AM Bible Study Group; August 13, 2014
1 Timothy 6:2b-5
Theme: Paul warns Timothy about one of the most dangerous forms ‘ungodliness’ in daily living—that of deviating from God’s revealed truth.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
In this last chapter of Paul’s letter to Pastor Timothy—a letter in which the apostle outlines to him the proper behavior that is to be expected of the household of faith—Paul deals with the general theme of godly conduct. He is emphasizing the kind of conduct that should not only characterize the body of believers when they are gathered together, but also when they are scattered out into the world. And in the verses before us today, Paul deals specifically with one of the most dangerous forms of ungodliness that can plague the household of faith—that is, an intentional, rebellious ‘deviation’ from the revealed truth found in God’s word.
At the end of His Sermon on The Mount, the Lord Jesus taught, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27). The words of our Lord—and the words that He gave to His apostles to pass on to us—are not words that have their origin in man. They are the words given to us by divine revelation. To intentionally depart from them, and to believe and teach and advance ‘another doctrine’, is a tremendously rebellious and destructive thing to do. It is an unspeakably consequential act of ungodliness. By contrast, as God told Joshua, “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:7-8).
A Biblical faithful church is a healthy fellowship. And so, Paul urges Timothy then—in addition to all else—to warn God’s people of the ungodliness of ‘spiritual deviancy’.
I. THE COMMAND TO TEACH REVEALED TRUTH FAITHFULLY (v. 2b).
A. Note the command that precedes the warning. Paul writes to Timothy and says, “Teach and exhort these things” (v. 2a). The “these things” would properly be understood to refer to the content of the whole letter. But by extension, we can take it that the whole of apostolic teaching is implied. The Lord Jesus Himself said that the Holy Spirit would guide the teaching ministry of the apostles (John 16:25-26); and even they claimed divine authority for the things they taught (see 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, 13; 14:37; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 1-13; 2 Peter 1:16-21; 1 John 1:1-4).
B. Note also that, in saying this, Paul gave a pattern to Timothy to follow. He was to “teach” these things; which was an act that appealed to the intellect. But he was also to “exhort” the people of God to obey them as well; which was an act that appealed to the will. Revealed truth is to be passed on not by teaching only (which would only lead to well-informed sinners), or by exhortation only (which would only lead to poorly-informed religionists). Rather, as Paul said elsewhere, the household of faith is to proclaim Christ—”warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28).
C. And finally, note that there is a sense in which this is a call to all the saints. All followers of Jesus are to be people who study the word of God, learn the doctrines of the faith, and consider carefully how to put God’s word into daily action. We are to all “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
II. THE WARNING CONCERNING THOSE WHO DEVIATE FROM REVEALED TRUTH (vv. 3-5).
A. By contrast, Paul goes on to speak of those who ‘deviate’ from sound biblical doctrine. He speaks first of their behavior; and describes their behavior in this way: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness . . .” (v. 3).
1. This doesn’t mean, of course, that if someone is occasionally mistaken in doctrine or practice, or ignorantly teaches something erroneous, they are therefore to be counted heretics. The form of the verbs that Paul uses are in the present tense—suggesting ongoing, habitual practices. They ‘ongoingly’ teach otherwise, and ‘habitually’ refuse to consent to wholesome words of the faith as a regular pattern of behavior.
2. Note how Paul says that they ‘teach otherwise’— that is, they teach contrary to the “these things” that Paul mentioned in verse 2. And they ‘do not consent’ to the ‘wholesome words’ that have their source in the authority of our Lord. The word Paul uses—here translated ‘does not consent’—means ‘to come to’; and it suggest the idea of humbly leaving one’s own man-made ideas and ‘coming over’ to what God says. This they do not ‘come to’ and assent to God’s word; but cling arrogantly and defiantly to their own ungodly and unwholesome ideas and beliefs.
3. The ungodly character of this behavior is shown in the fact that they do not consent to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ (which answers to “teach” in verse 2), and to doctrine which works itself out in practical godliness of conduct (which answers to “exhort”). As Peter once put it, “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage” (2 Peter 2:18-19).
B. Then note the character from which such doctrinally deviant behavior springs. Jesus once warned that false prophets would be known by ‘their fruits’ (Matthew 7:18). Paul writes of the preacher or proclaimer who teaches in a way that is other than in accord with revealed truth, “he is proud, knowing nothing . . .” (v. 4a). The real problem with those who deliberately ‘deviate’ is that they are proud (literally “puffed up”)—thinking that they have great insight and are enlightened; not realizing that they don’t really have a deep knowledge of anything. They are, as Paul said at the beginning of this letter, those who “have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm” (1:6-7).
C. Deviant preaching and teaching has a destructive product by which it can be detected. The spiritual deviant is not balanced and wholesome in the outcome of his work; “but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions . . .” (v. 4b).
1. We should beware of a professing believer who has a continually morbid and perverted obsession with controversial matters—someone who loves to get arguments going over things that don’t really contribute positively to the life in Christ. Paul wanted God’s preachers to “shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:16). And while we should always do our best to be precise in our interpretation of God’s word, and should always be careful in what we say, we should also be on the alert against those who love to get into arguments about mere ‘words’. Paul also warned God’s people not “to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14).
2. It may seem as if there is a very hard line to draw clearly in all this—that is, that we’re sometimes unsure when it is time to ‘contend for the faith’ (Jude 3), or when it is time to let a matter go. But one sure indicator is by what the ‘contention’ produces. Deviant debates in the household of God prove themselves by the fact that they produce such things as ‘envy’ among God’s people, ‘strife’ in the sense of an ongoing fight, ‘reviling’ in the sense of slander against other professing believers (literally “blasphemies”), and ‘evil suspicions’ by which we question one another’s motives or faithfulness. James warned, “For who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).
D. And finally, note that behind spiritual deviance is a deep spiritual delusion. The apostle Paul describes the deviant’s behavior as “useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (v. 5a).
1. Their habitual contentions and debates are not useful or reasonable. They do not spring from divine revelation; but are of a mere human source. They are “useless wranglings” that originate from patterns of human thinking that have been corrupted by sin. As God’s word warns us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). No wonder it results in wrangling!
2. What’s more, they are “destitute” or “robbed” of the truth. The truth of God results in peace among God’s people, and godliness in practical living; but since these do not love the truth—and would prefer to ‘deviate’ from it—they are ‘robbed’ of it; and the result is contentions and ungodliness. It’s a dangerous thing to not love the truth that has been revealed from God in His word. When it comes to those who do not respond rightly to the light, Jesus warned, “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him” (Luke 8:18).
3. Note finally that, in their delusion, those who deviate from the truth “suppose that godliness is a means of gain.” The kind of “gain” spoken of here is a sinful covetousness for temporal riches. We will explore the verses that follow in greater detail in our next lesson; but Paul goes on to explain, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (vv. 6-10).
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Note that, in all this, Paul merely describes the ‘deviant’ and the results of his or her deviancy. In this passage, He doesn’t necessarily tell us what to do about it. In some translations, verse 5 ends with, “From such withdraw yourself”; but scholars tell us that this is not in the most reliable texts of this passage.
But Paul does exhort us to ‘withdraw’ from them elsewhere in Scripture. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17-18). By God’s grace, may we ‘cleanse ourselves’ of such; so that we “will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).