Doctrine Matters

Introduction:

Do you think that it really matters what we believe about the Bible? Today, the lines have been drawn between those who believe that doctrine matters and those who believe that we should just love one another. The latter group is winning the day with people because they think it is more loving to not correct people or worry about what they would call the “little things.”

Well, these little things are actually big things and doctrine mattered a lot to the Apostles and the early church. They understood that when our doctrine drifts, so does our understanding of the gospel. We begin to alter the gospel and soon we loose the faith.

Paul wrote to Timothy to instruct him to defend the faith in Ephesus. Let’s take a look at what he said.

1 Timothy 1:3–7 ESV

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.

Pray

1. Warn Against False Teaching (vv.3-4)

Paul encourages Timothy to stay in Ephesus. Now, Timothy was a fellow church planter/missionary with Paul. Often, Paul and Timothy would go to an area and would plant a church, then Paul would leave behind someone like Timothy, whom he trusted, to continue to establish the church. After the work was completed and the church was on its feet, Timothy or whomever was left behind would catch up with Paul.

In this instance, Timothy has been sent to Ephesus and Paul has written to him to remain there because of the need to confront the false teachers and warn the church against them.

Timothy was commanded to warn certain members not to teach a different doctrine than the one Paul had given them. In other words, avoid false doctrine.

There are some things that we can agree to disagree about. We may see things a little differently but it doesn’t change the core beliefs of the faith. However, there are some things that we just can’t compromise on. We can’t compromise on anything related to the gospel itself.

Myths and endless genealogies - probably Jewish legends that were a result of genealogical lists. A lot of these are found in the Jewish Apocryphal writings

Speculations - Stating things as if they were true that one is not sure of

An example of this type of thing is a Jewish Apocryphal book called the Book of Jubilees.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Overview

Jubilees also seeks to explain difficult aspects of the biblical text. For example, Adam was told that “in the day you eat” from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die (Gen 2:17)—yet he lived for centuries. Jubilees 4:29–30 explains that Adam lived only 930 years and, since a thousand years is like a day “in the testimony of heaven … did not complete the years of this day.” This type of problem solving happens throughout the text, sometimes adding details and sometimes omitting problematic episodes.

These things may seem like they are foreign to our day and age, but we are not immune from them. People still claim to have visions from God where He reveals something to them that no one has ever seen before. They come up with all sorts of crazy ideas that are a result of speculations about things. If you don’t believe me, just jump on YouTube and you will find them.

Doctrine really does matter because it influences how we live our lives.

Spurgeon on doctrine directing life.

Our goal is a stewardship of the teaching that we have been given. We are not trying to change it or monkey with it.

The idea is that of a servant who has a stewardship over his master’s house.

2. Correct False Teaching (v.5)

A lot of times we don’t want to correct false doctrine, because we are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. The most hurtful thing you can do is to let someone remain in error because you don’t want to tell them they are wrong. I would even argue that if someone is not willing to receive correction about their doctrine, then they have a heart problem and should be avoided. Proverbs would call this person a fool.

Goal:

-Even when we confront false teachers, our goal should always be love

-We must understand that many of these false teachers, or believers that may promote false teaching, are deceived. They are believing the lies of Satan and his demons.

3. Discern False Teaching (vv. 6-7)

Discernment is something that is truly lacking in the church. There are so many people that are beginning to believe false teaching because they have no discernment.

The KJV words verse 6 like this,

1 Timothy 1:6 KJV 1900

6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

Illustration:

Have you ever heard a preacher that got up in front of the congregation and jingled something in his pocket, like his keys. It’s very distracting. You can easily miss the message for the jangling.

That’s the image of this verse. As the ESV puts it, these are vain discussions. Many people like to get into these vain discussions. They will find a little word here or there and try to build this whole teaching on it. They often times quote a verse out of context, or they misunderstand the type of literature in the Bible that they are reading.

Some of these people think that they are so clever because they think they “found” something in the Bible that no one has ever seen.

This is hogwash! We are not called by God to try to come up with something new, but to transmit faithfully the old, old story!

Paul says that these people who have swerved from the truth desire to be teachers of the Law but they don’t know what they are teaching. They wanted the prestige of the Jewish Rabbi, but they were worse off than even the rabbis. They were ignorant.

This made them what the Greek calls, idiotes. You get my drift? They were idiots! But even worse, they were confident idiots!

And to the fault of the church, they were not able to discern the error!

You see, to have discernment, you have to have your powers of discernment trained.

Hebrews 5:14 says,

Hebrews 5:14 ESV

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Notice that the Bible says that these powers of discernment are trained by constant practice. This means you have to be in the Word regularly.

As 2 Tim. 3:16-17 says,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Word does the training. Let me give you a recent example of how the church has no longer practiced their power of discernment.

Illustration:

Movie Redeeming Love misses the point of Hosea and glorifies the sensual

Conclusion: