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3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. ~ 1 Timothy 6:3-5
As the Apostle Paul brings 1 Timothy to a conclusion, he addresses some of the things most dear to his heart. In today's text, he returns to the subject of false teachers. The spiritual leaders in the local church must constantly oversee what is being taught because it is easy for false doctrines to slip in without notice.
In v.3 we read, "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching."
The first mark of the false teacher is he "teaches otherwise." The Greek word the Apostle uses here for teaches otherwise is heterodidaskalei which essentially means heresy. It is heresy because it is contrary to God's definitions of things. It is teaching that denies that the God of the Bible is the only true God. It is teaching that is error about Christ, His lineage, His virgin birth, His teaching and His salvation.
The litmus test of truth is the Scriptures. Since false teaching is contrary to the Scriptures, one who has been born again, overcomes the false by the Word of God. The believer must know the Word, so that we may be able to discern error. A believer who understands the Word will have a broken heart, but not a big head.
The false teacher is not willing to agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated sound is the English word hygiene. The false teacher does not give himself to hygienic words, healthy words, wholesome words, beneficial words that are the definitions of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As indicated at the very end of v.3, the ultimate test of a teaching is whether it produces godliness. Truth always results in godliness when it is applied correctly. The Word of God will produce healthy spiritual behavior. The Word of God will bring truth to bear on a life that results in godliness, because God is the truth personified in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.4-5 we read, "4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."
The second mark of the false teacher is he is conceited or arrogant. The Greek word used here for conceited means to be enveloped in smoke. It means false teachers are in a settled state of being engulfed in their own smoke. They’re just a big puff of hot air.
The result of unspiritual teaching is "envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions." Godliness is the ultimate test of truth. And, so is unity. The thing that unites us is our common commitment to truth. Since we all believe the same truth, we’re all linked together.
When the false teacher teaches what is right in his own eyes, he will eventually be at odds with everyone. This is the sign that he has been robbed of the truth. Satan himself is the one who used just enough of the truth to deceive Eve in the Garden. As a result, all he teaches leads to chaos, and envy reigns. Envy is that inward discontent with the advantages enjoyed by someone else’s popularity and prosperity.
Envy will always lead to strife because strife is the outward expression of the inward reality. Then strife gives way to malicious talk or insults. Then malicious talk gives life to evil suspicion, which means to embrace evil motives. All of this results in constant friction.
As a result, the false teacher has but a legacy of error and chaos and selfish financial gain. They produce no good effect. They exploit through false words. They entice unstable souls. They forsake the right way. They promise freedom but are the slaves of corruption. They have gone the path of the flesh and they perish in their own rebellion.
But, the truth always wins because the truth will always remain the same and it will always endure. The truth permits us to be all that we were meant to be. The truth delivers us from self as it confronts us with its stability. The Lord Jesus says to us, "Come to me. Look at life as I see it and a wonderful thing will happen: there will be a change in you. You will be given a life that you never had before, and you will be freed from the destiny to which the false leads."
