A note from our Pastor:

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;”

1 Timothy 6:3

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

Our study verse this week begins a strong statement from the Apostle Paul. This statement spans three verses and is directed at false teachers. The focus of the false teaching is a continuation of the prior verses about the behavior of Christian slaves. Keep in mind, this is continued instruction to Timothy whom the Apostle had left in charge at Ephesus.

”If any man teach otherwise” — the Apostle, in the prior two verses, gave Timothy explicit instruction regarding Christian slaves. Those who were enslaved by non-believing masters were to treat them with respect and obedience to avoid the unbelieving masters blaspheming God. Those who were disciples and owned slaves were to be treated as brothers and not as enemies by other believers. These are the teachings in reference when the Apostle references other preachers having a different message.

”And consent not to wholesome words” — the Apostle had many examples to draw from within the teachings of Christ. Teachings like give unto Caesar what is his or love your enemies and pray for them that despitefully use you. These false teachers wanted to teach a message of rebellion and vengeance. They based their teachings on human emotion not the teachings of scripture. With this, they made the gospel to be a divider of people rather than one meant to teach peace, love, hope, and forgiveness.

”And to the doctrine” — the additional concern was that as these teachers left behind the wholesome words of Christ, they also left the true doctrine. Take one hypothetical example. As the preacher chose to teach that the actions of a slaveholder were evil, it is not a far stretch to then teach that all slaveholders were in fact evil. From there, the preacher might portray that the slaveholders had no good within them. The preacher might outright teach that they must not be children of God. Yet, some of these slaveholders were believers in Christ. Thus, the false teaching which was at first based on a secular grievance quickly turned into teachings contrary to doctrine.

The warnings of the Apostle continue in the next two verses which will be studied over the next two weeks. But the message for the modern disciple is to be cautious when the message in the church focuses on condemning behaviors not directly associated with the church.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah