THE PASTORAL EPISTLES: GOD'S DIRECTIVES FOR HIS UNDERSHEPHERDS

I. 1 Timothy: Basic Local Church Ministry

O. The Biblical General Description Of False Teachers

(1 Timothy 6:3-5)

I. Introduction

A. In view of reports of great needs and problems in various churches, much of which has been produced by church leaders themselves, we view the Pastoral Epistles, handbooks on local pastoral ministry.

B. False teaching and false teachers are hitting Christendom from all angles today, and believers in local churches can hardly keep up with the deluge of error as seen in books by men like Brannon Howse and others.

C. 1 Timothy 6:3-5 provides a general description of false teachers and their false teachings, providing us much needed discernment on this widespread problem. We thus view the passage for our insight and edification:

II. The Biblical General Description Of False Teachers, 1 Timothy 6:3-5.

A. False teachers exhibit revealing behaviors toward Biblical truth, 1 Timothy 6:3:

1. They teach different doctrines than the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ and "godliness, piety" (eusebeia, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 326), 1 Timothy 6:3a,c. We explain:

a. False teachers express what counters the doctrines of our "Lord" Jesus Christ, implying they counter either what Jesus in His earthly ministry taught or the belief that Christ is God, 2 John 9-10; 1 John 4:1-3.

b. False teachers express what counters godliness and piety in living, revealing a depraved way of life that tends toward either lust (Jude 8a NIV) or legalism or asceticism (1 Timothy 4:1-5; Colossians 2:11-23).

2. They do not "agree with" (proserchomai, Ibid., p. 720) the "healthy, sound" (hugiaino, Ibid., p. 839-840) words of our Lord Jesus Christ and godliness, piety, 1 Timothy 6:3b,c. We explain:

a. False teachers not only themselves do not express what is upright, but they do not agree with it.

b. False teachers thus do not consent to spiritually healthy, sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and godliness and piety in living as they thus dabble in spiritually unhealthy ideology.

B. False teachers exhibit a revealing attitude in being "puffed up, conceited" (tuphoo, Ibid., p. 838), 1 Timothy 6:4a. This attitude of pride was the sin in Satan's fall into sin, 1 Timothy 3:6; Isaiah 14:12-14.

C. False teachers exhibit a revealing ignorance -- they "understand" (epistamai, Ibid., p. 300) "nothing" (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 728; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 519-520), and in the context this means "without understanding anything" of the spiritual truth that is in Christ, Ibid., p. 300; 1 Timothy 6:4b.

D. False teachers exhibit revealing characteristics to their ministries, 1 Timothy 6:4c-5:

1. They "have a sick, morbid craving" (noseo, Ibid., p. 545) for "controversial questions" (zetesis, Ibid., p. 339-340) and "word-battles, disputes about words" (logomachia, p. 478); 1 Timothy 6:4c.

2. Consequently, they produce "envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth," 1 Timothy 6:4d-5a. In place of building others up and unifying them, false teachers tend to produce evils that separate people from one another by means of depraved thinking and beliefs.

3. False teachers also suppose that godliness is a "means of [financial] gain" (porismos, Ibid., p. 699) versus godliness being an innate righteousness that is pleasing to the Lord, 1 Timothy 6:5b NIV. A preoccupation with the love of money is a typical characteristic of false teachers.

Lesson: Paul described false teachers as parties who teach doctrines different from that of our Lord Jesus Christ and godliness and piety, who also do not consent to the doctrines of Christ and piety and godly living, who exhibit the revealing attitude of pride typical of Satan's fall into sin, who completely lack understanding about spiritual truth and instead have a morbid craving for controversial questions and disputes about words that lead to sinful divisions among people and who aim toward financial gain as the supreme goal of their endeavors, believing that gain is the goal of what they perceive to be "godliness."

Application: (1) May we discern false teachers by their misalignment with the teachings of Christ and godly piety in living, and of their countering these true teachings and way of life! (2) May we also discern false teachers by their attitude of pride. (3) May we discern false teachers by their complete ignorance of spiritual truth (4) and may we discern them by their morbid cravings for arguments and disputes that lead to all sorts of unedifying divisions among people. (5) May we also discern false teachers by their preoccupation with financial gain, where they suppose godliness is not an end in itself, but merely a means for financial gain!