1 Timothy 1.3-7 Confront Counterfeits

[0:00] We're in the book of 1 Timothy, and last week we looked at an introduction to the book of 1 Timothy, verses 1-2.

[0:16] And to prime the pump, I'm going to ask you a series of questions to get you thinking. Think of what the answers might be as I ask the questions, but then also keep those questions in your mind as we work through the text and draw out the meaning and see what the answers to those questions are according to this passage.

[0:38] So the first question is, who are to be teachers in the church? Does it matter? Does it make a difference? Is the priority to go to the person who's been in the church the longest?

[0:51] Should it be little Johnny who grew up in the church and whose granny is influential in the church and should he be the one who should be in the teaching ministry just because he grew up in the church?

[1:05] Or should it be those who desire to teach? They think that they should be teachers, and so the church needs to give them the opportunity to be teachers and put them into that office? Or is it somebody who's maybe learned a little Christianese and they've got a couple of buzzwords and they're able to tickle people's ears and they have the gift of gab?

[1:24] So if they have the gift of gab, surely we should put them up and let them talk. Or is it somebody who desires to have a platform? Should they be given the teaching ministry of the church?

[1:36] And the next, is there a right use and a wrong use of the Bible? So once we think about who should be in the teaching ministry of the church, with those in that office, is there a right use and a wrong use of the Bible?

[1:51] And does it matter? Does it matter whether or not the Bible is taught according to the right use? And then following out of that is what are the consequences of having the wrong people as teachers in the church and the consequences of having the wrong use of the Bible taught in the church?

[2:12] So think about the answers to those questions and then think about how to answer those questions as we work through the text of verses 3 to 7. So let's read 1 Timothy chapter 1.

[2:24] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope. To Timothy, a true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

[2:39] As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith.

[2:57] Now the purpose of the commandment is love, from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say, nor the things which they affirm.

[3:17] But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 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, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

[3:53] And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.

[4:05] And I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.

[4:18] 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. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy, that in me, first, Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those, who are going to believe on him, for everlasting life.

[4:38] Now, to the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, to God, who alone is wise, the honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen. This charge, I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies, previously made concerning you, that by them, you may wage the good warfare, having faith, and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, concerning the faith, have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus, and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they may learn, not to blaspheme.

[5:14] Amen. Lord, we thank you again, for your word, that we have, supernatural revelation, and, we thank you for, the passage we have, before us this morning, and we pray that you would, enlighten our minds, and illuminate your word to us, lead us into all truth, that we might know, and that upon knowing, that we might understand, and have a spiritual discernment, of this truth, of supernatural revelation, and that in understanding it, Lord, that by faith, we would agree with it, and that we would trust, in you, that we would trust, in your trust, that we would have confidence, in your trustworthiness.

[5:54] So we pray, Lord, that you would attend, the preaching of the word, this morning, that you would help me, in the delivery, and articulation, of your word, and that you would help, us as hearers, to hear you, through your word.

[6:08] We pray that you would, attend the preaching, and make it effectual. We pray these things, in Jesus name, Amen. Now, our text today, is going to be, verses three to seven, and what's going on, in three to seven, what's going on, in these verses, is that the apostle Paul, charges the church, to confront, counterfeit teachers, with the purpose, of love.

[6:33] So again, the apostle Paul, charges the church, to confront, counterfeit teachers, with the purpose, of love. So we are going to, divide into three parts, the first part, is the charge, the charge that's given.

[6:45] Second of all, the aim, or the purpose, and third, the problem. So the charge, the aim, and the problem. So first of all, the charge. Now, you'll notice, last week, we looked at, the author, the reception, or the authorship, the reception, and then, the greeting.

[7:06] And after, establishing that, in those first two verses, notice, that Paul does not, waste any time, getting to the point. There's urgency here. There's urgency.

[7:16] And that's, because of the occasion. The occasion, why Paul is writing this, that necessitates, urgency, and writing. So he gets, right to the point. And he says, in verse three, as I urged you, when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, that you may charge, some, that they teach, no other doctrine.

[7:38] Now that word, charge, perhaps, if you have a different translation, it might say, command, charge, or command some. And this word, what it's getting at, is a military command.

[7:50] It's to give orders, to strictly give orders, and to give orders, with authority. With authority, a military command. Now this, when you think about it, this necessitates, being grounded, in doctrine.

[8:05] For example, if somebody was to say to me, remain in Kenya, that you may, charge some, to speak, no other dialect, of Swahili.

[8:16] I would say, you got the wrong guy. First of all, I don't know how to speak Swahili. Second of all, I don't know how to decipher, the different dialects, to be able to hear it, and to discern, and to understand. So for Timothy, to be, to, to, to charge, some, that they may teach, no other doctrine, it demands, that, doctrine is knowable, to know what doctrine is, to understand doctrine, not only that, to be so grounded, in doctrine, to be able to discern, and decipher, anything that's different.

[8:48] To be able to discern, anything that's different, from all of scripture, means, that doctrine, is knowable, and, that for the church, the church must know it, and be so grounded, to be able to identify, anything that's different, anything that's spoken, because, false teachers, it's not that it's obvious, it's not that what they're teaching, is so, entirely contrary, to Christianity, but the reason, why it's so deceptive, is a couple of reasons, one is because, they do speak a lot of truth, they do, bring scripture, and they speak truth, but then they import, untruth with it, or twist, the meaning, so to be able, to identify, and hear something, as though you were hearing, a different dialect, of a language, to be able to hear, a different doctrine, and to, to be so sure of it, that you can, authoritatively, command, that they stop, teaching, false doctrine, so this requires, knowing unwaveringly, what is true doctrine, and able to identify, what is different to it, which means, truth is not relative, in today's, contemporary, evangelicalism, thinking has creeped, into the church, the ways in which, thinking of the world, has changed, and to view, truth, as relative, that is relative, that there is no, absolute truth, that thinking has crept, into the church, and then is reflected, on the view of scripture, the interpretation of scripture, of truth, and of, of doctrine, that it's all relative, and that interpretation, of scripture is relative, but this is completely, contrary, to, what scripture says, truth is not relative, and interpretation, of scripture, is not relative, and doctrine, is not relative, now you've probably heard, the words, orthodoxy, and heresy, heresy, the root of the word, what it actually means, is of choice, we understand heresy, that it's, it's straying from, the faith, straying from, the essential truths, of the faith, so that you are no longer, that you are not, in the faith, to, to fall away, or to, to deny the faith, to have your, understanding of truth, have, strayed so far, from what is necessary, for salvation, that it's not of the faith, but heresy, what the word means, it means of choice, and orthodoxy, it's, it's in respect to, honoring God rightly, when you get at the root, of the words, and it comes down, to a matter of autonomy, for heresy, is to be, understanding truth, based upon your own choice, it's seeing yourself, as autonomous, your own autonomy, over, that which rightly, honors God, so it's, autonomy, rather than, authority, is what is at the root, of these words,

[11:51] Timothy, is given a charge, by an apostle, so the apostles, as we saw last week, have, authority, from Christ, to inscripturate, the word of God, and establish the foundation, of the church, which is built upon, Timothy, is not an apostle, but Timothy, is charged, by an apostle, with the authority, of the apostle, and it is written, in scripture, that pastors, are to, through the church, confront, counterfeit, false teachers, who teach, other doctrine, from that, which is of the faith, so Timothy, is charged, to oppose, false teachers, and, this is what, must have been, very challenging, for Timothy, which, we kind of skip over, this detail in the text, but he is, charged, to oppose, false teachers, who would have been there, before him, we know that,

[12:52] Timothy would have been, fairly young, and we know, from other passages, that Timothy was timid, which is, why, Paul, wrote him, to exhort him, in these things, so imagine, being Timothy, young, and timid, being left, somewhere, where there is, false teachers, so those false teachers, would have been there, before he got there, which means, they would have, in theory, as far as, human thinking goes, they would have, outranked him, in seniority, they would have, had more longer standing, relationships, people would have been, more inclined, to partiality, based on the fact, that these false teachers, had been there, so much longer, they would probably, did not see them, as false teachers, but would have been, deceived, and we also know, that they would have, been there beforehand, because of Acts 20, and Acts 20, in Paul's first, missionary journey, when he is, in Ephesus, before he leaves, he gathers the elders, together, and he says, that from among, themselves, will arise, wolves, so imagine, the challenge, for Timothy, in confronting, these, these false teachers, but partiality, does not trump, sound doctrine, and another thing, is that, these false teachers, who would have, outranked him, in theory, in seniority, and in long-standing, relationships, and partiality, false teachers, are nice people, that's what makes it, so challenging, if a false teacher, was rude, and arrogant, and forceful, nobody would want, to listen to them, but they do want, to listen to them, is because they're, nice people, and you, you read that, about false teachers, throughout history, is that they're, nice people, that, and sometimes, they actually, write catchy songs, to people memorize, their, their, their false teaching, but they're nice people, so it's not like, they're easy to recognize, and people are inclined, to want to give them, the benefit of the doubt, or to listen to them, so it is a very, challenging situation here, but, being a nice person, being there longer, having more, longer standing relationships, partiality, these things, do not trump, sound doctrine, sound doctrine, is knowable, sound doctrine, is taught in scripture, sound doctrine, must be understood, and the church, must oppose, those, who teach, contrary, to sound doctrine, now these, false teachers, would have, presumed, authority, they would, they are, they are leaders, in the church, to be leaders, in the church, is to, presume, authority, so where do they, get this authority, it's suggested, that possibly, they gather their authority, from genealogy, as you see, it goes on, how they, they have this, infatuation, with genealogy, now there is, a place, for genealogy, but it's likely, it's possible, that they were, trying to trace, their genealogy, back, to, to some, high ranking, leader, in, in ancestral leadership, and that because, of their ancestry, they therefore, should be, leaders in the church, so speculating, right of leadership, based on genealogy, only, and not based on, theological, qualifications, qualifications, in fact, as we see, from the text, they were lacking, the theological, qualifications, they were lacking, the necessary, understanding, to be teachers, in the church, so, the charge, the military command, says, charge some, that they teach, no other doctrine, so let's, flesh out, no other doctrine, other doctrine, we call, heterodoxy, heterodoxy, is other, an other, doctrine, that they teach, no other doctrine, it's different, teaching, it's different, teaching, than the teaching, of the apostles, and, it's doctrinal,

[16:53] innovation, we like, innovation, don't we, we like to learn, something, something new, but heterodoxy, being different, teaching, could be inserting, false meaning, into an old truth, which is what makes it, so difficult, again, it's not like, it's something, completely different, and absurd, that you hear it, and immediately identify it, as being completely different, to what scripture teaches, but, they do use, an old truth, which we recognize, we say amen to, and then they insert, false meaning, into that truth, or a different, interpretation, false teachers, use scripture, which is another thing, that makes it so difficult, it's not like, they set scripture aside, completely, they take scripture, and they put a different, interpretation on it, or a false, interpretation, it's other doctrine, it's heterodoxy, and it's not just, what is contrary, to the apostles doctrine, but it's also, what is different, what is different, as in what is new, so it's not, that it's completely, opposite, of what is taught, in scripture, but it's new, something new, that has not been taught, in scripture, which is why, it's so important, that we stand on, the sufficiency, of scripture, that there is no, current day, apostles and prophets, and ongoing revelation, but we stand, on the sufficiency, of scripture, there's nothing new, there is nothing novel, to be introduced, or to be, put over top, of apostles, the apostles doctrine, the apostles teaching, which is why, it's important, for the church, to recognize, the term, is reformed, catholicity, and I think, that we should, reclaim, the word, catholicity, or catholic, we, we cringe, at the word, catholic, and rightly so, because the way, in which, the roman catholic church, has claimed it, for themselves, as though the, the catholic truth, or the catholic faith, belongs exclusively, to Rome, but the meaning, the historic meaning, of catholicity, is rich, and I think, we should reclaim it, because catholicity, extends far beyond, roman catholicism, catholicity is, if you were to, to draw a straight line, of orthodoxy, throughout all of history, that's, that's, catholicity, that's the universal faith, according to the faith, according to the apostles, doctrines, there will be branches, that stray off of it, and roman catholic, catholicism, is straying off of, catholicity, so it's unfortunate, that that word, is associated, with roman catholicism, because, catholicity, is the universal, faith, throughout history, and I think, it's important, that we recognize, catholicity, because we're not, we're not, individuals, by ourselves, we're promised, in scripture, the presence of Christ, with the church, where there is a true church, we're promised, the spiritual presence of Christ, by the word and spirit, that's in every true church today, that's in every true church, last year, that's in every true church, a hundred years ago, and that's in every true church, a thousand years ago, so for the past, two thousand years, where there is a true church, we have the, the presence of Christ, by his word and spirit, and spirit, and illuminated, interpretation, understanding of scripture, and we have the fruit, of those things, while they are subservient, to scripture, we have, over the past two thousand years, when we view, history, and the, catholicity, of, reform, reform catholicity, or of, historic orthodoxy, we have historic, continuity, and faithfulness, to the apostolic deposit, received, by the illumination, of the spirit of God, and producing, the accumulative, exegesis of the church, over the past, two thousand years, there is a lot of, rich history, of, of, of faithfulness,

[20:55] to the apostolic, deposit, and contemplation, and theology, throughout, throughout the past, two thousand years, and Jude, it speaks of the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints, and the church, by the aid of the spirit, and the spiritual presence, of Christ, is faithful, to that apostolic, deposit, and Ephesians 4, it speaks about, Christ's victory gifts, to the church, of course, the extraordinary gifts, of apostles, and prophets, but the ordinary gifts, of pastors, and teachers, that the, that Christ gifts, the church, throughout history, with pastors, and teachers, which, means, it's more, than just, the light of nature, there's more, than just, human capability, going on, in the church, with pastors, and teachers, but Christ gifts, pastors, and teachers, by the work, of the spirit, through the teaching ministry, of the church, so that means, that every year, since Christ's, ascension, every single year,

[22:01] Christ, spiritually present, with the church, gifting the church, with the teaching ministry, of pastors, and teachers, who are, enabled, by the spirit of God, to, to defend, the faith, received, once for all, the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints, so, throughout history, the church, has been tasked, with ensuring, that counterfeits, do not teach, other doctrine, they have to, faithfully defend, the apostles, doctrine, the apostles, teaching, keep that, in the back of your hand, as we work forward, but, other doctrine, these, false teachers here, they have an infatuation, with endless genealogies, what that means, what it's getting at, is, what they're doing, with the genealogies, is a laborious, loss of time, trying to search, things out, without proof, of what they're trying, to search, or without any profit, in what they're trying, to arrive at, as though, it's a labyrinth, trying to work, their way through, a labyrinth, but without ever, arriving anywhere, without ever having, any rest, there's, but there is, there is a profitable, use of genealogy, we have genealogy, in scripture, so it's not that, genealogy in itself, is unprofitable, what is in scripture, an example, some examples could be, it shows us, that there is, factual history, to, those in whom, scripture speaks of, it did actually happen, it's not allegorical, that there is, a historical Christ, according to genealogy, and that, that historical Christ, is, from the lineage of David,

[23:53] Davidic monarchy, he is, an ancestor of, or in the ancestry, of Abraham, he is the seed of Abraham, Abraham, but this is, an infatuation, with endless genealogies, that is beyond, that, and they're, they're thinking, they're teaching, we see it proceeds, from a carnal understanding, of the law, it's not, by the light, of faith, they're seeking, to pervert the law, seeking to use the law, for, for justification, as opposed to the right, use of the law, the use of the law, is not about, a judicial standing, but it is about, moral behavior, or the, the normative use, I'm not going to go into detail, about this now, we'll look at this next week, but, the, the uses of, the law, of the, of the moral law, of the law of nature, or of natural law, is, the pedagogical use, that it points out, our sin, and in pointing out, our sin, it drives us to Christ, there's the civil use, and that it restrains, being further given, to evil, and then there's, the normative use, of the law, and knowing, how to live godly lives, for those whom are, in Christ, being called out, of this world, and set apart, and forgiven, how we may now, live lives, that is, that are godly lives, according to God's standard, we have the normative use, but we'll get more into that, as we look at verses, 8 to 11, for now, let that suffice, but, the text says, in concern, to these false teachers, it says, do not give heed, it doesn't say, just, you know, just let them teach, and let the people discern, what's true, and what's false, it doesn't say, you know, entertain them, it doesn't say, have a debate, or a discussion, and see, see which is true, it says, do not, do not, give heed to them, do not listen, to these false teachers, those, who have false motives, and, those, who are teaching, doctrine, that is different, from the apostles teaching, do not listen to them, and then, it goes on, to give the content, of their teaching, the value, of their teaching, and the result, of their teaching, so remember, the questions, that I asked you, does it matter, who's in the teaching ministry, but also, right, is there a right use, and a wrong use, and if it does matter, who's in the teaching ministry, and if there is, a wrong use, of the Bible, what's the consequences, of the wrong people, in teaching ministry, and the wrong use, of the Bible, here we see the consequences, so the content, do not give heed to it, and the content, says it's fables, it's stories, it's made up stories, myths, of their own inventing, it's trifles, it's foolish talk, it's vain curiosity, and it's idle speculations, that is the content, of what they're teaching, and we also see the value, the value that is in, the other doctrine, the false teaching, of the counterfeits, and that it's useless, it's irrelevant, it's fruitless, it's unprofitable, in other words, it's all pain, and it's no gain, and then we see the result, what is the result, of the false teaching, of the counterfeits, says they cause controversies, and contentions, there's what distinction, is starting to be made here, that I want you to see, and to draw, the distinction between, the right use, of the teaching ministry, the right use of scripture, the right interpretation, contrasted with the wrong use, and the wrong interpretation, the result, of false teachers, is that they, cause controversies, controversies, that is what, the wrong use, of the Bible, leads to, in the church, separate yourselves, from their quarrels, so as it makes, this contrast, try to see the contrast, in your mind, the result,

[27:54] is that they cause, controversies, so, counterfeit teachers, wrong use, of the Bible, the result, is controversies, and then we see here, the contrast, starting to be made, contrast, on the other hand, the right people, in the teaching ministry, the right use, of scripture, the right interpretation, is, says, rather than godly edification, the contrast, between controversies, godly edification, the right use, or the purpose, of the teaching ministry, is not controversies, it is for, godly edification, so the preaching, and teaching, is to be done, for the purpose of, godly edification, if you're taking notes, you should take note, of that, it's done for godly edification, so, in drawing out that contrast, the purpose, of, the teaching ministry, we see, in Ephesians 4, when Christ's victory gifts, that he gave, pastors, and teachers, the purpose, of the teaching ministry, he goes into further detail, in Ephesians 4, the purpose is, threefold, for the equipping, of the saints, for the working, for the work of ministry, and for the edifying, of the body of Christ, so, further defining, that contrast, useless, another translation, says, vain janglings, so, useless, vain janglings, and controversies, on the one hand, on the other hand, equipping of the saints, work of ministry, the edifying, of the body of Christ, then Ephesians 4, he goes into further detail, says, till we all come, to the unity, of the faith, and of the knowledge, of the son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure, of the stature, of the fullness, of Christ, you see this contrast, being made, what these false teachers, are doing, does not accomplish this, what the false teachers, are doing, does not, bring the church, into the unity, of the faith, and of the knowledge, of the son of God, rather it leads, into controversies, the purpose, the right purpose, the proper purpose, of the teaching ministry, in the church, is for godly edification,

[30:12] Ephesians 4, he goes on, in explaining the purpose, of the teaching ministry, he goes on to say, that we should, no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about, with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, and the cunning craftiness, of deceitful plotting, imagine if the church, was to allow, to be given over, to these counterfeit teachers, according to the trickery of men, and the cunning craftiness, of deceitful plotting, what would the church look like, it would, look like, children, tossed to and fro, and carried about, with every wind of doctrine, again a sharp contrast, is being made, so that you can see, the result, of false teaching, of false teachers, and of tolerating them, versus, um, charging them, that there is no, that there, they are to teach, no other doctrine, and to hold to the, the proper purpose, of the teaching ministry, which is, godly edification, the right use of the Bible, brings blessing, rather than controversy, the wrong use of the Bible, brings controversy, rather than blessing, so following this contrast, this brings us to our second, sorry, before we get to our second point, it says, rather than godly edification, which is in faith, what the false teachers are doing, is not in faith, faith, um, theologians have, defined faith, as being, knowledge, assent, and trust, so, faith, necessitates knowledge, it's not a, you don't have faith, in something you know nothing about, faith begins with knowledge, to know, to know something, not just to know it, but to understand it, and having understand it, to agree with what it says, knowledge, and then assent, and having knowing it, and understood it, and agreeing to it, to trust in it, to have confidence, in its trustworthiness, so, rather than godly edification, which is in faith, and these false teachers, it says they neither know, or understand, what it is that they're talking about, it's not in faith, but the purpose of the teaching ministry, godly edification of the church, is in faith, which means, it's knowledge, of doctrine, it's assent, of doctrine, understanding, and agreement with it, and trust, in what the bible says, and the promises, in the bible, which means, it's not ignorance, and vanity, so, that brings us, to our second point, the apostle, now turns to the purpose, for confronting, the false teachers, the apostle, now turns to the purpose, for confronting, false teachers, so secondly, the aim, the purpose, or the goal, or the aim, of the command, of the commandment, so what is the commandment, the commandment, is to charge, some, that they teach, no other doctrine, and the purpose, we see of it, is love, and some, will try to pit, love, against doctrine, perhaps, in, non-denominational churches, or, as a result, of the ecumenical movement, or, post-modern, progressive churches, you'll hear, some, try to say, that it's not about doctrine, it's about, it's about relationships, or it's about, it's about love, which is, actually, very damaging, because, it creates, a false dichotomy, that creature, that scripture, doesn't create, scripture does not, create a false dichotomy, between doctrine, and love, but, they harmonize, it's not one, or the other, you can't pit, love against doctrine, it's not love, without doctrine, nor is it doctrine, without love, the purpose, is love, the purpose, is not to win an argument, it's the purpose, is not to be the one, who's right, the purpose, the purpose, is rather, to promote, mutual understanding, and love,

[34:14] so what is the goal, goal is love, now we are not, to understand this, that everyone, needs to love me, because the goal, is love, so everybody, needs to love me, rather, it's manifesting, and promoting, love, so what, what is, this, love, first John 4, 9 says, in this, the love of God, was manifested, toward us, that God, has sent, his only begotten son, into the world, that we might live, through him, and this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son, to be the propitiation, for our sins, beloved, if God, so loved us, we also ought, to love, one another, so we are, to exhibit, the love of God, in Christ, it's not our own, fabricated idea, of what love is, it's not our current, culture's definition, of what love is, our current culture's, definition of love, is acceptance of people, for who, whoever they want to be, or identify of, but we are, to exhibit the love of God, not, we're not to exhibit, the love of the culture, as redefined, by the world, we are to exhibit, the love of God, in Christ, so, what that means, is that in our, interactions with people, we want to remember, that every person, is made in the image of God,

[35:35] God's image, is stamped, on people, who are his image bearers, now because of sin, that image of God, is distorted, and corrupted, but distorted, as it is, they are still image bearers, of Christ, and when we, the way in which, we treat other people, we are treated, not only that person, that way, we are also treating, the image of God, that way, so for example, let's say, you were to hire, a professional, portrait artist, to draw your picture, and you gave that, picture to somebody, and that person, takes that image, of you, takes it home, and they murder, that picture, imagine how that, would make you feel, so when we think, of murder, for example, when somebody commits, the sin of murder, there's many issues, there's many, problems, with murder, but included in that, is the fact that, they're murdering, the image of God, now it's not that, we creatures, are corporeal, replicas of God,

[36:38] God is spirit, God is not a man, God is not a body, but, we are made after, the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion, over the creatures, and that is stamped, the image of God, in that way, is stamped on us, in the way in which, we treat other people, is the way in which, we are treating, the image of God, and we should keep that, in mind when we treat them, that being said, people created, in the image of God, when they teach, false doctrine, they need to be stopped, so love, and treating, image bearers, of God, in love, does not mean, toleration, now, Petrus Van Mastryk, wrote, zeal, for imitating God's love, toward our neighbor, in which, we do good, freely, without, any respect, to worthiness, or repayment, just as God does, I think we would do well, to remember that, God's love towards us, is not at all, deserved,

[37:39] God loves us freely, God loves us, without respect, to worthiness, God loves us, without, respect, to, our repaying God, so we ought, to have a zeal, for imitating, God's love, just as, God loves us, furthermore, love breaks, through the fortress, of pride, and irrationality, we live, in a world, and in a culture, that is consumed, with irrational thinking, and, been trained, to think in a way, that is irrational, so to be our, like, to be completely established, in irrational thinking, not going to, rationalize their way, out of their, rational thinking, but rather, love does, break through, the fortresses, that, reason, does not, break through, love, breaks through, the fortress, of pride, and ignorance, and irrationality, and then finally, love does not mean, doctrinal, and, inclusivity, and, toleration, of sin, so, while the purpose, of the command, is love, the command, still stays, to authoritatively, to strictly, to, command, not to teach, other doctrine, love does not mean, inclusivity, love does not, tolerate the teaching, of false doctrine, and love, does not tolerate, sin, what does, godly love, flow from, well the text says, a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, love flows, from a pure heart, that is, and it's not merely, on the lips, it's not merely, lip service, while our heart is, there's not love, in our heart, love flows, from a good conscience, in all that we do, devoting it to god, not doing it, for our, social ranking, or for, for virtue signaling, but doing it, devoting all things, to god, and love flows, from sincere faith, there's not hypocrisy, love flows, from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith, and these things, a pure conscience, sorry, a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith, comes only from, the cleansing, and forgiveness, of being, in Jesus Christ, these things, do not come, from our own devising, they do not come, from our good works, they do not come, from, our attempt, to justify, ourselves, according to, our own deeds, having a pure heart, only comes, from being cleansed, and forgiven, in Christ, having a good conscience, only comes, from, being in a right standing, with God, because of Christ, our head, and as our mediator, having a sincere faith, only comes, from, being in Christ, none of these things, fallen, human, mankind, can do, on our own, it requires, divine intervention, which is exactly why, as we've, looked at over the Christmas holiday, the Son of God, became flesh, took to himself a body, assumed our nature, and in the form of the man, perfected the righteousness, which we all have failed to do, and did have a pure heart, and did have a good conscience, and did have a sincere faith, and that he suffered, and died, as a substitute, in the place of his people, to save his people, from their sins, and having satisfied, divine justice, was buried, was raised from the dead, in power, ascended on high, and is seated, with all power, and with all authority, as the head of his people, as king, and is received, by faith alone, we do not earn,

[41:23] Christ's love, we do not earn, God's love, we receive, the benefits of Christ, the promise of the gospel, by faith alone, by resting in Christ, and receiving in Christ, Christ, which is, a part of the controversy, with Rome, which we're going to get to shortly, but Rome tried to, stray, from historic orthodoxy, by saying that, we are justified, apart from faith, or with faith, and works, as well as, a number of other things, including, church government, and worship, but we are justified, by faith alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone, so that brings us, to our third point, the apostle, further describes, the problem, that is infecting, the church, so he now goes on, to describe this problem, which is infecting, the church, so finally, the problem, in verse six, you see that, their teaching has strayed, these counterfeit teachers, have strayed, that is, they've turned aside, they've gone astray, they've missed the mark, they've swerved off the course, or to paint a visual, we can say, they've gone over, the guardrails, if we have on a road, some dangerous, corners and marks, and we need to mark out, the boundaries of safety, of the way of that path, we can put up guardrails, and they have strayed, from the right path, they have strayed, from the road of safety, they have gone over, the guardrails, they've gone into, destruction and danger, they have swerved, as it were, into apostasy, they have turned aside, to idle talk, idle talk, is vanity, it's falsehood, it's empty, it's as I said, vain jangling, it's unhelpful, and it's of no, edification, and godliness, it's contrary, to what the teaching ministry, is supposed to be, to the purpose of it, it's idle, which the false teachers, are full of pride, says they're desiring, to be teachers, they're not desiring, to bless, and edify others, it's for, for personal, selfish motives, and this is an abuse, of the position, of leadership, in the church, it's, it's an abuse, of church leadership, and then verse 7, it says, wishing, to be teachers, of the law, they have a restless, ambition, to be in a position, for which they are, unqualified, hence, why Paul, does, explains what he does, in chapter 3, and the qualification, of elders, which we'll get to, in that time, but these false teachers, they don't have, these motives, they have, wrong motives, they desire, the platform, they desire, merely the platform, and not, for charitable edification, they're unqualified, and they're unfit, says, these things, they know not, they're also lacking, the necessary, understanding, of faith, they're unqualified, they're unfit, and what is, necessary, a necessary, understanding of truth, they lack it, they don't have it, and then what they're doing, is they're seeking, to misuse, the law, using it, for justification, and they're not only, unqualified, and they're not only, not grounded, in sound doctrine, but they're understanding, neither what they say, or the things, which they affirm, this is interesting, because it's not just, that they're misguided, they're not just, well-intentioned, people, that are misguided, but they are destructive, they are destructive, and they're ignorant of it, they are wolves, and they're ignorant of the fact, they are wolves, and they must be commanded, to stop, doctrinal error, is sin, does it matter, does it matter, if somebody really believes, doctrinal error, does it matter,

[45:23] if somebody has a different, interpretation of scripture, does it matter, if someone thinks, that Arius, is right, and the council of Nicaea, was wrong, doctrinal error, is sin, and here, Timothy is charged, pastors are charged, the church is charged, to protect the church, from ravenous wolves, and John Calvin, he wrote, that the pastor, ought to have two voices, one for gathering the sheep, and another, for warding off, and driving away, wolves and thieves, here in our text, we see that the church, is charged, to confront, false teachers, counterfeit teachers, to oppose them, and to restrain, false teachers, and this is going to, humble them, some churches, might be afraid, of humbling somebody, that this person, may have a, different interpretation, and they're teaching, other doctrine, but we, we don't want to, offend them, we don't want to, humble them, but, doing this, will humble them, and humbling them, and bringing them, to shame, may mean, their repentance, and their repentance, may bring, may mean, their conversion, there's something much bigger, than just the temporal, there's something much bigger, in the charge, in confronting, and stopping, false teachers, so, some concluding uses, to draw out of this text, this, this was written, to Timothy, in Ephesus, but 1st Timothy, is applicable, not only, to 1st Timothy, in Ephesus, it's applicable, to every church, in every age, and in every age, truth, is challenged, by counterfeits, which means, that in our age, today, truth is, is challenged, by counterfeits, and perhaps, a modern equivalent, while we probably, don't see some, who are trying to, trace a labyrinth, of endless genealogies, to demonstrate, their authority, to be leaders, because of their ancestry, we probably, not that I know of, would see that today, what we might see today, is in a modern equivalent, is those, who develop, a system of theology, based on YouTube, just searching,

[47:33] Googling on YouTube, I guess, YouTubing, questions they have, and the videos, that pop up, they watch these videos, and they formulate, their understanding, of doctrine, that way, were based on, their favorite, celebrity preachers, well they said that, and they thought, that sounded pretty good, and so, kind of cut and pasting, that together, to formulate, their system, and now, because of that, well they're, they're qualified, to be teachers, in the church, and people need to know, what they have to say, because, because they think, it's right, and they're on, a self-sent, mission, to be teachers, in the faith, we might even see, this in podcasters, self-appointed, and self-sent, as podcasters, as being, authoritative, in the faith, or social media, or in the church itself, and church leadership, thinking that, their internet theology, is infallible, and therefore, they need to be teachers, and people need to hear them, and hear what they have to say, remember, remember that the wrong use, of the Bible, infects the church, we need to understand, this primarily, and that the wrong use, of the Bible, needs to be opposed, and needs to be stopped, in the church, first Timothy, 4, 2 says, preach the word, be ready, in season, and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long, suffering, and teaching, that's the purpose, of the means of grace, the means of grace, primarily, the preaching of the word, is to convince, to rebuke, and to exhort, false teaching, is to be stopped, which is, why the means of grace, is so important, and the primacy of preaching, in the church, now, if I could, draw your memory back, to Acts 20, when Paul, speaking to the, to the elders, he said, that savage wolves, will come in among you, not sparing the flock, also from among yourselves, from among yourselves, from among the elders, men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples, after themselves, therefore, watch,

[49:47] Paul tells them, that from among themselves, wolves will rise up, and he says, to watch, but yet, despite this warning, some churches, are not prepared, some churches, are not watching, some churches, I guess, think that, wolves can't come, from within, despite this warning, some churches, are not, are not prepared, and in contemporary, evangelicalism, if you were to, do an examination, of, of historic, orthodoxy, and there's always been, counterfeit teachers, bringing, other doctrine, or heterodoxy, there's all, it's always, been confronting the church, it happens here, in first Timothy, it's happened ever since, there's always been, false doctrine, there's always been, false teachers, and they've always, needed to be opposed, but if you look at, modern evangelicalism, contemporary,

[50:47] Christianity, in the churches today, there is a, a very significant, amount of, heterodoxy, of heresy, of false teachings, of all shapes, and sizes, and, you gotta ask the question, why?

[51:06] Why is there so much, false teaching today? Why is there so much, heterodoxy today? It's because, contemporary, evangelical churches, have not done, what Acts 20, says to do, he says, therefore watch, they have not, watched, they have not been prepared, and, they have, set aside, and even rejected, all the ways, all the guardrails, which the churches have, the church has established, throughout history, to defend the faith, to protect against, false doctrines, so where, throughout church history, false, false teachers, counterfeit teachers, have arisen in their midst, and taught other doctrines, the church, has been forced, to examine it, and, write down, what, a summary of what, scripture says, because the false teachers, they use scripture, to, to, to justify their teaching, they draw it, they think they draw it, out of scripture, but it's a false interpretation, so you can't just say, believe the bible, because the false teachers, are saying, this is what the bible says, so the church, has had to, summarize, what scripture says, about, that teaching, in order to demonstrate, that that is other doctrine, and therefore, to protect the church, from that, through this summary, now, the bible, isn't written in a way, where it's like, well, that's, what's the, the eternal generation, of the son, that the son, that the son of God, was not made, that he's eternal, and co-eternal, with the father, it's not like you turn, to the chapter, in bible, that's, in the bible, that speaks with that, it's not arranged, systematically, it's what all of scripture, says to us, so the false teacher, might point to a verse, isolate it, and wrench it out, of its context, and say that's where, they're getting their teaching from, but, the task of the church, is to see, what does all of scripture, say about that, so, the church, men who, understand the word, and faithfully defend it, they take what all of scripture, says, and with assemblies, it's not one person's teaching, it's, it's, all these, coming together, and in, and union, saying that's wrong, this is what all of scripture, says about this, and that's why this is wrong, and churches today, contemporary churches today, have done away with, with all the documents, which helped defend the church, from it, some churches,

[53:38] I've heard, they say that they, they, I forget the exact wording, but they, they don't use creeds, because they cause divisions, the problem is that, creeds do, cause divisions, but the, the creeds are intended, to create a division, it's intended to create a division, between, the church, and wolves, the division is wolves, so, to say we don't want that division, is to say we want the wolves, within our church, so, in doing away with creeds, we're taking down, those crucial guardrails, the, the, the creeds would deal with, the who, of our belief, the confessions would deal with, the what, of our belief, and then catechisms, take, take what is taught, within the confessions, and makes it accessible, in a question and answer form, to make it easy, to understand, so something so, so deep, as the eternal generation, of the son, and all of what scripture says to it, if we were to find ourselves, in a moment, where we have to defend, biblical truth, of what it says, and there's something, that's other doctrine, and it's like,

[54:44] I don't think that's, I don't, I don't think that's, what's the apostles teaching, I think it's other, but how do we know, how do we ground it, how is the church to know, well this is my shameless plug, for the place of creeds, and confessions, and catechisms, some churches are not prepared, despite the warning, that Paul gave, he says, therefore watch, we have the advantage, of 2000 years, of church history, with the presence of Christ, in the church, and the illumination, of the Holy Spirit, the church being confronted, with false doctrine, time and time again, having to defend, the faith once for all, delivered to the saints, by summarizing, what all of scripture says, as it speaks to that thing, that is being attacked, to defend it, we have excellent guardrails, the creeds, and confessions, and catechisms of the church, which have not been disproved, and these have been formed, based on controversies, remember, it's rooted in the context, of controversies, that the church is faced with, that the church is forced, to articulate, what scripture says, to counter this false teaching, and it's helpful, even within our families, or in discussions, or if somebody, who is not of the church, asks us questions, or even if our young children, if they ask us a question, such as, what is God?

[56:04] It's a small question, it's a simple question, but yet, it's not so small, and simple, and it's not like we can turn, to the one verse in scripture, that is the only verse, that speaks to, what is God, but we want to answer it, in a way that, is in harmony, with what all of scripture says, and it has such consequences, if we were to get that question wrong, and we were to teach our kids, the wrong answer, of what is God, it would have significant consequences, but the catechisms, which in, very short question and answer, answer questions, is a part of this larger, systematized summary, of what scripture says, when our kids say, what is God?

[56:44] We can say, God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth, and we can summarize, what all of scripture says, it's faithful, we do not lead them astray, and because we know that, when we hear something, or when our kids hear something different, they can say, that's different, that's counterfeit, and they will not, give heed to it, furthermore, they reinforce, the church's worship, the more that we're grounded, in our understanding, the more, the more, we're grounded, in our faith, which, which requires knowledge, the more knowledge, we have of all of what scripture says, to each particular thing, the more grounded, we are in the, the doctrine, of the apostles doctrine, the more, the church's worship, is reinforced, with biblical truth, and meaning, behind, what we are singing, what we are praying, what we are hearing, so, there is, great use, of creeds, confessions, and catechisms, for the church, as it, defends the faith, once for all, delivered to the saints, to charge some, that they teach, no other doctrine, as they do not give heed, to fables, being able to identify them, as fables, and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, instead of a church, resulting in controversies, and disputes, to result in godly edification, according to the purpose, of the teaching ministry, and the purpose, of the commandment, is love, from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which, some have strayed, and have turned aside, into idle talk, desiring to be teachers, of the law, understanding, neither what they say, nor the things, which they affirm.

[58:35] as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church, as well as the church,