About this sermon
Paul warns Timothy about false teachers who depart from the sound words of Christ, who are puffed up with conceit and crave controversy. They imagine that godliness is a means of gain, and their teaching breeds envy, strife, and suspicion. True unity comes only through union with Christ by faith, never through ignoring doctrine or through one visible hierarchy. Godliness with contentment is great gain, and clinging to Christ is the antidote to every false gospel.
Sermon transcript
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word. Today’s, this evening’s passage is from 1st Timothy chapter 6. 1st Timothy chapter 6 we will be reading from verses 3 through 10. Verses 3 to 10 and this is on page 1180. 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 3 through 10. Teach and urge these things. 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, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world, but if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you once again that you have preserved your word for us, that we can come to know your will through your word. We thank you, O Lord, that you have not left us alone to guess your will but that you have truly revealed to us your desire and your will for us. We thank you, O Lord, that the gospel is clear, that we can truly know how to be saved and how to live a godly life.
I pray, O Lord, that your blessing would be upon the word and your blessing would be upon me that I would speak clearly and that I would speak only the truth. I pray that you would guard my lips and guard my heart. I pray, O Lord, that your spirit would work in each one of us here, that we would be encouraged, that we would be drawn closer to Christ through this word. In Jesus’ name, amen. You may be seated. In Machen’s famous book, Christianity and Liberalism, he wrote the following regarding liberalism. That is religious liberalism, not like political liberalism. As a matter of fact, the modern attack on doctrine is not merely an attack on great theologians or the great creeds of the past. It is an attack on the New Testament and our Lord himself.
In rejecting doctrine, the liberal preacher is rejecting the simple words of Paul who says, he who loved me and gave himself for me, just as much as he is rejecting the Nicene Creed. The liberal preacher is really rejecting the whole basis of Christianity, which is a religion founded not on aspirations but on historical facts. Here is found the most fundamental difference between liberal Christianity and true Christianity. Liberalism is all together in the imperative mood, meaning dealing with commands in the here and now. While Christianity begins with the triumphant indicative, meaning what has happened in history, liberalism appeals to the man’s will while Christianity announces first the gracious act of God. Here, Machen gets to the foundational difference between liberalism and the true gospel. The divide is not merely one of subtlety or meaningless squabbles. It is a divide that reaches to the core of our being and the core of our beliefs.
Now there are many false doctrines besides liberalism that have sought to tear the church apart in the last 2,000 years. And in our passage this evening, Paul encourages to be weary of such false doctrines. He begins by teaching us the nature of false doctrine, then he explains the fruit of such false doctrine, and lastly he gives us the antidote to false doctrine. First the nature of false doctrine, then the fruit of false doctrine, and lastly the antidote to false doctrine. Paul wrote this letter as we learned this morning to Timothy to help him respond to the false teachers who had arisen at the church in Ephesus. And secondly he wrote this letter to positively lay out to Timothy how the church ought to be structured. Paul writes this in chapter 3, I am writing these things to you so that if I delay you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
And thus throughout the letter to Timothy, Paul oscillates between positively teaching about what Timothy ought to do in the church and criticizing those who were teaching false doctrine. He goes back and forth between what is good and what is godly and that which is not of Christ and leads to destruction. And in our passage this evening, Paul returns to directly addressing these false teachers who had strayed many from the faithful teaching of Jesus. And Paul does not mince words when he addresses those who oppose the gospel. He writes this, 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, he is puffed up with conceit and he understands nothing. When Paul refers to the generic anyone here, he’s not just referring to, he is certainly referring to a specific group of people in the church.
He’s using this broader principle but he’s referring to this specific group that Timothy was dealing with. And throughout Timothy he seems to be perhaps even referring to several different groups. Paul writes in chapter 1 for example that there were some who from the desire to become teachers missed the heart of the law and the heart of the gospel and thus did not promote the faith and true doctrine which leads to love. And in chapter 4 he once again addresses false teaching and he writes this, now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting spiritual spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared. They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
For everything created by God is good. Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. In both cases in chapter 1 and in chapter 4 Paul doesn’t tell us really what the exact problem, the exact error was but he does give us some of the broad, in broad terms, the characteristics of these errors. From chapter 1 we learn that these false teachers thought of themselves as greater than they actually were. They desired to be teachers and to hold positions in the church without the proper qualifications and that’s why later on Paul lays out the qualifications. And these people who sought to be teachers began to teach all manner of false doctrine and they fundamentally misunderstood the purpose and function of the law and this undermined the gospel that Christ had taught them.
They missed the mark and thus their teaching did not lead to true faith. It did not lead to growth in love and it did not lead to a growth in godliness. Paul emphasizes repeatedly this relationship between false doctrine and the fruit that it produces throughout 1st Timothy. At the most fundamental level these false teachers had missed the gospel and thus their own hearts bore the fruit which showed their lack of faith and humility. Now returning to chapter chapter 6 Paul makes it clear if someone rejects Christ’s teachings or teaches that which does not produce godliness he is arrogant and he knows nothing. That is to say it is because of the state of his heart that he did not teach the faithful gospel. The man who teaches contrary to the revealed will of God believes that he is wiser than God.
He thinks that he knows better than the scriptures and that he has a better way other than the way the only way that is Jesus Christ. The sin did not begin with the outward teaching of false doctrine but in the inward pride of the man that believes he knows better. Now as an aside notice that Paul does not say if anyone does not agree with tradition or if anyone does not agree with the church or if anyone does not agree with the Pope. Paul’s standard is not something apart from the scriptures or beyond the Old and New Testaments rather it is what has been revealed to man in the Word. It’s the doctrine which we find that Paul lays out in 1st Timothy. It’s the teachings of Christ and it’s the doctrine which has been taught to us that leads us to godliness.
In any case it is precisely because these men believed that the wisdom of man was on the level if not greater than the revealed will of God that they fell into teaching doctrines which drew men and women away from Christ. When these men heard the gospel their hearts turned away from it and they taught a way that seemed right to them that led to unrighteousness and to death. This is why in passages like Acts 17 11 Paul commends the Bereans to not be like these men. He commends them because they received what was taught to them and verified it with the scriptures that had come before them. They wanted to make sure that what they were being taught by the Apostles and other ministers was in accordance with what was taught in the scriptures. This is how we likewise are to distinguish between false doctrines and doctrines which are from God.
Does what is being taught agree with and flow from the gospel of Jesus Christ? Does that doctrine agree with what is laid out in the scriptures and what is the fruit that is being produced from such doctrine? Does it lead to godliness or does it lead to strife and conflict? This leads us to our second point which is the fruit of false doctrine. Paul goes on in verses 4 to 5 to outline what happens when the church allows this false doctrine to be taught. Paul writes in verses 4 through 5, 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 suspicion, and constant friction among among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
According to Paul, whoever was teaching these false doctrines at Ephesus was not only openly defying the teachings of Christ but was doing so because he enjoyed controversy. They received pleasure from arguing with others and causing division. They sought out arguments that were unnecessary and purposefully created strife where there was none. They did so once again because they were arrogant and believed that they had figured everything out. They thought that they knew better than the church and thus brazenly and purposefully challenged what those who were faithful were teaching. And chaos was the fruit of what they taught. Once again here Paul is emphasizing the bad fruit that is produced from false doctrine. It produces envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among the people. The fruit that is produced by those who do not preach the gospel is that of division and conflict.
We all know this to be true. When there are those among our friends or our family in our workplaces or even in the church who seemingly thrive on arguing or picking fights with people, it tends to cause doubts to arise. People who had no issues with one another begin to hear the arguments of these men and they begin to doubt one another. Is what he’s saying true? Maybe my neighbor or my loved one is actually the problem. Maybe what we have been taught from old is wrong. Maybe Jesus himself wasn’t completely correct. Maybe the scriptures do err. Maybe the gospel in fact does require me to become holy in my own strength before I can come to God. When these doubts begin to arise in us, resentment grows. Why did these people lie to me?
Maybe they are the ones that are actually in it for ill gain. And these doubts cause suspicion which produces envy and slander. Slander and envy in turn produces friction and dissension because as men, weak men, these doubts and evil thoughts do not end in our mind. They come out in our words and in our actions. And when the church allows men and women to teach and promulgate these false doctrines which strike at the heart of the gospel, this is not a harmless issue. True dissension and true strife arises. This is why Paul emphasizes over and over again throughout the pastoral epistles in all of his writings that unity in Christ Jesus is vital. Let’s just look at one example in 1st Corinthians chapter 10, 1st Corinthians chapter 10, verses 10 through 17. 1st Corinthians chapter 1, verses 10 through 17.
I appeal to you brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are there are those quarreling among you my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says I follow Paul or I follow Apollos or I follow Cephas or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius so that no no one may say that you were baptized in my name. I did baptize also the household of Stefanus. Beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel and not with words of eloquent wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Unity in the church is only possible by being unified in Jesus Christ. Unity is not possibly or possible merely or even primarily by having the same unified ecclesiastical body above us despite what the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholics would have us think. Unity is not brought about by ignoring or suppressing all division among us. It’s also not unity isn’t also not brought about by accepting all divisions and thus artificially causing them to disappear. If the only thing that we have in common is that we have nothing in common then there is no unity. Unity is not brought about from following one theologian or from promoting the sermons from your favorite minister.
True unity is only achieved by one thing and that is our union with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith. Union with Christ however is not merely about you individually being united with Jesus although that’s an important part of it. It is being united to our fellow believers by faith in the body of Christ through him. Paul writes this in Ephesians 2, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of prominence, having no hope without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ for he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. When false doctrine is allowed to fester and grow the result is that this unity that is brought about through the gospel in Christ Jesus is threatened. Those who are united to one another by faith begin to question one another and that precious true unity, that true unity which is so rare in our fallen world begins to be undermined. Now there is responsibility both on the teacher and the hearer to ensure that this false doctrine does not enter into the church.
Paul commands Timothy in verse 2 to teach and to urge these things. In other words the things which Paul had laid out in 1st Timothy, the true gospel and how things were to be structured in the church. And thus teachers, preachers, leaders, and parents you must be careful and thoughtful in how and what we teach those who are listening to us. Do you preach Christ in him alone? Do you teach the gospel in all of its simplicity and yet all in all of its wonderful depth? Do you teach your children that that which is in accordance with the scriptures? It’s not just the minister who must be careful to teach what is in accordance with the gospel. It is each one of us as we seek to encourage one another, as we as we talk to another believer who is united to all other believers in the body of Christ.
Because when false doctrine or errors that are hit the body of Christ it affects us all and it brings division into the body. And likewise the hearers of the word must be careful to compare what is being taught in the script that taught with what the scriptures teach so that as the Bereans you listeners may confirm that it is truly what the Lord taught. One way to prevent false doctrine from entering the church is for the teachers to not teach it. But another important way for us to prevent false doctrine from entering the church is for the hearers to reject it based on what they know about Christ and the true gospel. And this brings us to our final point which is the antidote to false doctrine. The antidote to false doctrine. How is it that we can avoid falling into false doctrine?
Paul gives us the antidote to false doctrine in verses six through seven. Verses six through seven. But godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these we will be content. Here Paul is contrasting the true believer and the one who teaches false doctrine by contrasting their motivations. The true believer is not motivated by gaining things in this life. His ultimate goal is not fame or money or status or power. It’s nothing that this world offers. In this instance that Paul is talking about at least some of the men who are teaching this false doctrine seemingly were motivated by a love for money. This is what Paul says in verse nine through ten. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. Once again Paul returns to talking about the heart of the man who teaches and believes false doctrine. These men were motivated by a love of money that led them to wander away from the faith and ultimately caused them much pain. They somehow thought that by promoting false doctrine and gaining a foothold in the church they would be able to gain money and fulfill their hearts desires. But Paul would not allow this and he likewise encourages Timothy to reject these men. We still see this same problem today. In our circles perhaps not as much because it’s hard to get rich in our churches but in some churches that exist prominently even in our country there are those who go into the ministry in order to get rich.
There are some pastors who even make millions of dollars a year from from being ministers. They use and abuse Christ’s name and promote a false gospel which leads men and women to hell. This false teaching has not just been contained to America. It’s made its way to Africa devastatingly and to Asia and many other parts of the world. But this isn’t the only evil motivation that leads men to false doctrine. Men desire status, men desire love from others, men desire to feel included in academia. They want the world to accept them as one of their own. There are all kinds of sinful desires that lead men and women to believe and teach that which is contrary to the gospel. And the way that we avoid such false doctrine and confusion according to Paul is to be content.
We came into the world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. We won’t leave with money or fame, houses or cars. We will not leave with status or with our books that we’ve written and when we die we will carry nothing with us. As Paul says to be content, all we need in order to live is food and water. So be content with these things. But how can we be content with mere water and food? How can we be content with the true necessities of life? It’s because we have Christ. We have no other need. Paul writes the following in Philippians chapter 3. Please turn there with me. Philippians 3 verses 8 through 16. Philippians 3 8 through 16. Indeed I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his in his sufferings becoming like him in his death. That by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers I do not consider that I have made made it my own but one thing I do forgetting that what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.
I press on towards the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way and if in anything you think otherwise God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold hold true to what we have attained attained. We can be content because even if we have to forego all things in this life which the world offers we will receive the ultimate prize and that is knowing Jesus Christ. Jesus has made himself known to you. You are his and he is yours and this is what you were made for. This is what God made man for. God made man to know him to commune with him and to worship him. The creator of the universe is calling you to come to him and to be find peace in him and to be content with him.
If you are feeling discontent in this life it is because you are trying to find contentment in something other than Jesus Christ. Do you know this Jesus? Have you come to know the creator of the universe who came down from heaven and to this earth so that you may be made alive in him and saved from your sinful estate? In him and only in him is true lasting contentment and peace. If we find this peace in the gospel and in the person of Jesus Christ we will not fall for these false doctrines of men that seek to distract and pull us away from him. We won’t try to find contentment and wealth and status and love for others or anything else in the world that tells us this is the point of life. We will truly be free.
We will be free to love one another and to find true unity in the person of Christ and we will be given strength to resist all those who attempt to lead us away from the faithful. There is so much in this world, in our world, that opposes God. There is so much that is taught even in self-described churches that opposes the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There are churches that deny Christ’s divinity. There are others that deny that sin exists. There are others which teach that by believing in Jesus we will have all of our worldly desires fulfilled. Those are just some of the doctrines which undermine the gospel and those are just the clear ones that undermine the gospel. There are others which are much more subtle and just as deadly to those who believe in Christ but we have been given an antidote.
Thanks be to God we have been given an antidote which can overcome all of these pernicious teachings which Paul calls the teachings of demons and deceitful spirits and this antidote is belief in the true gospel of Jesus. You have been given access to the Lord. You’ve been given access to the Lord of all. You have come to know the one who bears the name above all names so cling to him. Read the word and encourage one another in gospel truths. Stand fast. Reject false doctrines and false gospels. Cling to Christ. Pursue love and holiness in Christ Jesus. Amen. Let us pray. Oh Lord, without your gospel we would be lost. Without you we would not know what is right. We would not know our creator. We would not know how to be saved from our wretched state.
Oh Lord we thank you that you have preserved your word. That you have preserved this true gospel. That we can have life. That we can have salvation from sin in your son Jesus Christ. Pray oh Lord that you would protect us from false doctrine. And that we would pray that you would sustain us so that we would hold fast to the gospel that you have taught us. And I pray oh Lord that we would not just stop there. That we would proclaim this gospel to it to a dying world. And that even through this church many would come to know the true gospel and to know their creator. In Jesus’s name. Amen. Let’s rise and sing hymn 476, hymn 476.
The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.
