FALSE TEACHERS
Opening Prayer
Thank You, God, that Your light still shines on the path of wayward Christians.
Read 1 Timothy 1:1–11
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
New International Version (NIV)
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Reflect
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psa. 119:105, ESV). Does God’s Word guide you?Which is more important for the church: truth or love? Which feels more important to you? Compare verses 3 and 5 for Paul’s answer: neither! In Scripture, truth and love are inseparable. Paul charges Timothy to “command” the false teachers to stop; but his goal in this is not to win the argument or have his ego massaged, but love. The goal is that through the unrivalled teaching of God’s truth, a community of love would be built, one that is pure and kind and sincere. We all want that in our churches, but do we recognize that the love of God means love of his truth, and love of his truth includes opposing falsehood?
The false teachers in Ephesus probably had leadership roles within the church. What they were teaching seems to have been tied up with spurious interpretations of Old Testament texts (4,7), secret spiritual insight (6:20), asceticism (4:3) and possibly legalism (1:8). They taught that the resurrection of believers (1 Cor. 15:20–23) had already happened (2 Tim. 2:18). Perhaps this was an early “health and wealth” gospel of the initiated few receiving all God’s blessings now.
Apply
What should you do if you’ve come across erroneous teaching? How can you refute error in love?
Closing prayer
Ask God to give you a “pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith” from which this love comes (5).
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