The Importance of Good Doctrine

Note to Church Planters from Bishop Langley

If I might give some (unsolicited) advice to church planters: If you can attract young adults by all means do so. They bring life and vitality and energy to your church. They can’t be the foundation, however. Gen Z will run after the latest thing. You need a solid base of Boomers and Gen X who have learned to persevere and remain faithful regardless of the shifting winds and trends.

I want to say how grateful I am for you. Every generation is represented in this church. This is a family that is exactly what Jesus is building… His Church!

Introduction to 1 Timothy

Up to this point, we have done topical sermons and studies. For the next several Sundays, we are going through 1 Timothy.

Text + Context

Here are some key things to know going into this letter.

It is a letter from Paul to Timothy that was transcribed and sent to all the churches

Timeframe was approximately 64 A.D.

Timothy was son of Eunice and grandson of Lois who were Jewesses who became Christians probably under Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey.

His father was a gentile so Timothy was not allowed to be circumcised like those in the Jewish religion.

He had a close relationship with Paul and was appointed as a pastor probably a year prior to this letter.

The purpose of this letter was to encourage Timothy in dealing with

Doctrinal Errors

Practical problems

To give instructions on pastoral responsibilities

and the qualifications and duties of church leadership

Paul’s letter to Timothy is precious to me because his words are toward the establishment of a sound fellowship of believers. We want that here and so this is an important set of letters to go through.

Paul’s Intro

1 Timothy 1:1–2 NKJV

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, 2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here is the beginning.

God our Savior - Jesus our Hope! He is truly our Living Hope!!!

It was normal for Paul to begin a letter with an encouraging blessing. May we declare blessings like this to each other - even with those we do not necessarily agree with.

Be Careful what We Teach

1 Timothy 1:3–4 NKJV

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.

DEFINE Doctrine: A set of teachings or beliefs derived from scripture.

Paul urged Timothy to confront bad doctrine.

The people of that time were victims of “Fake News” and “Alternative Facts”.

They spent time giving place to fables and likely exaggerated stories of past genealogies.

This brought about disputes over those things - Division amongst the brothers and sisters.

It was lacking in Godly edification.

1 Timothy 1:5–7 NKJV

5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

James 3:1 NKJV

1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

Social media is full of those who are teaching something. Consider all their ways if you will:

Songs

Reels

Self-Help

Commentaries on other videos

Calling out people they view as false teachers.

Story of the Late John MacArther: I have heard amazing things from him and things where he was in error.

In one video, he showed clips of people that he aligned with speaking in tongues. He condemned it.

Looking deeper, it looked more like the people in the video were experiencing deliverance from demonic influences

If someone listened to his video clip, they would be deeply convinced against the moving of the Holy Spirit the way we have seen the Holy Spirit move.

So many things that equal the equivalent of turning aside to idle talk (vs. 6) which simply means talking about things that just don’t matter.

We have entire mainstream television shows dedicated to talking about nothing. Both liberal and conservative.

Vs 7 We have people who are teaching but do not even understand what they are saying or the meaning of those things they are saying. It is difficult to speak of what you do not know and pretend to be subject expert at it.

1 Timothy 1:8–13 NKJV

8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Paul says the law is not made for a righteous person and then lists everything that ends up including each and every one of us.

We have been the ungodly and the sinners; the liars and unholy

for good measure he adds in vs. 10 any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.

The point of the law was to show you and me that we crossed the line. We messed up. We sinned. We deserve hell. We need a savior.

Vs 12-13

Paul recognizes that as a sinner, Jesus still enabled him to teach and preach and be part of the ministry

JESUS DOES NOT REJECT YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR PAST!

1 Timothy 1:15 NKJV

15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

You and I can say this. This keeps us humble. It keeps us pointing ourselves to God through Jesus and we stand in awe, that while we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. Then He went a step further and made us sons and daughters of God. He invites you and me to be part of what He is doing!

**

There is a work God is calling you to do in Abilene. We as Living Hope Church, have a work God is calling us to.

On August 16th, we are going to have a Men’s Breakfast and Women’s Fellowship.

I am trusting that you will bring someone you know would benefit and that you will come encourage Brother Tommy (for the guys), and Pastor Adriana (for the ladies).

We will continue to commit ourselves to sound doctrine, and this opportunity is a great evangelistic opportunity that builds upon your relationships.

Remember the Great Commission is an individual call to evangelism.

We are connected here as a family, and then we are all connected with people who are part of other fellowships but still part of the one body of Jesus Christ!

Recognizing Bad Doctrine

Sources of Bad Doctrine:

Generational

This is bad doctrine that was handed down for generations and never questioned or researched.

Situational

Doctrine that begins out of a situation (hurt, disagreements, desires)

This is the most dangerous because we are often most passionate when our motivation is our emotion

Contextual

When we only read scripture through our context, in our language, and try to adapt the scripture to our context without considering the context from which it was written.

Response to Bad Doctrine

Prayer

Everything needs to begin with prayer. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth but we must submit to the Holy Spirit to be led

Study

Dig into scripture with all the resources we have today.

Us the Bridge method, where we study the text in their context, determine what is cultural and what transcends culture, then carry over to our context those principles that apply cross-culture and time.

Speak Up

Praise in Public - Correct in Private

If they respond well, in either explanation or agreement, that is great!

You don’t have to agree. Your job is to bring it up and allow them to seek God about it.

If they respond poorly (hyper-defensive or condescending), it may show ungodly character. This is when you must pray about whether you should continue under their leadership or step away. This requires prayer, fasting, and Godly counsel!

Preserve Good Doctrine

Study God’s Word

Have a real relationship with God

Be Humble

Surround yourself with others who love God’s Word (not necessarily with whom you agree)

Prayer