1 Timothy 1:3-7

1 Timothy 1:1–7 “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

Timothy was entrusted with guarding doctrines faithful to the message of Jesus

the alternatives are all mythologies

where they lack substance, they excel in conjecture

building treehouses on the tips of the branches

False Teachers and Doctrines

Stoics- Ancient Greek Stoics believed the ultimate purpose of human existence is to live in accordance with nature by cultivating virtue and reason, thereby achieving a state of inner tranquility and moral excellence regardless of external circumstances.

Epicureans- Epicureans viewed the ultimate purpose of human existence as the pursuit of ataraxia (freedom from fear) and aponia (absence of pain) through the moderate cultivation of pleasure, the practice of friendship, and the rational understanding that the gods do not interfere in human affairs.

Judaisers- Judaisers considered righteousness before God by means of keeping Mosaic and Abrahamic covenants. To them, adherence to the Law became greater than relationship to the Law Giver.

Gnostics- First-century Gnostics viewed the ultimate purpose of human existence as the liberation of the divine spark trapped within the material world through gnosis (secret knowledge), enabling the soul to escape the realm of the ignorant demiurge and return to the transcendent, true God.

Timothy’s opponents- dedicated to spiritual mythologies, extensive genealogical significance, arguments over eschatological details, revealing the true power behind their arguments:

1 Timothy 4:1–3 “1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

Titus too-

Titus 1:10–11 “10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.”

Contemporary Mythologies

Darwinian Evolution- greatest insult to the Creator God is to attribute His works to NOTHING

Critical Theory- godless/me-centered. positions all human interaction as struggle between oppressed and oppressor. The more oppressed a person is, the greater justice and reparations they deserve. Multiple modes of oppressed status are said to be intersecting and therefore define the “exalted” status of those who occupy the furthest fringes of society.

Trans-sexual identity- the complete abandonment of sexual morals AND common sense definitions of biological truth.

Hyper-conspiracy theories- Q-Anon, flat earth, “real” Charlie Kirk murder and others. Whether political, pseudo-scientific, social, or other, devotion to Conspiracy is at the very least a distraction from the weightier matter of the “Stewardship from God that is by faith”. It is a strange form of gnosticism in that hidden knowledge is the key to spiritual freedom and power.

Political theories

socialistic Utopia

capitalistic Utopia

Word of faith and NAR doctrines-

“word of faith” power (little gods)

“super apostles”-Revelation 2:2 “2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”

Joseph Smith, Brian Simmons, Mohammed, Mary Baker Eddy

Revival and the Stewardship of the Faith

message of the Gospel

Submission to God’s authority and purpose

revival of familial love and partnership

revival of a lifestyle of forgiveness

Matthew 24:11–14 “11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Matthew 24:11–14 ESV

11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.