Lessons From I Timothy

I Timothy 4:7-9 says, "But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for,

the training of the body has
a limited benefit,
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come."

Vs. 6:3-6 say, "If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slanders, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among men whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain. But godliness with contentment is a great gain."

Again, in 6:20-21 we read, "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the 'knowledge' that falsely bears that name. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith. "

I believe that there are two warnings here that apply to us today:

1) Don't get involved in empty arguments and debates that lead nowhere and distract from the message of the Gospel. If someone wants to argue, just state your beliefs, your case, and let the other person accept or reject what you say. Only the Holy Spirit can convict someone of his need for salvation.

2) Don't get distracted by myths, quests for "hidden knowledge", non-Scriptural doctrines, and such. God's Word is the standard against which all other knowledge must be judged.

Timothy was called to preach the Gospel, not debate the gnostics and "intellectuals" of his day. I believe this is still the primary calling of God's Church, His body. Too often I see Christians get bogged down by debate and arguments with non-believers over myths, human philosophies, controversies. Only the Holy Spirit can convict someone of his need for salvation, and all the arguing in the world over controversies and empty myths will not. This does not mean we should not refute lies and we should not speak the Truth. Rather, it means that we should not get side-tracked or bogged down by trying to prove ourselves right.

There are so many things outside of the Bible that sound enticing and interesting - Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Kaballah, UFO's, "Christian Mysticism", to name a few. We need to be grounded in God's Word; we should not get distracted by studying these things. What is one result of not heeding this warning? I Timothy 6:21, "...some people have deviated from the faith." Does this mean that we should never examine things outside of the Bible to see what they say? There is such thing as honest curiosity; and I think there is a difference between examining something to see what it says, and accepting it as truth because it sounds good or seems interesting. The latter can open one up to false doctrines and beliefs, and can lead to deviating from the faith, or rejecting it completely. I am reminded of the phrase in Ephesians 4:14, "...tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit." Regardless of what you may choose to study and examine, stay firmly grounded in the Scriptures. The Bible is the foundation against which all other beliefs and doctrines must be tested. Anything that disagrees with God's Word must be rejected.

"Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish?...but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom, because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." - I Corinthians 1:20, 23-26

-Mark -
-Christian Researcher-
-Updated January 21, 2007-