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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.