In this message we see the Characteristics, Consequences, and Cure for False Teaching. Brian also gives some very practical counsel on how to study the Bible so that you are handling it accurately.
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Dealing With False Teaching
2 Timothy 2:14-19
The Bible teaches very clearly that God is a God of truth. Jesus said His Word is truth (Jn. 17:17); He is called the God of truth (Ps. 31:5); Jesus said, “I am the way, the Truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6); and the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. In contrast, Satan is a liar and the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). Satan’s goal is to obliterate God’s truth with his own falsehood. He blinds the minds of the unbelieving. He works insidiously to cause his servants to introduce false teaching into the church. Therefore, leaders in the church must work diligently to make sure that false teaching does not enter into the church.
False teaching had always been a problem in the church in Ephesus. Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:29-30, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
In 1 Timothy 1:3-7 Paul wrote, “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
In 1 Timothy 6:3-5 Paul wrote, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”
Then in 1 Timothy 6:20-21 Paul concludes his letter by saying, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”
Things haven’t changed by the time Paul writes 2 Timothy, some 2 to 5 years later. There are still problems with false teaching. More than likely, Onesiphorus had brought news to Paul of the false teaching that was creeping into the Ephesian church. So, Paul now will deal with this subject from 2 Timothy 2:14-3:9.
Timothy is Paul’s apostolic representative in Ephesus. He is probably striving to bring oversight, direction, and unity to all of the house churches in Ephesus, which would have included dealing with the problem of false teaching. So, in order to give Timothy some direction in dealing with this problem, Paul writes to him of the Characteristics, Consequences, and Cure for false teaching.
1. What Are The Characteristics of False Teaching?
It Arises From Wrangling About Words
The word wrangle means “an angry noisy dispute; a quarrel; to bicker.” False teaching arises from word battles. What was going on? Well, 1 Tim. 1:4,6 refer to “myths, endless genealogies, and fruitless discussion.” 1 Tim. 6:4-5 refer to “controversial questions and disputes about words”. 2 Tim. 2:23 refers to “foolish and ignorant speculations.” This wrangling was over myths, speculations, and controversial questions. Whatever they were arguing about, it wasn’t about anything of substance, the pursuit of holiness, or obeying the commands of Christ. It was over words.
It Is Useless
These word battles were having no positive benefit to the church. Paul will tell Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:16 that God’s word is profitable. However, these bickering are useless. No one is edified. No one is instructed in truth. No spiritual growth takes place.
It Arises From Inaccurate Handling of the Word of God
We see this by implication of what Paul tells Timothy in verse 15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” A good workman is one who handles God’s word accurately. A bad workman is one who handles God’s word inaccurately. Then in vs. 18 Paul tells Timothy that Hymenaeus and Philetus had gone astray from the truth; that is they had handled God’s Word inaccurately and made a deadly mistake! The one particular example that Paul gives is that they were teaching that the resurrection has already taken place. Evidently they were saying that there is no future resurrection of believers; that the resurrection was purely spiritual which has already taken place in the new birth. So, really these guys were twisting Scripture and not taking it in its plain and natural meaning. Inaccurate handling of God’s Word is always at the root of false teaching. Beware, folks, of those preachers out there who mishandle the Word of God. Don’t let yourself get sucked into coming under the influence of someone who doesn’t handle the Bible accurately. Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:17, “For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” Then again in 2 Cor. 4:2 he says, “but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
It Includes Worldly and Empty Chatter
The word worldly refers to that which is “profane, unhallowed, ungodly.” Literally the word means “that which may be trodden; what is permitted to be trodden by people at large.” It is the opposite of holy or sacred. These false teachers were babbling on about the common things of the world. They weren’t necessarily sinful things, but they were wasting their time with myths, controversies, and speculations. Empty refers to that which has nothing of real spiritual substance. It does not profit. It is a waste of time. Today those preachers who use the Bible for worldly gain would be guilty of worldly chatter. This kind of preaching is rampant in America today. We have the preacher of the biggest church in the United States telling his congregation that they can have their best life now. We have those telling their congregations that they should be claiming health and wealth because they are King’s kids. Those who use the Bible to try to get what they want in life, rather than reverently coming to it to find out how they may please God are participating in worldly chatter. Let’s make sure we don’t go down that path here at The Bridge!
2. What Are The Consequences of False Teaching?
Ruin
In verse 14 Paul says “it leads to the ruin of the hearers.” We shouldn’t gloss over that. I believe “ruin” is speaking eternal ruin. In 1 Timothy 1:19-20 Paul writes, “keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.” The Greek word for “ruin” is catastrophe. It means it has a catastrophic effect. All of these myths, genealogies, speculations, controversies, babblings have led them away from the true faith and to their own spiritual ruin. Beware of following any teaching that is not squarely based on the Word of God. It may be your eternal undoing!
Shame
This is implied from verse 15 in which we read that the good workman does not need to be ashamed. However, the converse is also true. The bad workman has every reason to be ashamed. The implication is that false teachers will one day stand before God ashamed of what they have taught. The Lord will test every man’s work on That Day. Those who have done shoddy work with the Word of God will be called on the carpet. What would you think of the contractor who tries to get by with substandard materials, and shoddy workmanship in order to make a greater profit? That man should be ashamed of what he has done. Well, these false teachers were doing the very same thing. They weren’t interested in truth, but rather only what they could get out of it. They were peddling the Word. They thought that godliness was a means of gain. Paul refers to them as hucksters.
Ungodliness
All through the pastoral epistles Paul speaks of “sound doctrine” which really means “healthy teaching.” Sound doctrine is that teaching that results in spiritual health. Well, this false teaching was resulting in ungodly behavior. Bad doctrine results in bad living. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Tim. 6:3, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness.” Sound doctrine is vital to sound living. Sometimes we hear people cry, “We want Life, not Doctrine”, as though the two were mutually exclusive! Friends, they are inextricably joined together. If you want Life, you must have Doctrine, and when you commit yourself to sound doctrine, it will result in life.
Deathly Transmission
The word “gangrene” in verse 17 refers to what happens sometimes when a person experiences an injury or disease in which the blood vessels to a limb are cut off. The result is death and decay of the body tissue. Death of the tissue spreads through the limb. Sometimes the only effective remedy is the amputation of the limb. Often in the Civil War, soldiers had limbs amputated because gangrene had set in. If the limb were not cut off, it could result in the death of the soldier. Paul is saying that false teaching spreads, diffuses itself throughout the church, bringing death and destruction in its wake. One bad apple can produce a whole basket of rotten apples. One little bit of leaven will spread to the whole batch of dough. False teaching will infect the church like cancer. That’s why it has to be dealt with quickly and thoroughly. Sometimes the only way we can bring healing to a church is to remove the false teachers. This is what Paul did in 1 Tim. 1:20. There he says, “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.”
3. What Is The Cure For False Teaching?
Solemnly Charge The Church
In verse 14 Paul tells Timothy to “remind them of these things.” What things? Probably specifically verses 11-13 that precede it. In those verses Paul has expressed concern for the salvation of God’s people, and he has exhorted the church to persevere and warned them of what will happen if they deny their Lord. Here Timothy must remind them of the necessity to persevere in order to obtain salvation and eternal glory, and the danger of denying their Lord by going down the path of these false teachers. He also tells him he must “solemnly charge them.” This was serious business. It could mean spiritual life or death, depending on how they responded to this solemn charge.
Let me remind you again this morning friends, that the stakes are infinitely high. There is a heaven and there is a hell, and we are all headed to one or the other. So, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God who is present here this morning, beware of fighting with one another over trivial matters, speculations, and myths. I’m not saying this because I am aware of any problem. I’m not. But I say this to fortify us against the attack of the devil who would like us to divide and split over stupid little things. Usually Christians argue and fight over non-essential matters, and it hinders us from accomplishing the mission which Jesus has given us. There is a world to reach for Christ. We don’t want to waste our time arguing over silly things. I’ve known believers to spend lots of time and spill gallons of ink over whether we should use musical instruments in our meetings, when the rapture was going to take place, whether we should baptize in three times or just once, whether it should be forward or backward, whether we should immerse, pour or sprinkle, whether we can watch movies or not, whether we can drink alcohol or not, and whether we should worship on Sunday or if another day of the week was OK. The list just goes on and on and on. Many times these fights are arguments paralyze the church from engaging in its mission. The world looks on and either scratches its head or laughs at us. There are some issues we must fight for. Jude tells us we must earnestly contend for the faith. But let’s make sure we choose a battle that is worth fighting for. If that issue relates to the Person of God, the Person and work of Christ, or the essence of the gospel, we must fight for it. However, I have known people who will argue and fight, just because they love to argue and fight. No joke! In a former church there was a guy who effectively derailed the whole church for many months with his petty divisive constant arguing. Eventually we had to remove him from the church because of the problems he was causing and the fact that he would not repent of his divisiveness.
Accurately Handle The Truth
The word for “accurately handle” means to cut it straight. That word was used of a farmer who cut straight furrows, or a carpenter who cut a board straight, or a mason who cut bricks straight, or a tentmaker who cut straight hides. Really the word means “to do something correctly.” These false teachers were not handling the Word correctly, but were using it for their own gain. Not only must Timothy charge the congregation not to get involved in word battles, but he must set an example of how to handle God’s Word.
Paul tells Timothy, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God.” Paul wasn’t telling Timothy that he needed to be approved by man. No, he must be concerned about God’s approval. Timothy was to teach God’s Word for an Audience of 1! Further, he must be diligent in this. That means they must be zealous and work hard at it. Those here at The Bridge that teach the Word, must be diligent to make sure they are handling the Word accurately. That is the primary application, but there is a secondary application for all of you. You may not be Bible teachers in the church, but you surely need to study your own Bibles for yourself. Well, how should you do that? Let me exhort you this morning.
Be diligent in your study of the Bible. If you seldom pick up the Bible outside of church, and then only flip around a little, with no serious plan of study, that needs to change! Give yourself to God’s Word. Have it as a goal of your life that you want to master your English Bible. At a minimum that would mean that you become so familiar with it, that you can sum up any chapter of the Bible, and give it a title. Pour over the Word. Give yourself to it. Meditate on it.
B Be Absorbed In The Text
I Identify The Central Idea
B Build An Outline
L Look For Repeated Words and Phrases
E Examine The Context
S See the Connecting Words
T The 5 W’s
U Utilize Study Tools
D Determine the Plain Meaning of the Text
Y Your Life
Be Absorbed In The Text: The first thing to do when studying a passage is to read it over and over until you have seen everything you can see in it. Be like a little boy sucking on an orange until there is not one more drop of juice left. Lay down and soak in the text.
Identify The Central Idea: After reading the passage many times, seek to identify the one primary central idea in the passage. If you were to boil this passage down to its irreducible minimum, what would that one dominant thought be? This central idea will become the title for your passage.
Build An Outline: Use your central ideas as the title for the passage, and then seek to find the natural divisions within the passage, making sure that each division relates to your central idea.
Look For Repeated Words and Phrases: As you are reading through the passage, circle or highlight all the words that occur several times in the passage. For example, in John 15:1-7, you would mark “vine”, “branch”, “abide” and “fruit”.
Examine The Context: The old adage is very true – “A text without a context is a pretext for error.” Make sure you read what comes before and what comes after your passage. Seek to understand the author’s flow of thought, and what place your passage has in his overall argument.
See The Connecting Words: Notice all the connecting words like “for”, “but”, “and”, “therefore”, “just as”, “in order that”, “because”, “so then”, “however”, “or”. Each of these words has a distinct function within a sentence, and noticing it can break open its meaning to you.
The 5 W’s: Ask your text the 5 W questions – Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Jot down the answers you find from the text.
Utilize Study Tools: Using a concordance, Bible dictionary, cross-references, various translations and commentaries can enable you to obtain more information on the passage your are studying. If you don’t understand a word, look it up in a dictionary. Don’t rush to commentaries quickly in this process or you will deprive yourself of the joy of discovering insights for yourself. Many study tools can be accessed for free online. One such place is www.biblestudytools.com.
Determine the Plain and Natural Meaning of the Text: The old adage is still true, “If the plain sense makes good sense, seek no other sense.” We should not look for some deep allegorical meaning in the text, but rather be content with the plain meaning which appears on the surface of Scripture. Strive to determine the meaning of the original author to his readers.
Your Life: The Bible was not given to make sinners smarter, but to transform their lives. Your job in studying the Bible is not done until you have applied the truths you discover to your own life. Apply the SPECK method: Are there Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey, or Knowledge to gain from the text?
Beware of novelty in interpretation. Always be honest with the text. Submit to the text. Let the Scripture change you. You never try to change the Scripture. Often people will say, “well, that’s just your interpretation.” What do they mean by that? They mean, “you have your own interpretation and I have mine, and mine is just as good as yours.” Well, is that true? Folks, every Biblical text has a fixed meaning which is true and never changes. It may have many different applications, but it does have one true meaning. All interpretations of a passage are not equal. Our job is to find the right interpretation. Otherwise, we are just being sloppy workmen, making the Bible mean whatever we want it to mean.
Those of us who teach the Word publicly, let us never compromise the truth of Scripture for numbers or for personal gain. We are heralds, which means we must deliver the message exactly as it was given to us. Our job is not to embellish, color, or exaggerate the message, but just to give it to God’s people straight. We must never make a text say something it doesn’t just because it will be a great sermon!
Avoid False Teaching
In verse 16 Paul tells Timothy to avoid worldly and empty chatter. Not only must Timothy charge the congregation not to engage in it, but he must avoid it himself. In 2:23 Paul says, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.” Refuse it! Don’t get wrapped up in it. It won’t do any good. Sometimes the best thing is to withdraw from these arguments. Proverbs 26:20 says, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.”
Rest In God’s Sovereign Purposes
We know from 1 Timothy 1:19-20 that Hymenaeus and Alexander were blaspheming. Paul excommunicated them, but they were still influencing the church from the outside. At this point Alexander was gone, and Philetus had taken his place. These guys had upset or overturned the faith of some, and had suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Yet, in spite of that, the foundation of God stands firm. When a foundation was laid underneath a building, often the owner would put an inscription or seal on it. It was kind of like us when we write our names and dates on the wet cement for the driveway. The foundation of God’s Church has two seals or mottoes written on it. 1) The Lord knows those who are His” and 2) “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.” What God was doing in Ephesus could not be thwarted by these false teachers. These teachers could not destroy any of God’s elect. In fact Jesus said in Mt. 24 that false prophets would arise so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. However, it is not possible to permanently deceive the elect. No matter what was going on with these false teachers, the Lord knows those who are His, and those will be saved, and not destroyed by their pernicious teaching. You see, it’s not our knowledge of God that brings us comfort, but His knowledge of us. Let’s look at these two different seals on the foundation in a table:
| The Lord knows those who are His | Let everyone … abstain from wickedness |
| Election | Sanctification |
| God’s Decree | Our Duty |
| Results in Our Comfort | Results in Our Diligence |
| The Divine Side | The Human Side |
| Dated in Eternity | Dated in Time |
| A Declaration We Are To Believe | An Exhortation We are to Obey |
| Relates to the Security of the Church | Relates to the Purity of the Church |
Charles Spurgeon once said, “The first seal marked it for the Lord, the second secured its removal from the common stones around it. First comes election, and sanctification follows. I want every professing Christian to have that double mark, and so to be Christ’s man, known of all to be such by coming out from the unclean, and being separated unto the Lord.”
These two seals always go together. We pursue holiness because we are His. How can a person know if they are one of the elect? Well, one way, is that they will depart from wickedness. Jesus says in Mt. 7:23, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” In other words, those people who continue in lawlessness, were never known by Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t say, “I knew you once, but then you began to practice lawlessness, and so I don’t know you anymore.” No, He said “I never knew you!” Hymenaeus and Philetus had named the name of the Lord, but were promoting wickedness.
Folks, although some folks will undoubtedly fall away, God’s elect will never be moved. They are unshakeable, immovable. They are supported by God’s sovereign decree which can never be thwarted. You should derive comfort from this. Christ’s church is known, loved, and chosen by God and can never be ultimately deceived or lost, because they are held in His omnipotent hands. So, folks, make your calling and election sure by departing from wickedness. Isn’t that what Paul says in Ephesians 1:4, “just as He chose us in Him from before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless.” Your holiness is an evidence of your eternal election. Give yourself to cultivating a holy and godly life. Give yourselves to it with a holy abandon!
Let me leave you with just 2 thoughts from this passage: Accurately Handle the Word, and Abstain from Wickedness. As we do so, we shall find that the Lord knows that we are His. If we become false teachers, or refuse to abstain from wickedness, we may just find out on Judgment Day that the Lord doesn’t know we are His. That’s a very solemn thought isn’t it. Let’s pray.
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