Guarding Against Error in God’s Church

Transcript

GRM 1093
09/09/2012
Guarding Against Error in God’s Church
1 Timothy; Acts 20:28-31
Gil Rugh

I had a theological journal in my stack of mail. So, I read the book reviews in the back on the journal. Then there was an article I got attracted to, and it was dealing with a book that had been written in 1947. I had read the book a couple of times, but it had been a few years, so I got it out and read it again. That tied to what I want to talk about today, loosely as you’ll see. It’s a book by Carl F. H. Henry, “The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism”. This journal that was writing an article on the kingdom of God, was using Carl F. H. Henry’s book, “The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism” from 1947, and writing about it, and the great influence it has had. I read through it. I think it’s a disastrous little book. It has had a detrimental influence on Christianity. The interesting thing, this book was done in 1947, not much of a book, less than 100 pages is the reprint. In fact, this is a reprint somebody mailed me. I don’t know where my original copy went. I got this in September 2005, from someone in another state. I think they heard one of my messages and thought I would benefit from the book. So, I appreciate that.

The thing that interests me, this journal article, just written here, said that when Carl F. H. Henry proposed some of his ideas, particularly on the Kingdom, they weren’t very broadly accepted. But now it has become the consensus view of evangelicals. How does this happen? Most people have not read this. Most believers in churches, they are not aware of the issues. But you know what happens? Certain things become promoted in the scholarly world and Henry was a scholar. They get promoted and the things that they are promoting, Christians begin to pick up the practice without evaluating the theological foundation. Carl F.H. Henry was talking about the uneasy conscious of modern fundamentalism, this is 1947. Modern at that time period. He considered himself a fundamentalist. He thought the conscience of fundamentalism was bothering them. I think he was wrong. His own conscience was troubling him about some things, perhaps. What was troubling was fundamentalists were concerned about doctrine and the purity of doctrine, but they were not involved in social action and political change. He thought that that left them with an unbalanced gospel. He didn’t want to go to the social gospel of liberalism, so what he began to promote was the idea that the kingdom has already started.

The kingdom that the Old Testament prophesied about. The kingdom that we’re looking forward to being established with the return of Christ to earth. Carl F.H. Henry was a premillennialist. He believed that Christ would come to earth and establish the fullness of the kingdom. But he said we need to understand, the kingdom began with the first coming of Christ. Since we are in the kingdom, we should be doing things to influence the world globally. We should be involved in improving the social conditions. Then political climate. He thought we could do that with a combination of involvement and social action, demonstrating the intellectual credibility of Christianity.

I mention that because, it’s interesting to me that approximately 60 years later, someone writes a theological journal and says the view of Henry has become the consensus of evangelicals. Not really something to be debated because most evangelicals agree. You hear terminology like, we’re furthering the kingdom, we’re doing kingdom work. You see churches being involved, evangelical bible-believing churches in social programs, because they think we need to be doing good. We need to be helping improve our society. We need to be making changes. The theological foundation of that is kingdom theology. That’s what this journal article is about. That’s the major contribution of Carl F.H. Henry, what he said about the kingdom. He wasn’t the originator of that, but he had great influence in promoting it. Inconsistencies… A great contribution of Carl F. H. Henry was what he wrote on the kingdom. But in his book, here’s what he says, the end of a paragraph, “The burden of these articles, is not to press a personal kingdom viewpoint.” So, he’s saying, I’m not writing to promote a particular viewpoint of the kingdom. The next paragraph starts, “No study of the kingdom teaching of Jesus is adequate, unless it recognizes its implication, both that the kingdom is here and that it is not here.” I thought you said you weren’t promoting a view of the kingdom. The next thing is, you can’t understand Jesus’s teaching of the kingdom, if you don’t understand the kingdom is already here as well as it’s coming. You have these kinds of contradictory statements.

Sometimes we in the church pick it up. We don’t deal with the theological foundation, because he says we should be debating the details of eschatology and those things. But he wants us to practice what comes out of his theological viewpoint of the kingdom. Then the church is, by in large, doing that today. You look at evangelical churches. They are more and more involved in social things. Doing good, because then the world will respect us. That’s his viewpoint. Appreciate that Christianity cause people to do good things for our community. Think of what an influence you can have if you’ve got Christians in politics. I think we can look back and say, have things improved since 1947? Not really. The world changed. I think he fails to understand the issue of depravity, although he does talk about it. This is the confusing thing, he'll talk about it, then he’ll move on and act like it doesn’t influence what we do.

My concern, is that we as the church, be founded in the word. We’ve talked about the kingdom before and the reason the kingdom is not present now. We are not in the kingdom. We are not doing kingdom work from the standpoint we are in the kingdom and we are furthering the kingdom. That’s a separate issue. My concern is that we have our understanding rooted and grounded in the scripture. Then the practice and conduct of the church be done accordingly. Otherwise, we go along and say, well, everybody’s doing it. They think that we’re narrow. They think that we don’t care. We think we’re unloving. First and foremost, it doesn’t matter what they think. Who is the ‘they’? It’s like the uneasy conscience of modern fundamentalism. I don’t think the ordinary fundamentalist had a problem with his conscience and what he was doing. Some of those who wanted to promote a social agenda did. So, he uses that to promote, this is why fundamentalist don’t have good conscience. I consider myself a fundamentalist, I have a good conscience in this area. I think we’re functioning according to what the word of God instructs and teaches on this. The forward to this, is written by Richard Moo, in the modern addition. He was the president of Fuller Seminary, of which Carl F. H. Henry was one of the founders. I think it is a good example of what happens when you have an amalgamation of social and ‘do goodism’, and the scripture is lost.

I want to direct your attention to 1 Timothy. Paul writes a letter to Timothy to encourage him. I thought it would be good, as we move into a new year, so to speak. As we start the fall of a church year. That fall starts, school starts, so we’re back together as a congregation. Remind ourselves about the fundamentals of what we are as a church. What God has called the church to be. It’s not what the church is seen often in the world. The church today, and when I talk about the church, I’m talking about, bible-believing churches. Evangelical churches. We’ve come to have a comfortable Christianity. A successful Christianity. A church that is well received, that is respected in the community. Doing things that the community recognizes as good. We think we’re accomplishing something because the community doesn’t think negatively of us. I’m not saying we should be doing things to try to promote antagonism. We ought to recognize what the reality is. Jesus said, woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is what they did of the false prophets in Israel’s history. The successful church, humanly speaking, the well spoken of, well received church that Jesus addresses in his letters to the seven churches, was the church of Laodicea. Jesus said, because you’re not hot and you’re not cold, I’ll spit you out of my mouth. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. We need to be careful that we don’t begin to settle in and become comfortable and look for ways to fit. I’m disturbed that Henry thinks that the world will begin to admire Christians when they demonstrate their intellectual ability to interact with the issues of the day. The world will begin to respect Christians because they do good things in the community. Jesus walked this earth and did wonderful works of good and feeding and healing, and they crucified Him. The idea that this will soften people, that this is what they’ll respect.

Paul writes to Timothy. Timothy is in Ephesus. If you go to 1 Timothy 1, Paul writes in verse 3; “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus.” So, Paul has been with Timothy in Ephesus. Then he is moving over to Greece, but he left Timothy to finish up some work there. Now this happens after the book of Acts. Turn back to Acts 20 just for a moment. Paul has been in Ephesus, he’s completing his third missionary journey now. He is returning, going to Jerusalem. He stops at Miletus, a seaport there. And he sends for the elders from the church at Ephesus, to meet with him at Miletus. He doesn’t want to take the time to journey back into Ephesus. Acts 20:17, “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.” And then he says to them, reviews with them his time with them. Verse 20, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now I’m moving, going to Jerusalem, and the Spirit of God has made known to me, suffering is ahead of me. The end of verse 23, “bonds and afflictions await me.” But that’s alright, verse 24, “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

If we as believers are looking for a time, when we will be well received in the world, accepted by the world, respected by the world… They may disagree with us, but they will respect us, because of what we do here. Because of what we demonstrate here. Forget it. That’s not the issue. The issue is a spiritual battle, between the followers of Jesus Christ and the followers of the Devil. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. Against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. If we reduce it down, if we would just do this, people would like us. People would respect us, people would be more receptive to us. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be doing good. That we shouldn’t be people manifesting gracious character and so on. We’ll see that in a moment. But Paul says, I don’t have anything to expect but suffering and trials and difficulties. The ministry that I have causes me to say, I don’t count my life as worth anything. What counts is faithfulness to Christ and the gospel. So, verse 26, “I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.” Now he tells the elders, in verse 28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Reminder, this is not my church, it's not your church, it’s His church. God’s church. Purchased with the blood of His Son.

Verse 29, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” You know where the problem for the church is going to come. It’s not that there will be persecution by unbelievers in the city. The prime problem is going to come from within the church. Men who profess to be believers. Begin to teach doctrines that are contrary to the truth that God has revealed. “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things.” Paul spends three years at Ephesus, faithfully teaching the word. He will write a letter to the Ephesians. He’ll have Timothy present as Ephesus. Later Christ will address the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. It is a blessed church. Yet Paul says, from among your own selves, men who profess to be believers. Profess to be followers of Christ. Profess to believe the word of God, are going to rise up and begin to teach things that are perverse. Verse 31, “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.” Paul wanted to present the truth and a realistic picture of what the Church would face. Verse 32, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” The sufficiency of the word of God. And all ‘good things’, that are dangled before the church, that we could do.

There is one thing the church is to be about, the word of God. Come back to 1 Timothy 3, the middle of this letter, verse 14. Paul says that he’s writing to Timothy, “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” This is God’s church. This is God’s family. You know, sometimes you’re raising your kids and you tell them certain things you expect them to do and not to do. They say about their friends, oh, they don’t have to do that. You say what? Well, they’re not part of this family. This is what our family does, and you have to do. That’s what God says. This is My family, the church. This is what you must do. Paul writes to Timothy and says, I’m writing so that you will know what God says is required in His family. The church is the pillar and support of the truth.

We sometimes refer to the church as a truth center. All kinds of ideas come up as to what the church ought to be and how the church should be more effective, and what the church should do. We already know what the church should do. We already know what the church is. It’s the family of God. You know what it’s to do? Give forth the truth of God. It’s a truth center. It’s the pillar and support of the truth. That’s why Paul writes this first letter to Timothy. After the book of Acts, and Paul has been released from his imprisonment, he revisits Ephesus, evidently. When he had to leave Ephesus to go over to Greece, He left Timothy there, as we saw. Come back to chapter 1. What Paul does in this letter, three times through the letter, he warns Timothy about the dangers of false teachers and false doctrine being disseminated in the church. Then he gives him an exhortation in light of that warning. Then with that, there are instructions about right behavior and right conduct.

So, he says in verse 3, in this first exhortation. “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus, so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines.” What’s going on at Ephesus? Paul has spent years in Ephesus, ministering the word, teaching them. And now what? The very thing he warned the elders about in Acts 20, has come about. There are men there, teaching things that are contrary to the word of God. Timothy, you have to put a stop to that. I left you there for the purpose of putting a stop to it. You know, this is unpleasant business. You know what we like least? We dislike church fights, don’t we? One thing if you have a problem with the world or the world attacks you for what you do. But when you have it among those who claim to be believers, and you have to take a stand against them. And say, no, you cannot teach that here. You cannot be a teacher. All of a sudden now, what? Well, these are good people. I mean they have been part of the ministry here at Ephesus. I know this man, I think he loves the Lord. We have all these things, he’s been a friend, he helped build this church, whatever. Paul writes to Timothy and says, you know why I left you there? Verse 3, “That you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.” The goal of our instruction, the goal of our command, literally. Because he’s commanding him not to allow the false teaching to go on. Put a stop to the false teachers and to be teaching the truth.

Verse 5, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Interesting isn’t it? We’re going to see this come up again. Paul is going to say, what I’m saying promotes love. A good conscience and a genuine faith. We say, we don’t want to have conflict. We don’t want to have to deal with those who profess to be believers or are teaching error. We just want to have love. Paul, one verse tells them, you have to put a stop to those who are teaching contrary to sound doctrine. You do what I’m commanding you to do and you teach truth. That promotes love. Remember what Jesus said? If you love Me, you’ll keep My commandments. We get some idea that we promote love, by not making an issue of what the word says. Jesus says just the opposite. We demonstrate love and promote love by being very careful to adhere to the truth. Verse 6 “For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion.” You note this, they’re straying from the truth. They have turned aside. These are men, who at one time, seemed to be biblical. At one time seemed to want to promote and teach the truth, but something has happened. They have strayed, they have turned aside. Has to be dealt with. You say, well, kind of hard to do.

Timothy’s in a tough spot. That’s why Paul writes a tough letter to Timothy. You say, some of these men have been in the church from the beginning, they’ve got friends in the church in the past, all this is irrelevant. What they are teaching now is not biblical. It’s hard to deal with them. But you have to deal with it. These men wanted to teach about the law. Paul says, they don’t have any idea what they are talking about. They are misusing the law. They are teaching improperly. These men are not even promoting immorality, they are teaching the law. You say, well, at least it’s the word of God. Can’t we allow a different opinion? Paul says, absolutely not. They’re not allowed to teach that. They’re using the word of God, but they’re not using it properly. They’re teaching it, but they are teaching it improperly.

So he goes down, explaining the proper use of the law. Using himself as an example of the saving grace of God. He says to Timothy in verse 18, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight.” We’re going to see this expression come up, “fight the good fight”, agonize the good agony. We get the word agony form this word translated ‘fight.’ An English word, we just carry it over, “aganidzo,” my agony, agonize. “This command,” verse 18… well, up in verse 5, “the goal of our instruction,” that word translated ‘instruction,’ is the same word translated ‘command’ down in verse 18, the normal word for command. Verse 3, “that you may ‘command’ certain men not to teach strange doctrines” Instruct, command. “The goal of our ‘command’ ”, verse 5. Verse 18, “This command I entrust to you.” What? To put a stop to false doctrine, to false teachers. “Fight the good fight.” It doesn’t say, you just say Paul told me that you can’t teach anymore.

No, there’s going to be a fight. There’s going be a draining, intense battle. It’s going to be an agony. You carry it on in light of the truth of God. If you don’t, the results are disastrous. Verse 19, “Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” The word to Timothy, you keep this command. You fight the good fight. If you don’t, disaster, shipwreck, you make a ruin of the faith. He gives an example, Hymenaeus and Alexander, had to put them under discipline. Turn them over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. That’s church discipline. These men professed to be believers. Paul said he turned them over to Satan cause they’re blaspheming. Well, I think they were good men, and they made a profession. I think they love the Lord. I don’t care what you think. It doesn’t matter what I think. If they are teaching contrary to the word of God, it’s got to stop. If they won’t stop, they have to be dealt with. If you don’t, shipwreck lies ahead. It’s not my church. Well, we’ll just let the whole thing pile up.

Remember visiting with a pastor a number of years ago. He was talking about two men who were teaching false doctrine, and the pastor admitted, it’s not biblical, Gil, it’s not biblical. I said, you have to deal with it and they have to stop. I can’t do that, they are good men and love the Lord. You know what happened? That false doctrine just permeated the church and the pastor is gone. What? Is it his church to turn over to that? And then he leaves. It’s a disaster! He wouldn’t fight the good fight. He said, I can’t do that, these are good men. Who says good men can teach false doctrine? We have to do what is biblical, this is what Paul is telling Timothy. I left you there. Oh, you are a great friend and mentor, you go off to Greece and leave me to deal with this mess. He then gives him some instruction about proper conduct and behavior of believers in prayer. The proper roles of men and women. The quality required of an elder and a deacon. In chapter 3:15, the church is the household of God and is the pillar and support of the truth. The Truth! The Truth! What is this church to be? It is to be a truth center! What are people to hear when they come here? How ten steps to be more successful? How you can prosper? You hear the truth of the Word of God.

You come into chapter 4, he is back now drawing his attention to false teachers again, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith.” You see, he is talking about men who have professed a relationship with Christ. Who have professed to be teachers of truth. They have fallen away! They have turned aside! They “fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” Understand this is a spiritual war fare. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and power, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. When you have abandoned the truth of the Word of God and corrupted the Word of God, you are getting your input from the devil and his demons. These men are no longer getting their instruction from the Spirit of God. They are getting it from the spirit of the devil. The spirits that follow the devil. An example, they promote asceticism, and so on. It seems like more godly and spiritual, look how sacrificial they are! Look how committed they are! Look what they give up! Paul says it is the doctrine of demons. We need to be careful. We begin to admire the monastics. That’s popular in the move now, going back to the ancient church. And we go back to the monks and so on, look at how they sacrificed.
Look at what Paul says about it, it’s the doctrine of demons. If we had that kind of commitment. We need to… Where are we going? To demons for instruction? Here is what the scriptures says.

Then you note the warning about false teachers, verse 6, his exhortation to Timothy. “In pointing these things out to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine,” healthy doctrine, “which you have been following.” That consistent exhortation to Timothy because Paul knows what we are like. Timothy has been a faithful worker with Paul. Has full confidence in him but he knows that the pressure is always there to succumb.

I remember having a professor, years ago when I was studying in California, he was an older man. He said, “Gil, I am tired of fights, I don’t want to fight anymore, I just want to talk about love”. It is time for him to go! He is saying he doesn’t want to fight the good fight. Well, there is no place for you in the service of the King. What are you going to do? Sit there and be an obstacle? I no longer want to obey the Lord? I no longer want to follow Him? Is that what you are saying? “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant.”

I don’t want to talk about negative things. I don’t want to always be criticizing people. I don’t want to always be pointing out what is wrong especially among fellow believers. Be careful, addressing a biblical issue or what is not? If they wear tie shoes and I wear loafers and I’m fighting over which are better shoes, that has nothing to do in the church. I realize we can fight about things that aren’t biblical but we need to be careful that we don’t carry this over and say I don’t want to fight about anything. We don’t like to fight but we have to fight. We like to fight the fight of faith because that is being a good servant. We need to be nourished in the words of the faith and of healthy teaching like sound doctrine. Doctrine is a translation for the word ‘teaching.’ It produces health! Spiritual well-being! This is what Timothy has been following.

Paul is not writing to Timothy because he is afraid he is drifting. Paul realizes the danger that is there for Timothy. “Have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women.” Like grandmothers tell their little children stories that people make up, about the word of God. No! The church is about God’s truth. “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” We will see that emphasized again. “For bodily discipline is only of a little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things… for the present life and also for the life to come.” Verse 10, “it is for this we labor and strive.” Strong words! Labor, toil to exhaustion, strive, agonize. The intensity of what we are involved in. Why do we do this? Why do we pour ourselves with this energy into the battle for the truth, being faithful to the truth, and standing against anyone (family, friend, or otherwise) who corrupts or tries to change the truth. “We have fixed our hope on the living God.” He must be pleased. He is the one that I serve. He is the one I please. He is the one that must give His approval. He “is the Savior of all men… Prescribe and teach these things.” Don’t let anyone “look down on your youthfulness.” You be an example of what a godly man is to be.

“Until I come,” verse 13, “give attention to the reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” It is all about the word of God. The church can get excited about getting involved in all kind of things. We are going to collect food for the hungry, oh, boy. Everyone wants to get involved in that. We are going to tell the lost about the gospel. Well, that doesn’t work into my schedule. So, we think, well, let’s do what the people want to do and pretty soon we are doing all these social things and everybody thinks, look at what our church does. What our church does is the same thing that a lot of non-Christian organizations are doing. We just decided it’s a good thing and we are more comfortable doing that. About truth – “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you,” verse 14. Verse 15, “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them.” Verse 16, a warning, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” Then further instructions on proper conduct within the family of God, including caring for widows. Including again, instructions about elders.

Then you come down into chapter 6 and it talks about slaves and masters. Then in verse 3 of chapter 6, we are back to false teachers again. So you see, he keeps coming back to this. Then he gives instruction on proper conduct, proper behavior, proper doctrine, and its implementation. But this emphasis and warning about the false teachers, verse 3, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine,” a different teaching, “and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the doctrine conforming to godliness.” It has to be true doctrine. It has to be life conforming to doctrine. “He is conceited and understands nothing.” That doesn’t mean we are not growing. That means sometimes we struggle with a passage, or reading it, we might have a different view on it. But Paul makes no allowance here. Those who disagree with truth and the clarity of God’s truth are conceited and they really don’t understand anything.

The problem I have with certain scholarly journals, the one I was referring to, it is a journal produced by evangelical scholars. You have to have a certain level of degrees to contribute and you’re supposed to be evangelical. I like to read the book reviews and they always have a large section of book reviews. One know one thing about scholars, even evangelical scholars, no matter how trashy the book is theologically, they find something good to say about it because that is scholarly. You don’t want to be judgmental, you don’t want to be narrow, you don’t want to demonstrate. A book written by a scholar that another scholar is reviewing, it denies the teaching of Genesis, totally reinterprets it. He doesn’t agree with it but there is much to be learned here and I would recommend this to you because it would help you and all of this. You should just say this is theological rubbish and that guy is a false teacher and nobody ought to read this book. He ought not to be accepted within the evangelical camp. Oh, you can’t do that, he wouldn’t be accepted as a scholar. I mean scholars are those that have an openness and even though they disagree, they find something good to say about every theological bum. Maybe I will go to writing reviews and make my own journal.

What’s he saying? I Timothy 6, if anyone advocates a different doctrine he is conceited. He understands nothing. He is just interested in controversy and he is causing friction. We think that those who hold to narrow view of the scripture, they cause the friction, the fundamentals cause the friction. No, they don’t. It is those who promote error that cause the friction. They are in it for gain and profit. The final exhortation to Timothy. This is what the message was to be about but we took too long to get here. We will note the commands in verse 11. After warning him that some who want to get rich fall into temptation, with all the ruin in verse 9 that comes with that. The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. Doesn’t say money is, but loving money is. Some of these get lured aside by being successful and all the benefits that come with that. They wandered away from the faith! We are talking about Paul’s concern for those who profess to be believers. Those who give an evidence at one time that they were. It doesn’t matter about the one time. It doesn’t matter if I have taught correct doctrine up till now. If I am teaching false doctrine, I need to be dealt with. We say, well, I taught good doctrine. No, it’s not good!

Timothy has four commands here, “flee from these things.” Flee, “pheugo,” we get the English word “fugitive” from this word. Just soften the ‘g’ and you get “fugitive.” A fugitive, someone fleeing, getting away. His command, present imperative, something that could characterize him regularly. You have nothing to do with it. You’re doing whatever you can to get as far away from it as you can. These things that I’ve been talking about, characteristics of false teachers and what they do and why they do it. You flee from these things. It doesn’t mean you don’t deal with the false teachers, but you don’t want to be corrupted by them. Why does Paul tell Timothy this and give him the command about this? Timothy’s a good man. But all of us can become susceptible. It’s around us and we think, well, I know them, and pretty soon we’re getting entangled with it. “Flee from these things.” One of the things about maturing, one of the things we try to tell our kids as they’re growing up, is what? You know when to get away from something. Turn around and run, get away. What happens is you dabble with it, you hang around with it, and pretty soon you’re corrupted by it.

When I got back, I got a packet of information. A long letter, maybe eight pages, from somebody who had attended Indian Hills years ago, they now live in a different state. They’ve gotten caught up in false doctrine and wanted to enlighten me, help me understand. That I ought to reconsider the view. They had all these stories in it, but no scripture to support it. Well, that’s an unusual case. Then I’m out and bump into a couple, they introduce themselves as someone who had attended Indian Hills years ago. Now they’re involved in the same kind of doctrine that these people who wrote me the letter is involved in. They are telling me how wonderful this is, and I think, what happened? Somewhere you’ve wandered from the faith. We are to flee these things. You hang around and pretty soon you listen to false teachers. You say, well I can see what they’re saying. I don’t want to see what they’re saying!

“Flee from these things, you man of God.” “Man of God,” an expression drawn from the Old Testament. Six times Moses is called a man of God. Daniel is called a man of God. Samuel is called a man of God. Elijah is called a man of God. Elisha is called a man of God. Some of the other prophets referred to as a man of God. Come to the New Testament, it’s used twice. Once here and once in 2 Timothy. All scripture is God breathed and profitable that the man of God may be equipped. Timothy, you’re a man of God. What an honor, in a line of men like, Moses, Daniel, and Elijah, and Elisha, and so on. Men who received the word of God and were faithful to the word and faithful with the word. Timothy, you are being given the word of God. You’re a man of God, entrusted with the word of God. You be faithful.

And “pursue.” You flee from something, the other side of that you’re going after something. It’s not just what we’re going to avoid, stay away from, run from. We’re going after something, with full pursuit. “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” We don’t have time to work through how righteousness is conduct that’s right in the sight of God. Godliness conforms to God’s character. Faith, trusting God in all areas. Come back to the Word. I’m going to build my life on the Word. I’m going through this pressure situation. It doesn’t change, I’m going to trust God in it and faith grows. The just shall live by faith, we entered this life by faith and we walk by faith. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5:7 and says, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” I build my life on the word of God and trusting what He has said. Love, isn’t it interesting we talked about this.

Here again he comes back to love. You pursue love. Well, then I wouldn’t want to deal, I mean, it seems harsh to deal with this person, and to love… Love is not contrary to opposing false doctrine. Oh, fundamentalists are unloving, they are harsh. No, we pursue love by being biblical.

You pursue perseverance. It’s going to take perseverance. Nowhere in scripture does God promise that this life will be easy for believers. Jesus said, woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that’s what they did of the false prophets. Perseverance, that endurance, that staying with it, under trial, under difficulty, under hardship. “Hypomeno,” “hypo,” the preposition meaning “under,” “meno,” to live or dwell, you’re living under. So perseverance, you’re staying with it, under the pressure.

And gentleness. Gentleness, here Paul’s telling us, telling him, you put a stop to these men teaching false doctrine. Be gentle, be loving, these men are ignorant, they can’t be allowed to teach. I don’t know what they are talking about, they are promoting doctrines of demons. You say, that doesn’t sound loving to say that their doctrine is demonic. Am I being gentle? Well, turn over to 2 Timothy 2:24 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.” Those who are opposing the truth have to be corrected. You have to do it with gentleness. You don’t do it with meanness of spirit, we don’t do it with arrogance, thinking we’re superior, we do it because God’s truth is truth. Verse 25, “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.” Comes down to it, they’re going to have to repent. If they won’t repent, then they will have to be disciplined.

Back in chapter 6 of 1 Timothy, when he says gentleness, you’ll note what the next verse is, next command. The first command was flee, the second command was pursue, the third command is fight. You just told me to be loving, be gentle, now you tell me to fight! Fight the good fight of faith. We saw that back in chapter 1:18. We are in a war, we’re in a battle, it’s not over. You’re in it if you’re a believer. You’re in it if you’re not a believer, you’re just on the wrong side. “Fight the good fight of faith”, a word we get agony from. Agonize the good agony. It’s draining, it’s difficult. Paul’s telling Timothy, keep at it. Timothy’s been through fights, been through difficulties, he’s traveled with Paul, he knows what it’s like. Today is a battle, fight the good fight.

Last command, “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” Have a firm grasp on eternal life, the life you have in Christ, so you don’t hold that loosely, so that you’re blown around here and there. I have hold of eternal life, the promises that I have in Christ, the truth of the gospel. Have a firm grasp on that. I’m not going to drift with the tide of the day, I’m not going to be caught up in what’s new, what should the church be doing today, can we be tolerant of this doctrine or that doctrine. We have to be biblical! Commit ourselves to the Word! Just a reminder to us as a church, just like Paul reminded Timothy. We have to be faithful to God. There are things we want to flee from. There are things we have to pursue. There are things that we are going to have to fight the good fight of faith. I wish I could say that I think all our battles are behind us. Not so. Take hold of eternal life, have a grasp on the life God has given you in Christ and God will enable us to be faithful to Him.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on us as a church. Thank you for the unity You have given us. Thank you for the trials and difficulties that You have brought us through. Thank you, Lord, for faithful people who are committed to You and committed to faithfulness to Christ. Lord, we would not take for granted the blessings we have enjoyed, the blessings we have enjoyed today. Our desire is that we would be faithful to You. Faithful to the Word, no matter what the cost or no matter the situation. We grasp the reality that this is Your family, we belong to You, this is Your church, It is the pillar and support of the truth. May that be proclaimed until Christ comes. And we pray in His name. Amen.