1 Timothy 6.3-5 Avoid Corrupters of Christianity

[0:00] The book of 1 Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul. I'm going to tax your memory a little bit here, see how much you remember. The Apostle Paul left somebody in Ephesus. Who was it that he left? He left Timothy. And when he left Timothy there, he wrote this letter to Timothy. And it started off with a charge, with a command to Timothy to do something in particular.

[0:23] It was this, as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine. So Timothy's task is to charge others that they teach no other doctrine. And we're going to find out more about what that phrase means and what all it encompasses.

[0:48] But there is obviously some who are there. They are teaching. And what they are teaching is other than. It is different than the doctrine that ought to be taught.

[1:00] And then in the next chapters, as he goes on to talk about right doctrine and also the right use of the law and how the church ought to conduct itself. So right doctrine and right conduct.

[1:15] And then as we come into chapter 6, he returns back to that, to the theme of teaching no other doctrine. Notice in verse 6, in verse 3, he goes back and picks up on the teachers who are teaching false doctrine.

[1:34] So we will read for context of chapter 6, verse 3 to 16. But this morning we will be looking specifically at verses 3 to 5.

[1:45] So verses 3 to 16. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

[2:24] From such, withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

[2:36] And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

[2:51] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

[3:02] But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.

[3:14] Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

[3:24] I urge you, in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which he will manifest in his own time.

[3:46] He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can seen, to whom be honor and everlasting power.

[4:02] Amen. Our great God, we thank you again for this day and this time we have this morning to sit under the ministry of the word, and we thank you for your word. And we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would attend the preaching of the word, that you would illuminate your word to us.

[4:17] I pray that you would bless the preaching of the word, that you would use even me in the proclamation of your word, of your truth, of the words of Christ. That you would also bless the hearing of the word, that you would help us to free ourselves from the distractions, which so easily take our mind away.

[4:34] And that you would bless this time, that you would be at work. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So this morning, we're going to be looking at verses 3 to 5.

[4:47] And in 3 to 5, we can divide it into two parts. The first part is the nature of false doctrine. And the second part is the indictment of false teachers.

[4:59] So verse 3 is the nature of false doctrine. And verses 4 to 5 is the indictment of false teachers. So first of all, the nature of false doctrine.

[5:13] In the nature of false doctrine, in this verse, we see three marks of corruption. Three marks of corruption of Christianity.

[5:25] And notice it starts off by saying, if anyone. That means every person, any singular person, or it could be said, the one who.

[5:38] So the one who teaches otherwise. It's any, any one. It's a singular. It's any one particular person. Any individual.

[5:49] And that's any individual who is outside the realm and culture of orthodox theology. So I want to try to paint that picture for you a little bit.

[6:00] Any individual who's outside the realm and culture of orthodox theology. Orthodox Christianity. So what does orthodox mean? You've probably heard the word ortho before.

[6:13] An orthodontist. If your teeth are crooked, then you go to the orthodontist. And your teeth get straightened out. Or corrected. So ortho is to straighten.

[6:24] Or to upright. Or to make correct. So orthopedic. To stand upright. To stand straight. To be corrected. So ortho.

[6:37] Right or correct. Or straight. Doctrine. Doctrinal belief. And any singular individual person who teaches outside of the realm of orthodoxy.

[6:55] Outside the realm and core culture of orthodox theology. So starting from Pentecost. And the faith once for all delivered to the saints as the church spreads.

[7:08] The church grows and spreads. The doctrine of the apostles. If you want to picture a column going straight up or a tree trunk. As a tree goes.

[7:20] What goes straight up from the faith once for all delivered to the faith. Straight. Ortho. We call it orthodoxy. What's straight. What goes straight up. So picture it. Maybe it's easier to picture a tree in the tree trunk that goes straight up.

[7:32] With a tree trunk. With time. What's going to happen? A little bud's going to form. And it's going to go off to one side. And so also with church history. As the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

[7:45] As the church. And the church is. Hold steadfastly to the apostles teaching. What is straight. What is upright. What is orthodox. Continues in what we could picture as a column.

[7:56] But throughout time. There are views. Novelty. Individuality. Singularity. Where people wanting to be. Novel. Or whatever it might be. They veer from what is correct.

[8:07] What is upright. What is straight. As a. As a branch would. And then throughout history. We have different. Different. Creeds. Which were.

[8:17] Which were formed. Or. Councils. Which. Which. Examine. And correct these things. And. Cut it off. And. Throughout. Generations.

[8:28] And as years. Come and go. Perhaps people that were. In. In one council. Are no longer around. And. What was once. Examined. And determined to be.

[8:38] Unorthodox. Which. Strayed away. From that straight. Orthodox. Correct. Teaching. It sprouts. Again. And if we look back. In history. We can look back.

[8:49] And see. Oh. This has actually. Already. Been dealt with. It's already been examined. And look at where. Where that branch. Where it eventually leads. At first. It might just be. A little bit off. But with time. Notice how much.

[9:00] It veers off. And. Much of that. Even happens today. Especially after. The enlightenment period. Or. It was. I think it was. Maybe Richard Barcelos. Called it. The endarkenment period. Where we seem to.

[9:12] No longer have any interest. In history. Or the councils. Or the confessions. Of the past. But when we look back. We can see. This is. This is an area. Where they have. Strayed from what is straight.

[9:22] What is correct. What is. What is orthodox. Look where. Where it led to. And look how they dealt with it. And what is actually true. And for so long. As. The church.

[9:33] As the pillar. And the ground of truth. Holds within that straight. And upright column. Of orthodoxy. Throughout time. Than we. Approximately. Two thousand years later. When we hold to. Orthodox doctrine.

[9:45] We participate. Not just in this moment. Not just in this church. But in a. A spiritual realm. And a culture. That transcends us. It transcends this moment. It transcends this generation.

[9:56] And it's a culture. That involves. All those. Who have been orthodox. All the way back. In that column. Or that tree trunk. Back in time. And we can even. Pick up the writings. And the confessions. And the.

[10:06] The councils. And in that. Is the fruit. Of orthodoxy. And theology. It's really the conclusions. Which we draw upon. What scripture says.

[10:17] The doctrine. Is the teaching of scripture. Theology. Is the conclusions. We draw from it. So for example. The doctrine of the trinity. You're not going to see. The word trinity. But the doctrine of trinity. Isn't unbiblical.

[10:27] It's taking all of. What scripture says. Bringing it together. Making it concise. Statement. And saying that. God is one in essence. Subsisting in three persons. But you're not going to find that in one verse.

[10:38] So it's taking all of scripture. Drawing conclusions. And summarizing it. And that's the fruit of it. That's theology. And when we have orthodox theology. That transcends throughout time.

[10:49] We have a straight. Upright. Orthodoxy. And we participate in a culture. That transcends time. When we hold fast. To the faith.

[11:00] Once for all. Delivered to the saints. So. What we are looking at right now. Is those. Who do not hold. To orthodoxy. We are looking at the marks of corruption.

[11:12] So first of all. The nature. The nature of false doctrine. And the marks of corruption. We see three marks of corruption. In this text. In verse three.

[11:22] First of all. Teaches otherwise. Second of all. Does not consent. And the third mark of corruption. Is not in accord. With godliness. So the first one.

[11:33] Teaches otherwise. So. We must ask the question. What is otherwise? These. These people. They're. They're teachers. They're teaching something. And what they're teaching.

[11:45] Is other than. Something. So what is a something. That what they are teaching. Is other than. What is otherwise? The Greek word here. Is. Heterodidaskele.

[11:56] Which means. To teach other. Doctrine. Do you know the word. Hetero. Or. Which means different. Or other.

[12:06] Or heteros. And the word. Orthos. Which is straight. Or correct. Or. Or upright. So when we. We considered. Orthopedics. Or orthodontists.

[12:17] The ortho. Means. Straight. Or correct. Or upright. So orthodoxy. Is straight. Correct. Upright. Doctrinal belief. So the opposite of that.

[12:28] Then is. Heteros. Different. Other. So. Heteros. Different. Didaskalia. Other doctrine. Other teaching. So teaching what is otherwise.

[12:39] Is teaching a different. Doctrine. Than that which is. Upright. Which is correct. Which is straight. And when Acts 2. 42. As I alluded to earlier.

[12:51] It says. And. They. So this is the. The Pentecost. The church of Jerusalem. And they. Continued. Steadfastly. In the apostles.

[13:01] Doctrine. So here we have. Beginning at the church of Jerusalem. The church. Is. Continuing. Steadfastly. In the apostles. Doctrine. Now. There's.

[13:12] Kind of. Two. Two ways. Of straying from that. One might be. To just teach something. That's completely. Outside of the bible. Altogether. Or. Taking what's in the bible. And twisting it.

[13:23] So that it disagrees. With. The true and pure. Teaching of the apostles. But. For imagery's sake. At. At Pentecost. At. Acts 2.

[13:33] 42. They continued. Steadfastly. In the apostles doctrine. So at the beginning. Of this column. Or of this. This tree. We have the apostles doctrine. And we'll get back to that.

[13:45] In a little bit. But then. Notice in Ephesians 2. 19. If you remember. It says. Now. Fellow citizens. With the saints. And members. Of the household. Of God. Notice the terms used.

[13:56] Citizens. Household of God. Having been. Built on the foundation. Of the apostles. And prophets. When you lay down. A foundation. You don't then.

[14:06] Build the structure. At a 45 degree angle. And try to see. How far off. To the side. You can go. And think you're still. Going to be over top. Of the foundation. You build up. From the foundation. Upright. Straight. Correct.

[14:17] And the church. Citizens. Fellow citizens. Of Christ's kingdom. A new creation. Kingdom. New creation citizens. Members of the household. Of God. Built on the foundation.

[14:29] Of the apostles. And prophets. Does any of this sound familiar? Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ himself. Being the chief cornerstone. In whom the whole building. Being fitted together. Grows into.

[14:40] A holy temple. In the Lord. Notice that term too. A holy temple. In the Lord. And then in Jude 3.

[14:51] Contend earnestly. For the faith. Which was once for all. Delivered to the saints. There's no new teaching. No new revelation. But the faith. Which was once for all. Delivered to the saints.

[15:01] That goes on to say. For certain men. Have crept in. Unnoticed. Who long ago. Were marked out. For this condemnation. Ungodly men. Who turn the grace. Of our God.

[15:11] Into lewdness. And deny. The only Lord God. And our Lord. Jesus Christ. This is pretty serious. And this is. This is within. Where our text. Is going. So.

[15:22] They teach. Otherwise. They teach. Other than. The faith. Once for all. Delivered to the saints. They teach. Other than. Holding steadfast. To the apostle. The doctrine of the apostles. They teach.

[15:32] Other than. The foundation. Of the apostles. Which. The household. Of God. The. The holy temple. Of the Lord. Is built straight up. Upright from. So these.

[15:42] These people. Anyone. Any individual. Who teaches. Otherwise. What is it. That they're doing. What does our text. Tell us. It says. They're teaching.

[15:54] Anyone who. Teaches. And that could be. Publicly. Or privately. It could be. It could be. Elders. In. In. In Ephesus. Which Timothy.

[16:04] Was charged. To confront. On their false teaching. It could be. Public. Teaching. Or it could be. Private. Teaching. It could be. Perhaps. Even more private.

[16:15] Settings. Over coffee. Or. Or in people's homes. Or in the parking lot. I guess. Wouldn't have had a car. Parking lot. But. You get the idea. But what they're doing.

[16:25] Is they're teaching. Whether. Publicly. Or privately. These people are cunning. And it's not open. It's not obvious. They're not announcing it. As false teaching. It's deceptive.

[16:36] It's cunning. And surreptitious. Whisperings. Undetected. Gangrene. Of false. Teaching. And it is. Infectious. Poison.

[16:47] That spreads. And leads to decay. And putrefaction. And that's. Not a nice picture. To have. But that's. The picture. I think.

[16:57] Needs to be painted. Of the words. That these false teachers. Are teaching. So if anyone. Teaches. Otherwise. And.

[17:09] And now we have. The second mark. Of corruption. The first one. They teach otherwise. The second. Is does not consent. So they not only. Teach otherwise. But they also. Don't consent.

[17:20] To something. What they're not consenting to. Is wholesome words. Wholesome. Is that which. Prevents. Sickness. Of sin. So. Try to picture.

[17:31] If you will. That. That which. That which is false. As a disease. And that their words. Do not prevent. The sickness. Of. This disease.

[17:42] And of sin. Does not consent. To wholesome words. Even the words. Of our Lord. Jesus. Christ. The words.

[17:53] Of our Lord. Jesus Christ. Into the doctrine. Which accords. With godliness. Now. In Matthew. Poole's commentary. And annotations. On this text. It says. Words. Either spoken.

[18:04] By Christ. Or from Christ. Or tending. To his honor. And glory. Or to the promoting. Of piety. And godliness. Or which. Are according. To the rule. Of godliness.

[18:15] I think this really. Does get to the point. Because. Some. Might say. Well. When it says. They do not consent. To the words. Of our Lord. Jesus Christ. Well. I wouldn't dispute. With the red letters.

[18:26] In the bible. What my problem is. Is with the apostle. Paul. The black letters. I don't consent. To that. And they. They seem to pit. The words of Christ. Against the words. Of the apostles.

[18:37] But. We hold. To the infallibility. Of scripture. And the inspiration. Of scripture. And that. While each. Letter. Was penned. By a human author. The inspiration. Of scripture. Is that.

[18:47] The human authors. Were carried along. Or moved. By the holy spirit. And. God. Being. The. The. The author. Of all of scripture. And.

[18:58] When we think of the trinity. And when we think of things. As creatures. And how we perceive things. Certain. Certain. Certain works. Are attributed.

[19:09] To each member. Of. The trinity. Not. To divide the trinity. Or to exclude. Members of the trinity. But to help us. Understand. And.

[19:20] And taste. Who God is. And a good way. To think about. Things in general. Is. From the father. Through the son. By the spirit.

[19:30] So you think of creation. The work of creation. Is from the father. Through the son. By the spirit. You think of the work of redemption. New creation. From the father. By the son. Through the spirit.

[19:41] So there is nothing. Done by God. That is. That a. A person of the trinity. Is excluded from. From. So.

[19:52] When we. Think of scripture. Christ. Is not absent. As an author. In the scripture. So. If. Paul. Was inspired. By the holy spirit.

[20:03] Then what is. In scripture. Rated. In the word of God. Are the words of Christ. So. Those who do not. Consent. To the words. Of our lord. Jesus Christ. First of all. Is all of scripture.

[20:14] But even the words. Of the apostles. There is no contradiction there. And second of all. Not just verbatim. The words of scripture. But. The truth.

[20:25] About God. So. About. The gospel. They don't consent. To the truth. About. Who God is. And the conclusions. That can be drawn. From scripture.

[20:35] So they may not. Consent. With the doctrine. Of the trinity. They may not. Consent. With. The doctrine. Of. Salvation. By justification. By faith alone. Do not.

[20:48] Consent. To the words. Of our lord. Jesus Christ. And. It does not. Give us. Specifics. Of which words. They may not. Consent to. And I think. That's intentional.

[20:58] Because. Throughout all the ages. There will be disputes. About. Everything. Trying to find. Something. To pick. Apart. But the most. Foundational. Truth. Which must.

[21:11] Be held. Steadfastly. Is. Is of the gospel. So. Not necessarily. The words. Spoken. By Christ. But the truth. The words. Which speak.

[21:21] About Christ. In. Our sinfulness. Being under God's. Condemnation. And wrath. Under the misery. Of our sin. Needing. To be reconciled.

[21:31] To a holy. And just God. Necessitating. The incarnation. That is. The. The mission. Or the humiliation. Of the second person. Of the trinity. And being made flesh.

[21:43] Taking to himself. Our nature. And in our nature. Perfectly. Obeying. The righteous. Requirements. Of God. And a positive. Righteousness.

[21:53] Through his. His life. His. His active. Obedience. And in his suffering. And dying. As a substitute. To pay the penalty. To satisfy divine justice.

[22:04] So that his people. So that the bride. Could be presented. As spotless. Without blemish. And the word. The word bride. Is used. In a sense. Just as we. Think of marriage.

[22:15] How a man. And a wife. Are united. Together. And become as one. As one flesh. In a similar. In a similar way. Those whom are united.

[22:25] To Christ. Become one. It's one person. So that when those. Who are united. To Christ. Are before. A holy. And just God. When the veil.

[22:35] Of this flesh. Is drawn from us. And we stand before God. That is as one person. So what is seen. Is Christ's. Perfect righteousness. And all that is Christ.

[22:47] And his benefits. Become ours. And you think. Well if his. Becomes ours. What is it. Of ours. That becomes his. Well it's our sin. All of our sin.

[22:57] Becomes his. And we give it up. And we give it over. And he takes our sin. And it is. Nailed to the cross. And paid for. In full. That we may be. Fully forgiven of our sins. And seen as righteousness.

[23:08] According to his righteousness. So if you are not. United to Christ. Understand that. The only way. To be made right. With the holy and just God. Is to be united to Christ.

[23:18] By receiving. And resting on Christ alone. For salvation. So these false teachers. They do not consent. To wholesome words. Of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[23:30] And it's. They're not consenting. To holding. To wholesome words. And they're not consenting. They're teaching. That which is. Unwholesome. What they're teaching.

[23:41] Is unwholesome. It's unorthodox. It's heterodox. It's corrupt. And their words. Are diseased. And their inner corruption.

[23:52] Their. Their words. Are diseased. Because of their inner corruption. And their inner corruption. Will likely be apparent. With time. Which is very interesting. Which is why. As we saw before.

[24:02] The vetting process. For an elder. To give it time. Because with time. Either. Inner corruption. Will become evident. Or.

[24:13] Fruit of good works. Will become evident. So with time. These false teachers. Likely. Their inner corruption. Will begin to show. But notice at first.

[24:24] It just says. Does not consent. It's not that they. That they declare. Otherwise. They don't say. The trinity is wrong. Or they don't. Make these.

[24:35] Stigmatic statements. That are. That identify them. As being false. It starts off. Just that they don't consent. They're not in agreement. With it. They find.

[24:47] Their ways of. Participating. Their communicating. Comes across. Not in agreement. With orthodoxy. It's not consenting. To that which is upright.

[24:58] And straight. And correct. What they do. Is ostentatious. Displays. And they get carried away. By minute.

[25:08] Disputing. Finding the littlest. Details. Insignificant details. To make a dispute. Out of it. And they're despising. What's useful. When what is straight.

[25:19] And orthodox. And correct. Doctrine. Is being. Is being taught. Instead of. Desiring. That. They're despising. What is useful. They're despising.

[25:29] The usefulness. Of correct. And straight. Doctrine. And getting. Carried away. With minute. Disputing. And quarreling. Which takes away. From the usefulness. And profitableness.

[25:39] Of orthodoxy. And it may not be. Conspicuous. Opposition. To Christ. But. It's not.

[25:50] Consenting. To what. Is orthodox. Not consenting. To the words. Of Christ. And sound doctrine. And all. The words. Of Christ. Is in view here.

[26:01] As I mentioned. It's. It's not just. The red. Or the black letters. It's all. The words. Of scripture. And there's the analogy. Of scripture. Where to understand. The text.

[26:12] A person. Such as Arius. Can take. A single verse. And. And try. To assert. That Jesus. Is not. Eternally God. From that one text. But that's not.

[26:22] Holding to the analogy. Of scripture. Of what all scripture. Says about it. So it's holding to. All the words of scripture. And also the analogy. Of faith. The analogy of faith. Is the conclusions. Which we can draw. From all the words.

[26:33] Of scripture. So for example. The doctrine of the trinity. Or according to our. Confession of faith. Chapter two. They're not consenting. So the marks of corruption.

[26:45] First of all. Teaches otherwise. Second of all. Does not consent. And third of all. Not in accord. With godliness. John Calvin. In his commentary. On this. He says. That he does.

[26:56] By endeavoring. To insinuate. Himself. By means of. Silly babbling. Corrupt. The doctrine. Of godliness. For when there is.

[27:06] No progress. And no edification. In the doctrine. Itself. There is already. Departure. From the ordinance. Of Christ. So that.

[27:17] Which has. Progress. For the edification. The doctrine. Which has. Progress. And edification. They don't want. To consent. To it. They're just. Trying to find. The littlest detail. To dispute. About it.

[27:27] To take away. From what is. Profitable. And whatever. It is. That they're trying. To serve up. There is no progress. In it. There is no edification. In it.

[27:38] So it's already. Departed. From the ordinance. Of Christ. According to. To John Calvin. So that brings us. To our second point. That since. False. Teachers. Teach. False. Doctrine.

[27:48] Their indictment. Follows. So our second point. Is the indictment. Of false teachers. And this will be. Verses four and five. And then the indictment. Of false teachers.

[27:59] We see the marks. Of the corruptors. In verse three. We saw the marks. Of corruption. Verses four to five. The marks. Of the corruptors. Themselves. Now notice how.

[28:10] Verse three. Starts off. By saying. If. Now what does the word. If. Mean. If. Is a conditional. Sentence. That where the condition. Is meant. Then a result.

[28:21] Will follow. So. If. Heterodoxy. Then. The result. Follows. So if.

[28:32] Somebody. Teaches. Heterodoxy. Then. Their indictment. Follows. And. The indictment. Has four marks. Of corruptors.

[28:42] Their character. Their motivation. Their source. And their motive. So first of all. Their character. Their character. Is arrogant. And ignorant. If.

[28:54] Heterodoxy. If somebody. Teaches otherwise. If anybody. Teaches anybody. Or. Otherwise. He is proud. Knowing. Nothing. So he is proud.

[29:05] He has a. A swollen head. Is puffed up. But. Not. Knowing. Anything. Truly. Knowing. Nothing. Truly. So what.

[29:16] Inflammation. Is to the body. Some of us. Know very well. What inflammation. To the body. Is like. What inflammation. Is to the body. So pride. Is. To the soul. A swollen.

[29:28] Puffed up. Soul. They are not only. Unsound. And they are not only. Arrogant. But they are also. Ignorant. They know nothing.

[29:39] They are knowing. Nothing. Which is interesting. Isn't it? Because. What is it that they are doing? They are teaching. If anyone teaches. Other. If they are teaching. And they know nothing. What are they teaching?

[29:52] What understanding. Do they have. That is. That they are teaching. While they are presumptuous. They have a presumption. Of knowledge. They unduly.

[30:03] Insert themselves. Into matters. Of which. They are unqualified. Which as we. Saw previously. As well as in 1st Timothy 3. Why it is so important. Not just to appoint someone. As an elder. Who just asserts themselves.

[30:15] And teaches something. But. To with time. To test. According to the qualifications. And despite.

[30:27] With these false teachers. Despite. Impressive. And ostentatious. Air. He actually. Knows nothing. Of the true things. Of Christ.

[30:37] And when you read further. In the indictment. In verse 5. Says. Is destitute. Of the truth. Knowing nothing. Destitute. Of the truth. Such people.

[30:49] Are always learning. But never. Arriving. At a knowledge. Of the truth. That's what Aquinas said. For reason. Roves about.

[30:59] And considers. The perfections. And defects. And relations. Of one thing. To another. And unless. It finally arrives. At an understanding. Of the truth.

[31:10] Its roaming. Is in vain. Hence. When it discovers. The truth. Of a thing. It holds it. As a center. Those who are.

[31:21] Orthodox. When they find. The truth. Of the words. Of Christ. They hold that truth. That orthodox. As a center. These false teachers. In all their. Their roving.

[31:32] And roaming. Of reason. And knowledge. They don't have. Christ. They don't have. The teaching. Of Christ. They don't consent. To the words. Of Christ. And sound doctrine. As. As a center.

[31:42] This. This truth. About Christ. The words. Of Christ. The truth. Of Christ. Cannot be discerned. Without faith. Spiritual.

[31:53] Spiritual. Things. Spiritual. Things. Are discerned. By faith. By the light. Of faith. By the Holy Spirit. Illuminating. The word. And these false teachers.

[32:04] Are void. Of faith. And they refuse. To submit. To any other. And therefore. Contentions. Abound. So the first mark.

[32:16] Of the corruptors. Is their character. Arrogant. And ignorant character. The second. Is their motivation. Argumentative. And divisive. Motivation. I'm sure.

[32:26] We've all. Probably. Encountered. That at some point. In our life. The type of person. Where it doesn't matter. What you say. They're just going to. Disagree with it. They're going to find. Something. Either about the way. That you said it.

[32:36] Or their experience. Is different. Or it doesn't matter. Remember one time. We were. In Winnipeg. Which I don't like. Being in Winnipeg. To begin with. But we went to the mall. And I was tired. And I was ready.

[32:47] To go home. And some guy. I don't know. I don't know. He just came out of nowhere. And he said. Can I talk to you about. The things of the Bible. I'm like. Yeah you can. And I don't even. I don't know what happened.

[32:57] But it's like. He was just. Trying to find. The quickest thing. To argue about. And he was angry. And we hadn't really. Even said anything. And I realized. That this was. Losing the battle.

[33:08] And I just. Tapped him on the shoulder. I said. Have a good day. I'm not interested. Some people. They just. Their. Their. Their angle. Is trying to find.

[33:18] Something to dispute. Finding the next argument. Their motivation. Is argumentative. And divisive. Notice what the text says. But is obsessed. With disputes.

[33:29] And arguments. Over words. From which come. Envy. Strife. Reviling. Evil. Suspicions. Useless. Wranglings. These type of people.

[33:41] They are. Contentious. They are. Cantankerous. They are. Quarrelsome. And they are. Pugnacious. They're always. Trying to tear down.

[33:52] Instead of. Build up. In conversations. And whatever it might be. They're not trying. To build up. Where they're sound doctrine. They're not trying. To support. And build up.

[34:02] And praise God. For his glorious grace. They're trying. To find something. To pick apart. They're trying. To find a way. To tear it down. They're trying. To find a way. To be dispute. To be argumentative. And to have disputes.

[34:15] And they're disputing. Inhibits progress. Recognize that. That where there is conversation. Or where there is teaching. Or where there is preaching.

[34:25] Of sound doctrine. They're disputing. About minute details. It hinders. Progress. Progress. No matter how impressive. And ostentatious.

[34:36] Their words. Or their intellect. May appear. What they're doing. Hinders. Progress. With no benefit. And it reaps. No profit. To the hearers. It reaps.

[34:49] No profit. To anybody. And they're not content. In Christ's doctrine. If Christ's doctrine. Is being taught. You'd think. That a person. Would. Would.

[35:00] Just praise God. For. For sound doctrine. But they're not content. In sound doctrine. They're not content. In the words of Christ. They're not content. With what's being taught. They have to find some way.

[35:11] To dispute. Or argue it. And they weary themselves. And they weary others. With their. Vain janglings. And useless wranglings. Trying to cause. Discord. And doubt.

[35:23] They're trying to cause. Discord. And doubt. About sound doctrine. It's not only profitable. They're trying to cause. Discord. Over sound doctrine. And doubt.

[35:34] About sound doctrine. That which is upright. That which is. That which is straight. That which is. Profitable. And it says. Strife. Strife about words.

[35:45] Now John Trapp. In his commentary. He said this. About strife. About words. Frivolous. Questions. And quarrels. The wits.

[35:55] Of heretics. And schismatics. Will better serve them. To devise. A thousand shifts. To elude the truth. Than their pride. Will suffer them. Once. To yield.

[36:06] And acknowledge it. They're proud. They're knowing nothing. And they're obsessed. With disputes. And arguments. And strife. About words. This can show up.

[36:16] In many different ways. Examples. Would include. Handing out. Pugnacious essays. Trying to tear down. Doctrine. Being interruptive. And argumentative.

[36:27] Trying to cause division. Secretly. Being antagonistic. Behind people's backs. And it's very clear. What scripture says.

[36:38] That we are to do. About these people. From such. Withdraw yourself. Now this part here. Where it says. From such. Withdraw yourselves.

[36:49] It is a textual variant. And that means that. In some. Some earlier manuscripts. It doesn't contain this. And the.

[36:59] The whole objective. Is to try to get to. As close. To the original. As possible. So when we. Believe in the inerrancy. Of scripture. Well which. Which ones. If there's all these. Different translations.

[37:10] And there's differences. Are they all. Which one do we talk about. Well it's the original. The originals. Which were penned. Are penned. Are the inerrant ones. So from the originals.

[37:21] Copies were made. The copies are to be exact. And from those copies. More copies were made. And they were spread out. And from those copies. More copies. But there wasn't. Facsimiles back then.

[37:31] It was all done by scribes. By hand. Over and over again. And sometimes. Mistakes were made. Sometimes. It had to be thrown out. Or sometimes. Mistakes might have been noticed. Or sometimes.

[37:42] Based on a mistake. It might have been smoothed out. So there are. Small textual variants. Anyways. All that to say. There are many manuscripts. That do contain it. And whether the original.

[37:53] Had it or not. It's not a new teaching. It's not a new doctrine. It's not unorthodox. And there are other passages. That say. The same thing. So. From such.

[38:05] Withdraw yourself. Other. Other translations. Say. Depart from. Separate from. Stay away from. New Kings James.

[38:15] Version says. Withdraw. Yourself. Other supportive. Verses. Romans 16. 17. Says. Note those who cause. Divisions. And offenses.

[38:27] Contrary to the doctrine. Which you learned. And avoid them. Titus 3. 10. Reject. A divisive man. After the first. And second. Admonition. And first.

[38:38] Thessalonians 3. 14. And if anyone. Does not obey our word. In this epistle. Note that person. And do not keep company. With him. That he may be ashamed. And if.

[38:50] Such a person. Is a believer. That that shame. That will be. Shame. Prompted. Repentance. Some might say. Well I think he's a believer.

[39:00] So I'm not. I'm not going to withdraw. From him. But in. Unrepentant. Sin. That shame. Is designed. To bring them. To repentance. So even if a believer.

[39:11] Still. Still applies. If someone is unrepentant. Reject. A divisive man. Avoid them. Do not keep company. From such. Withdraw.

[39:22] Yourself. And in their teaching. Their ostentatious display. Well perhaps. It may be a. A brilliant. Display. Of vocabulary.

[39:32] And intellect. What is the reality. Behind their words. It's not just that their words. Are unprofitable. And it's not just that their words.

[39:44] Hinder. That which is edifying. Their words are neither godly. Nor sound. And they bring no edification. They stir up no reverence for God.

[39:55] They are unprofitable. Useless. And corrupt. And their corrupt. True colors. Eventually. Show themselves. In envy. Strife.

[40:05] Reviling. Evil suspicions. And useless. Wranglings. We go on to see the source. The source. Of corruptors.

[40:18] Of corruption. A crooked. And corrupt. Source. Of these false teachers. Says useless. Wranglings of men. Of corrupt.

[40:28] Minds. They conceive. Whatever it is. That they like. And then having conceived. What they like. They then have to justify. Their corrupt conceivings.

[40:40] And they don't want time. It might be. You know. Let me. Let me just explain. My perspective. To you. Let me explain. This new perspective. On justification. Or. If you'll just give me.

[40:51] A little bit of time. They don't want time. What they do. Is they waste time. They waste their time. With their useless. Wranglings. Of men. Of corrupt. Minds.

[41:03] And. Says. Destitute. Of truth. Now. I read a couple. Verses. That also. Mentioned. About what we are. To do. With such people. To reject. To avoid.

[41:13] To withdraw. And I want to read. More of those verses. Which give us. A better understanding. Of who those people are. And why it is so important. To withdraw yourself. To avoid them. To reject.

[41:24] Such a person. Romans 16. Going back to Romans 16. But this time. I'll read. Another verse. 17 to 18. Note those. Who cause divisions. And offenses. Contrary to the doctrine.

[41:35] Which you learned. And. Avoid them. For. Those. Who are such. Do not serve. Our Lord. Jesus Christ. But their own belly.

[41:46] And by smooth words. And flattering speech. Deceive. The hearts. Of the simple. Titus 3. 10 to 11. Reject. Reject. A divisive man. After the first.

[41:56] And second admonition. Knowing. That such a person. Is warped. And sinning. Being self-condemned. This is the person. Who's always trying. To find the.

[42:06] The next dispute. The next quarrel. To find a way. To stop that. Which is profitable. And their words. It says. Are smooth words. And flattery. Trying to flatter a person.

[42:17] Pat them on the back. Tell them how much. They like them. Or. Or to. To get. In. In their. Their good graces. And in their flattery. To win their trust. And then start to insert.

[42:28] These deceptive. Corrupt ways. Which are divisive. And unorthodox. And in reality. Are diseased. Words. Such a person.

[42:38] Is warped. And sinning. Being self-condemned. So that brings us. To our fourth mark. Of corruptors. The indictment. Of false teachers. The fourth mark. Is the motive. Their selfish.

[42:50] And greedy. Motive. Notice what it says. In verse five. Who suppose. That godliness. Is a means. Of gain. Notice.

[43:00] They suppose. They suppose. It's not that godliness. Is a means. Of financial gain. But they suppose it. In other words. Godliness. Is something. That's foreign to them. They don't have this.

[43:11] Whatever this godliness is. They don't have it. But they see it. They think. That. That is something. I can profit from. That is something. I can exploit people. For my own benefit.

[43:21] For my own gain. They suppose. That godliness. Is a means. Of gain. But godliness. Is quite foreign. To them. Reality.

[43:31] False teachers. Are erroneous. And their teachings. Their erroneous. Teachings. They see. As a means. Of financial gain. By exploiting.

[43:43] Others. Perfect example. Of this. Is a prosperity gospel. People. Such as. Kenneth. Copeland. And Benny Hinn. And. What's.

[43:56] Osteen's. Joel. Osteen. Todd. Anyways. All these. These prosperity gospels. They're not spewing. They're not. Giving. The words of Christ.

[44:07] They're spewing. A prosperity gospel. And it's for. Financial gain. And when you look at. These prosperity gospel. Preachers. I. I don't. I can't tell you. The statistics.

[44:17] But they probably have. Jet planes. And they have. Fleets of cars. And they have. All these finances. And that's why they do it. That's why they exploit people. And what they serve up. Is not.

[44:28] Sound doctrine. What they serve up. Is not. The words of Christ. They don't. Consent to it. They're teaching. They're teaching something. But it's. Teaching otherwise. And their motive. For it.

[44:39] Is a means. Of gain. A true godly. A true gain. Comes. From true religion. Accompanied by. True contentment.

[44:50] And that's what our next. Text. We'll see. But as for these false teachers. Their motive. Is not. True gain.

[45:02] From true religion. With true contentment. But their motive. Is material profit. It's out of a love. Of gain. Gain for them. Gain of material. Profit.

[45:14] That. The gain. Itself. Is their highest. Good. And chief end. They don't see it. As. Something to use. To enjoy God. But their God. Is the gain.

[45:24] Itself. The highest good. Is not God. But the wealth. Their highest good. The chief end. Is. What more. They can get. Instead of. Something.

[45:35] Which is used. To enjoy God. And to glorify God. Their God. Is their belly. The Christian antidote.

[45:45] To this. Is godly. Contentment. And that's what we'll look at. Look at next. In the next text. Is godly. Contentment. In our present.

[45:56] Circumstances. So what are some. Concluding uses. That we can take. From this text. First of all. A quick review. Of the indictment. Of these false teachers. Heterodoxy.

[46:08] Obsession. With controversy. A corrupt life. Spiritual blindness. And they're motivated. By spiritual gain. A summary. Of the indictment.

[46:19] Of these false teachers. And from such. Corrupters. Of Christianity. Christians. Are to. Withdraw. God's word says.

[46:31] To withdraw. Yourself. In verse five. From such. Withdraw. Yourself. It doesn't say. From such. Engage. See if you convince them.

[46:42] See if you can reason with them. See if you can persuade them. No. It says. Withdraw. Because it is. They waste. Time. It doesn't say. Engage with them. Because those who are contentious.

[46:53] For personal gain. Will never be persuaded. They're not content. They're discontent. The covetous man. Is never satisfied. He's discontent.

[47:04] In his current lot. He cannot be persuaded. The command is clear. Withdraw yourself. John Calvin. He said. We should therefore. Labor to the utmost.

[47:16] That all may know. That so far are we. From being agreed with them. That they may have. No communication with us. The word fellowship. Is probably thrown around.

[47:26] A little bit more. Than it should be. But really fellowship. Is what comes from agreement. So if you've heard the word. Having a fellowship meal. Having a potluck after lunch. Fellowship meal.

[47:37] Is because we are united. Under the. In Christ. And under the gospel. And having heard the sermon. And being in agreement. With God's word. Then we come together. In that agreement. And we have fellowship. Sometimes fellowship.

[47:49] Is more used. Just as friendship. But. Where there's not that agreement. There's not that fellowship. So. Fellowship. Or. Comradery. With such a person. As this. Is explicitly forbidden.

[48:01] By scripture. So to do so. Is sin. They are false. They are deceptive. They are dangerous. And they are infectious.

[48:12] Their words. Are a disease. Though they have. Impressive. And ostentatious. Display. Of their vocabulary. And of their oratory. And though they use. Smooth.

[48:23] And flattering words. It is a disease. Withdraw yourself. From them.

[48:34] As you would. A diseased person. Withdraw yourself. From them. As you would. Someone with the black. Death. Bubonic plague. With weeping. Contagious. Pus. Filled. Sores.

[48:45] Draining. Foul fluid. It's a disgusting thing. To think about. And we should think. The exact same thing. When we think about the words. Of a false teacher. The putrefaction. Of the corruption.

[48:56] Of their words. Likewise. Consider the infectious. Putrefaction. Of the words. Of such spiritually. Diseased people. And although. Their pernicious. Pernicious words.

[49:07] Are not as. Sensorily detectable. With our eyes. Or with our. With our smell. Such as the bubonic plague. While the words. Themselves. Are not as.

[49:18] Sensorily detectable. As the foul smell. Of the black plague. They are deceptively. Veiled. Under oratory. And flattery. So discernment. Is required.

[49:30] Discernment. And avoidance. Withdraw. From them. Seeing. Their words. The same way. That you would. The open. Weeping.

[49:42] Puss filled. Foul smelling. Putrefaction. Of. The black. Death. Bubonic. Plague. As for us. Let us continue.

[49:54] Steadfastly. In the apostles. Doctrine. And hold fast. To the faithful. Word. So in a church. With a. Confession. That holds. Fast. To the faithful.

[50:04] Word. If. If. If there is. Somebody. In that church. Who. Who disagree. Who isn't quite. Let's just say. Isn't quite there.

[50:15] They're not quite sure. They agree with. With everything. In the confession. What should be the response. Because there's. There's extremes. Sometimes. And when somebody. Starts coming. To the church. It's.

[50:26] It's probably. Pretty rare. That they actually. Come to the church. Already agreeing. Unless. Maybe. If. If somebody. Was to move. And they researched. Where a like-minded. Church is. And they hold.

[50:36] The same confession. Perhaps. In those situations. But. When there's converts. If somebody. Is converted. They don't. Instantly. It's not that. Now. By the light of faith.

[50:47] I have. Perfect. I have doctrine. That perfectly aligns. With the confession of faith. Of the church. I'm going to go to. So. There is. There. There's a need for teaching. And there's a need for coming along. So. Where there is disagreement.

[50:58] There's. There's. The two extremes. One of them. Being. You know. Just. Just arguing everything. Always trying to find. The next thing. To dispute about. And then.

[51:11] There's. There's the other extreme. Where. I guess. Just not. Just not. Not thinking.

[51:22] Thinking through it. But. What. What. We ought to do. When there's disagreements. Well. Jim Renahan. I think. Probably gives the best. Explanation. For.

[51:33] Confessional subscription. And how the. The members. Of the congregation. How they should be. Where. Where they're not there. Or where they might disagree. But. I'm. I'll leave that. To your study.

[51:44] But for now. I want to quote Sam Waldron. Because I think. He puts it very concisely. And very. In fact. Almost even pithy. I guess. But. Sam Waldron. Speaking on the subscription. To a confession.

[51:54] When there are members. In the church. Or people in the congregation. Who. They don't have to be resolved. In resolved. Agreement. About every point. Of the confession. There are some parts.

[52:06] That are. Definitely important. The doctrine on scripture. The doctrine on. Excuse me. The doctrine on God. The doctrine on justification. By faith alone. These are necessary. But. Where there are other things.

[52:18] For. I don't know. Let's say. When you read about. Where Saul goes to the. Witch at Endor. And. And summons. Samuel. From the dead.

[52:28] Whether you believe it was Samuel. Or whether you believe it was. A lying. Demon. Impersonating. Samuel. If two people disagree on it. You know what.

[52:38] After the service. We're still friends. And we can still enjoy. A fellowship meal. Together. That's not a hill to die on. There are hills to die on. And there are other things. That are tertiary.

[52:49] But anyways. Where there are. Unresolved. Disagreements. About the confession. When somebody. When somebody comes to a church. Ideally. That church.

[53:00] Will have a robust confession. If they don't have. A very robust confession. It's probably not safe. Because they're teaching something. These false teachers. Are teaching something. So a church.

[53:10] Without a confession of faith. They're teaching something. They just don't want to put it on paper. They don't want to give disclosure. Of what it is they're teaching. That can be examined. Or maybe they're just open to. To whatever. And then that's not safe either.

[53:22] So. Understand. What a church's confession is. And that that's what will be taught. And where there is. Not agreement with it. What should be the response? Sam. Again. To go back to where I began.

[53:34] Sam Waldron. Is that where there's not agreement. With every point in the confession. They need to be willing. Three things. To respond teachably. To submit.

[53:45] To submit sweetly. And to live peaceably. To go back to. What I said earlier. As for us. Let us continue.

[53:55] To continue steadfastly. In the apostles doctrine. And hold fast. To the faithful word. Let's pray. Our Lord. We thank you again for this day. And we thank you for your word. And we thank you for the times.

[54:06] That we can spend on. The Lord's day. In the Lord's house. With the Lord's people. To sit under the ministry of the word. And we pray that you would help us. To rightly understand your word. That you would give us.

[54:17] A true knowledge. A right understanding. And that you might grant us. The memory to recall these things. And to meditate. And contemplate. Your excellencies.

[54:28] And your wondrous works. And that even in our time together. That we would declare. Your excellencies. And your wondrous works. And enjoy you. Through the fellowship.

[54:39] In which you give us. Through other believers. And I pray that you would help us. To ask ourselves. What must I do. With the truth. That I have heard. From your word today. And if that is.

[54:51] For salvation. Then I pray that you would shine light. In darkness. And call lost sinners. Out of this world. And the misery of sin. And bondage of sin. Into light.

[55:03] And righteousness. And life of Christ's kingdom. And Lord. We thank you for. The kingdom of Christ. And the hope that the saints have. In which we cling to. In this world.

[55:13] Which is not our home. Where there is corruption. In everything. And there will be corruption. Unfortunately. Even in churches. And in teaching of your word. And we thank you Lord.

[55:25] That in the kingdom of Christ. It is incorruptible. It is indefectible. It cannot be defiled. It cannot be hindered by sin. And that glorified saints.

[55:36] Will be perfected. In both soul and body. We will have perfect. Blessed communion with you. Where even our own sin. Will not hinder that communion. And we will behold your glory. By the light of glory.

[55:48] And we will experience joy. Inexpressible. Thank you that we have this hope to cling to. Because Christ is raised from the dead. And is seated on high. And is bringing all things that we experience.

[56:00] According to your plan of redemption. And that Christ reigns. And that behind all of this. Tribulation. That we see in this world. Behind all of this. False teaching. Behind all the.

[56:11] Corruption. Which does occur. That behind all of it. That Christ reigns. And that all things. Are being brought. To the. The consummation of the kingdom.

[56:22] And so we long for that. So we pray. That your kingdom would come. And that your will would be done. And that you would come. Lord Jesus. And that you might give us. Discernment. While we are on our way.

[56:33] As pilgrims. In this. This dark. Wilderness. This world. And that. Having granted us discernment. That. You would enable us. To.

[56:43] To see. Corrupt. False teaching. And false teachers. And to avoid. Them. And their teaching. Pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. We'll see.