1 Timothy 6:3-5
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
The bible is quite vocal in its warning against (1) a false prophet or false teachers, and (2) a false teaching or false doctrine. Jesus’ ministry had repeatedly criticise the Jewish religious leaders in their time and keep on correcting them in many occasions or warning the crowds or the Jewish people who follow their teachings.
Paul in this part of his epistle to Timothy is similarly giving some warning to his child in faith and dealing with the spreading popularity of false doctrines being circulated in their time. This letter did not just suddenly include this topic without real relevance in their time.
It is good that this apostolic advice were given that even in our current day and age, we may also be warned of what we are hearing. Paul’s intention is that each and every Christian will be able to exercise the spiritual discernment to distinguish the teachings that they received whether of God or against Him.
Let us take a look at how Paul helped us to train our understanding of anything we hear and make sure that we are not easy to believe in any false doctrine that we may hear every now and then. As he described, a false teacher is one who:
A. Teaches different doctrines
There are many preachers and teachers nowadays that undermine the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and teach a different doctrine against what historically a Christian Orthodox teachings kept for generations by faithful Christian believers. It called out as different because of its differences with what has already been taught by the early apostles who were entrusted by Lord Jesus Christ to teach the first century believers.
It is important for every disciple that they not only know and understand the Bible, but also test that their understanding is not completely different from the historical Christian Orthodox doctrines. This can be verified in many ways such as reading Christian Histories, Creeds and Confessions, Statement of Beliefs, Biblical Scholarships, and/or Council Declarations. It is also good to know what are the known heresies and false doctrines to help us be kept under the faithful and biblical Christian doctrine.
The Bible surpasses not only the test of time but also from every empirical investigation made by both believers and non-believers, yet remain standing and true to its claims. Doctrines are important to give clear understanding of what we are believing that we may defend those who challenge the integrity and truthfulness of the Sacred Scripture along with all its claims of any topics.
B. Againsts the sound words of Our Lord Jesus Christ and godliness
One of the challenge of today's generation is that words of Jesus Christ is being quoted and misused for personal gain or misapplied to support wrong or false claims. As one of the general principles of biblical interpration, the true meaning of scripture is the intended meaning of the author. Though it has one meaning, the passage can have more than one application. Therefore, it is the task of every Christian believer that the meaning must be preserved and that the application will not be derailed to its intended meaning and purpose.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will help us and lead us to the careful understanding and wise application of every part of the Sacred Scriptures. Without the superintendence of the Holy Spirit, we may fall to corruption and blaspheme our God for wrong meaning and applications. This is common to some denominations who will just approve wrongdoings and the worst to apply Christ's word as means for approval, using such in out of context meaning.
As what Apostle Paul mentioned in Romans 1:29-32 - 29 "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
C. Exploits those in depraved mind and depraved in truth.
One of main effects of false teachings is the possibilities of conflicts which may happen in the event of those who will believe and not to it. Most of the time, those who are not soaked in the Truth of the Sacred Scripture are the one that may fall to false if and only if they were misled to their limited understanding. Therefore, the goal of each and every believer is to continue to be sanctified by the Word of Truth, even Jesus Christ's priestly prayer includes this in JOhn 17:17, that we may come to the knowledge of truth.
If we keep ourselves depraved in truth, our mind will continue to depraved as well, ending ourselves to continuous corruption or no perceiving of the Wisdom of God at all. We must take every opportunity to devote our time both in reading the word of God and in prayer as our lifestyle, not just a regular schedule, to supply continuous noursihment to our soul and spirit. As Paul also said in Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Every local church is not exempted from the planting of the devil seed in the vineyard of God. But God allows both evil and good to grow together, that in the day of harvest, He will command His angels to gathered the weeds and thrown in fire while the wheats be kept in His barn. Therefore, you and me are both responsible to keep ourselves from this schemes of the devil (and be subject to spiritual exploitation) by keeping ourselves in the steps of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:12-16
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
I just want you to remember, that Christ has already revealed to us how false teachings will be overcome by His people, His sheep. He told us in His very parable of Good Shepherd that He will lead His sheep, they will follow Him, for they (His sheep) knows His voice. In John 10:2-5, he said:
2 "The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
This is not a surprise to me, for Christ has the sevenfold spirit in Isaiah 11:2, therefore, His voice is truly a recognizable one to His sheep if they truly knew His voice, The Only Truth.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
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