the danger is not always open rebellion – but gradual drift.

If we stop enduring sound doctrine, we may find ourselves misaligned with God’s heart without even realizing it. Discernment, therefore, is not about suspicion or superiority, but humility and attentiveness.

I have seen this in my own life. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt compelled to speak on various issues from a biblical perspective. Yet over time, I noticed my focus shifting. Instead of remaining grounded in Scripture, I became pulled into political arguments and personal opinions. What began as concern for truth slowly drifted away from Christ-centered clarity.

That experience reminded me how easily any of us can lose our footing if we are not continually returning to God’s Word with prayerful dependence.

Are You Standing on Truth?

Do you know what sound doctrine is? Are you confident that your beliefs truly align with God’s Word?

It is easy to assume we are on the right path without ever testing what we believe. Yet Scripture consistently invites God’s people to examine themselves – not with fear, but with humility.

I encourage you to take one belief – just one – and compare it carefully to Scripture. Not only the verses that seem to support it, but the full witness of the Bible. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas where your thinking may need correction or refinement.

Faithful discernment also happens in community. Share your conclusions with mature believers who know Scripture well. Be open to challenge, clarification, and growth. Willingness to be corrected is not weakness – it is evidence of spiritual maturity.

A Sobering Reminder from Paul

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
– Romans 1:28–32 (ESV)

These words are not given to produce fear or condemnation, but to call for honest self-examination. Scripture names the reality of human brokenness so that restoration can follow.

As you read this passage, ask yourself: do any of these patterns touch my thoughts, words, or actions? And just as importantly, have I quietly approved of what God calls us away from?

Conviction, when received rightly, is not condemnation. It is an invitation to return to alignment with God’s good design for life.

Staying Anchored in Christ

My goal is simple: to point people – especially those who call themselves Christians – back to Christ Himself.

Jesus gave His life to restore fellowship with God for sinners like me, and for you. His grace does not excuse sin, but it does make repentance possible and transformation real. Growth in holiness is often slow and uneven, but it is sustained by grace, not fear.

I fail often, yet I continue striving – not to earn God’s favor, but because I belong to Him. I rely on accountability, community, and the steady work of the Holy Spirit to keep me grounded.

I encourage you to do the same. Remain anchored in sound doctrine. Test everything against Scripture. Walk faithfully as a citizen of God’s Kingdom. And live with steady confidence in Christ, who reigns now and will one day complete the restoration He has begun.

Your brother in Christ,
Duane