Handling God's Word Series

Early in my Christian walk, a movement swept Evangelical youth. The youth were no longer interested in the teaching among many of the churches since it was pedantic at best. The thought was that if the churches could only incorporate lively music, young people would come back to the Faith. At that time a charismatic chap named Dave Berg formed communes identified as belonging to “The Children of God.” Parents were at first pleased that their children were again talking about the Faith. However, the group moved quite steadily toward the most degraded practises, including what they called “Flirty Fishing,” prostitution in order to seduce unsuspecting individuals to join the group, which was then rebranded as “The Family of Love.” Wrong doctrine leads inevitably to ever greater ungodliness!

Paul also warns that “irreverent babble” “will spread like gangrene.” Paul actually appeals to the world of medicine to emphasise how invasive errant teaching is. Gangrene [gangraina (Greek)] is a serious problem for those so afflicted. If it is not caught early and treated aggressively, it will surely require amputation of the diseased limb or result in death. Paul speaks of how aggressively such error needed to be addressed.

In the First Letter to Timothy the Apostle speaks of Hymenaeus. Paul writes, “By rejecting [faith and good conscience], some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” [1 TIMOTHY 1:19b, 20]. Paul excommunicated this man, delivering him over to Satan. Though he was no longer a part of the church, he continued to spread heresy. What is worse, some among the saints were apparently listening to this man! Therefore, the Apostle states, “Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” [2 TIMOTHY 2:16-18]. Put out of the church and he is still subverting the Faith.

Among the most dangerous individuals to the congregation of the faithful are erstwhile members who were either expelled for error or who in their arrogance chose to walk away. We are warned against such individuals when John writes, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” [1 JOHN 2:19]. Such individuals are dangerous precisely because we know them. Just as a wound that is not cleansed is susceptible to gangrene, so error—heterodoxy and heteropraxy—is susceptible to contaminating the Body of Christ. If we will avoid amputation and great pain, we must apply the antiseptic of the Word. Healthy teaching, sound doctrine, will keep us from succumbing to spiritual sepsis.