1 Timothy 6:3-5 The Truth Matters
RECAP: Paul has been talking about relating to different groups in the church (5:1-6:2).
o Treating older men as fathers, older women as mothers, younger men as brothers, and women as sisters.
o Caring for the widows properly.
o Respecting elders, especially those who preach and teach.
o And the need for slaves and servants to respect their masters.
You can see an underlying theme that ties through all these relationships - honour and respect - for the old and young, men and women, slaves and free, leaders and members.
• We are to respect one another IN Christ and because OF Christ.
1 Tim 6:3-5
3If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
In our text today, Paul reiterated his caution for Timothy to guard against false teachers and provided a description of one.
• The false teacher does not have the truth and therefore does not teach the truth.
• He teaches a different doctrine. If we borrow Paul’s word in 1:4 they are speculations and not the sound doctrine that is centred on Christ and which promotes godliness.
• The false teachers teach a different doctrine that “does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness.” 6:3
By now, we know that this is not the first time Paul talks about false teachers. He said it in 1:3-11 and 4:1-7, and now the third time in 6:3-5. This is one of his major sub-themes.
• Paul warns Timothy to guard against their teachings because they corrupt the lives of believers and the purity of the church.
What’s wrong with them? Paul highlighted FOUR FLAWS OF FALSE TEACHERS:
• They Teach the Wrong Doctrine – not according to the truth God has revealed.
• They Are Driven by a Wrong Motivation – pride, they are “puffed up with conceit and understand nothing.” 6:4
• They Produce Wrong Conduct – stirring controversy and quarrels, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people.6:4-5a
• They Seek Gain through “Godliness” – they are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.6:5
• Using their “religion” for selfish gains, motivated by greed.
• KJV has this added line (based on later manuscripts): “From such withdraw yourself.” Stay away from them!
1. THEY TEACH THE WRONG DOCTRINE
Paul has already said what “sound doctrine” is as opposed to their “different doctrine”.
• Back to chapter 1. Timothy was asked to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.” 1:3 that promotes “speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.” 1:4
• 1:11 - Timothy must hold on to the “sound doctrine, 11in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” 1:10b-11
It is NOT speculations but the Gospel of Christ revealed to us by God – we are stewards of it and being entrusted with it.
• It’s not a message from Paul or any man, and therefore no one can twist or change it.
• 1:19 - Hence Timothy must “wage the good warfare, 19holding faith and a good conscience” and not be like some who had “made a shipwreck of their faith”.1:18b-19
2:4 – God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
• What TRUTH? 2:5-6 “5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
• It’s a testimony GIVEN – REVEALED by God – at a proper time – ROOTED in history, concerning the man Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for our salvation.
But the CHALLENGE is, Paul said in 4:1 “…in the later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”
• Instead of trusting what God has revealed, in the latter times men will be deceived by a “different doctrine” that comes from deceitful spirits and demons.
• Hence, Paul repeats his caution here: If anyone teaches a “different doctrine”, stay away from them!
• They are not teaching the Gospel truth that is centred on Christ and that which produces godliness.
2. THEY ARE DRIVEN BY THE WRONG MOTIVATION
The false teachers are not concerned about the truth about Christ.
• Paul puts it bluntly. They are “conceited and understand nothing”, who are “depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.” 6:5
• Their pride and ignorance can be seen in their “unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words.” 6:4
Paul is not saying, let’s not have any debates at all, because we see Paul engaging in theological arguments with the religious leaders, too, in his days. So did Jesus and Peter.
• But the problem with the false teachers here is their pride and ignorance. They are not motivated by the truth but by their personal glory and gain.
• Wrong doctrine and a wrong heart lead to wrong conduct.
3. THEY PRODUCE WRONG CONDUCT
Wrong belief brings about wrong behaviours. We see human strife and friction - envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction.6:4-5
• Since they are not promoting Christ but themselves, these are the results.
• Driven by their pride, they are argumentative and competitive, seeking to win every argument, putting others down to show that they are knowledgeable.
• Their goal is not to build God’s Kingdom but their own, not to nurture the flock but to build a name for themselves.
The humble will exalt Christ, and the truth about God, not the knowledge of man.
• The humble is teachable. Even if he errs, he will likely know it quickly and repent.
• Sound doctrine promotes godliness.
4. THEY SEEK GAIN THROUGH ‘GODLINESS’
Finally, Paul says they imagine “that godliness is a means of gain.” 6:5
• They make use of their belief for personal gain. They seek to make a profit out of it.
• What is this “gain” that Paul is alluding to? The next few verses tell us. He talks about the things of this world, the desire to be rich, and their love for money.
Paul says false teachers seek material or financial gains (NIV) from their “religion”.
• It’s about personal gain rather than Christ and godliness.
• In other words, believing in their “different doctrine” will bring about personal blessings, not godliness, but material blessings.
Sounds familiar, right? We fall into this same trap sometimes when we share the Gospel.
• We got carried away and presented the material blessings of knowing Christ, and sometimes, promising what the Gospel did not promise.
• We err when the central message of the Gospel is shifted away from Christ (and the fruit of godliness) to our focus on personal gains or blessings in life.
• “Believe in Jesus Christ and it will bring you happiness and prosperity, health and success in life. You’ll have your best life now.”
• Although these can be God’s blessings but they are not the reason we believe in Jesus.
Christianity has become man-centred. It is no longer about Christ and our relationship with Him, or godly living and growing to be like Christ.
• It’s about me and my wants, about my comfort and success in life. It’s about man and how God can make us happy and successful, healthy and rich.
• The emphasis is on man’s wants rather than on God’s glory. God exists only to bless man. It’s all about my will and desires, not His.
Pastor and author Steven J. Cole wrote in “Religion for Fun and Profit”:
Many people claim to be Christians, but they are simply using God for personal gain. As long as God treats them well, as long as they feel good, as long as life is reasonably comfortable, they come to church and live as Christians.
But they aren’t judging their sins by Scripture and seeking to grow in godliness. And as soon as some tragedy or trial hits, they fall away.
The problem is, God was never central in their lives. They weren’t seeking Him and submitting to Jesus as Lord. Rather, God was a convenient means to achieve their goal of personal happiness and success. But the self was at the centre of their lives.
Paul tells us very clearly in this letter. False teachings originate with man, puff man up, centre on man’s wants, and ultimately corrupt the man.
• 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”
• Only the Gospel saves. It has to do with Jesus Christ, and it promotes godliness.
• It is the only truth that can set us free - from sin, death, and Satan.
APPLICATIONS:
1. Cling to God’s Word
Spurgeon: “The best way to guard yourself against falsehood is to be grounded in the truth.” The best way to spot what is false is to know the truth well.
A trainee at a bank was eager to learn how to detect counterfeit notes, expecting to sit through weeks of study, examining fake notes of all kinds. But to his surprise, his supervisor handed him only genuine notes and asked him to study them.
After weeks of studying and handling the genuine notes, he finally asked, “When do I start to learn the fake ones?”
The supervisor’s reply was: “When you know the real one well, the false will expose itself the moment you touch it.”
And indeed, after weeks of handling genuine notes, the day came when someone slipped a counterfeit into the stack, and the trainee was able to spot it.
We don’t have to study every lie, every false teaching, or every temptation.
• We just need to know the truth so deeply that when something false comes our way, we can sense it right away.
2. Guard Against False Teaching
Be vigilant about the teachings we hear from pastors, authors, or anywhere. We measure them against the Scripture.
• We do that because WHAT we believe will affect HOW we behave. A bad doctrine will lead to bad behaviour. Right belief brings about right conduct.
• Jesus prayed to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17.
• God’s Word sanctifies and shapes us, making us godly like Christ.
3. Avoiding the Trap of Materialism
Avoid the temptation to equate wealth and success with God's blessing.
• It is wrong to think that God owes us a good life now because we are His children.
• When faith becomes a way to feed our self-interest, we have lost sight of the Gospel.
• Our life goal is godliness. God uses everything at His disposal to mould us into the likeness of His Son.
