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You may turn in your Bibles to 
1st Timothy chapter 6. 1st Timothy chapter 6. We're coming toward the end of 
this epistle. Specifically what Paul does in 
these latter verses in chapter 6 verses 3 to 5, he indicts false 
teachers and warns against the love of money. Verses 6 to 8. I'm sorry, verses 6 to 10. And 
then there are some final exhortations specifically fitted to Timothy, 
beginning in verse 11. Again, some instructions for 
the rich in verses 17 to 19, and then a final charge in verse 
20 and 21. So I'll just read this section 
And then our focus this evening is on verses three to five, the 
apostles indictment of the false teachers. If anyone teaches otherwise 
and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 
he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes 
and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, 
evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute 
of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment 
is great gain. For we brought nothing into this 
world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having 
food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those 
who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. and into 
many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction 
and perdition. For the love of money is a root 
of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith 
in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many 
sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these 
things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. 
Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and 
have confessed a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 
I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things 
and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius 
Pilate. That you keep this commandment 
without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, 
which he will manifest in his own time. He who is the blessed 
and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who 
alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom 
no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting 
power. Amen. Command those who are rich 
in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things 
to enjoy. Let them do good, that they may 
be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing 
up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. O Timothy, guard what was committed 
to your trust. Avoid the profane and idle babblings 
and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge by professing 
it, some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you again for the 
Word of God. We pray for the ministry of the Spirit of God, 
for we need Him to illumine our minds and our hearts and enable 
us to receive these things. Grant us grace to understand, 
grant us grace to be affected, grant us grace, Lord God, to 
know the truth. The best inoculation against 
false teachers is to know the truth of God's Holy Word. We 
pray that you would fill us with your Spirit to this end, and 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, 
the Apostle here returns to his discussion, or rather his condemnation 
of false teachers. If you go back for just a moment 
in chapter 1, this is one of the primary reasons that he stations 
Timothy here in Ephesus to engage the good warfare. Back in chapter 
1, he says in verse 3, "...as I urged you when I went into 
Macedonia remain an emphasis that you may charge some that 
they teach no other doctrine nor give heed to fables and endless 
genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification 
which is in faith." And then he says in verse 7, these men 
desiring to be teachers of the law understanding neither what 
they say nor the things which they affirm. Again in chapter 
4, verses 1 to 5, he deals with apostasy. He says, now the Spirit 
expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the 
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 
speaking lies and hypocrisy. having their own conscience seared 
with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain 
from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving 
by those who believe and know the truth." You see, for the 
Apostle Paul, it was not only necessary to tell people what 
they must believe, he also warned them what they must not believe. It is actually as important for 
us to realize these are dangerous truths that could ultimately 
lead us to the pit. And this is what he does in verses 
3 to 5. He not only highlights their 
departure from orthodox doctrine, but then he describes their character. He gives us sort of a bird's 
eye view as to what men committed to falsehood actually look like. Now, as we read 3 to 5, it sort 
of runs against the grain. This doesn't sound like the apostle 
of love, does it? It doesn't sound like he's just 
oozing love all over people, that he's just dripping all over 
the people of God about love. He uses some very strong language. He says these men are proud. 
He says they know nothing. He says they're strifeful. They're 
full of envy. I mean, these are things that 
are somewhat alarming in our very delicate and very sensitive 
age. We are told that such a condemnation 
indicates a lack of love. I love what Gordon Clark says 
concerning this particular idea. He says the heterodox, we'll 
deal with that word in just a moment, means other teaching, other doctrine. Like Paul says in verse 3, if 
anyone teaches otherwise, other doctrine, not orthodoxy, but 
heterodoxy. If you went to a heterodontist, 
your teeth would look messed up. Thankfully you go to an orthodontist 
and they're straight and orderly and the way they ought to be. 
Hetero means different or other. Ortho is what you want. We speak 
of orthodoxy, there's also heterodoxy, and this is what the Apostle 
is condemning. Anyways, back to Clark. He says, 
the heterodox and heretical, in order to destroy the gospel, 
clothe themselves in a perverse misinterpretation of love. He then highlights the reality 
that Paul is the Apostle of love. He writes in detail concerning 
love. in 1 Corinthians 13. He punctuates 
several of his letters with this emphasis of love. Then Clark 
goes on to say, what the liberals, and he means by this theological 
liberals, what the liberals and even many conservatives fail 
to realize is that love requires the protection of the sheep from 
the wolves and the unmasking of conceited, ignorant, blasphemous 
false teachers. This is not contrary to love, 
this is an application of love. Now whether the false teachers 
and the heretics perceived it that way That's not Paul's concern. Paul's concern is the sheep of 
Christ to make sure that wolves do not sink their fangs in these 
little lambs. And so the apostle wants to warn 
Timothy and he wants to warn the church that they are to withdraw 
from these sorts of men. The structure is very simple, 
it's very clear. Verse 3, as I mentioned, is their 
departure from sound doctrine. It's in the form of an if statement, 
and then verses 4 to 5 are sort of a then. If you go out in the 
rain, then you will get wet. If anyone looks like this in 
terms of his doctrine, then he will look like this in terms 
of his practice. That's the structure, that's 
how we'll go through it. First, the departure from sound 
doctrine. They are heterodox. I've already 
taken a little time to try and explain this. If anyone teaches 
otherwise, this isn't orthodoxy, this isn't truth, this isn't 
16 ounces to the pound biblical revelation, but rather this is 
something other. It is something different. It 
is something of another kind that has no resemblance to the 
truth of God's Holy Word. And notice that Paul is no respecter 
of persons. He says, if anyone does this... 
He does the very same thing in Galatians chapter 1. If we, or 
an angel from heaven, should preach another gospel to you, 
which we did not preach, let him be anathema. Paul doesn't 
say, well, you know, that guy after all is a pretty special 
fellow, so I don't really want to condemn him. Or this guy who's 
preaching heresy or heterodoxy, he's really nice and he does 
love people and he really wants the best for people. Paul doesn't 
play that game. What is best for people is the 
truth of God. It's not our desires, it's not 
our intentions, it's not what we wish, it's not what we hope. 
What is absolutely crucial for the sustenance of the Church 
of Christ, for the good of the Lamb of Christ, is the truth 
of God's Word. And so Paul says, if anyone teaches 
otherwise. Notice he then says, and does 
not consent to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this could 
go one of two ways. It could be all those words spoken 
by Christ in his earthly ministry. those words that are recorded 
for us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I don't think that's 
what he means. I certainly don't think he is 
excluding those words spoken by Jesus in his earthly ministry. But the apostle himself, along 
with the other apostles, had a self-conscious awareness that 
they were servants of Christ in a particular way, to preach 
the truth as it is in Jesus. So when Paul says, even the words 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that he is speaking about, yes, 
the words of Christ in his earthly ministry, but also apostolic 
doctrine. the truth as it is in Jesus as 
it was mediated by the Apostles. They were his special representatives. Matthew chapter 10, Jesus selected 
12. In the upper room we see very 
specifically that the Spirit teaches and brings to remembrance 
the words of Christ. The Spirit testifies concerning 
Christ and then the Apostles will bear witness to Christ. Now we personalize those passages, 
we appropriate them to ourselves, but the primary application is 
for the apostles. They are men upon whom the Spirit 
is, such that when they teach doctrine, when they write letters, 
they are the authoritative word of God Most High, and the heterodox, 
the false teachers, depart from that truth. Remember in Acts 
2, those who gladly received the word, they continued steadfastly 
in what? in the apostles' doctrine. This 
is the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. We covered a bit of this 
last Lord's Day in our study in the Canon. The Canon of Scripture 
is that rule or standard, that list of the 27 books of the New 
Testament. And in that study we showed text 
after text after text where the apostles understood that they 
were doing something very specifically. The Apostle tells churches to 
obey what he commands them in these letters. The Apostle tells 
churches that they are to take letters and read them publicly 
in worship. They are to exchange letters. 
They are to submit to the authority of those letters. In fact, in 
Thessalonica, the Apostle says, note those who disobey our instruction 
in this letter. deal with them as those who have 
sinned against God Most High. The scriptural witness and testimony 
in the New Testament documents themselves evidence that the 
Apostles had a consciousness and an awareness that they were 
writing scripture. The Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 
chapter 3 refers to Paul's right tings, plural. Early in the church, in the first 
century, the Apostle Peter knows of letters, plural, of the Apostle 
Paul, and he refers to them as scripture. The Apostle Peter 
in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 2 uses prophets in the Old Testament 
and apostles in the New Testament in the same manner. They are 
authoritative spokesmen for the living and the true God. So when 
we consider this particular subject or topic, we'll see and we can 
understand that when he says, they do not consent to the words 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, he is meaning those words spoken 
by Christ in his earthly ministry, but he is speaking of the deposit 
of truth in the apostolic doctrine. You know, we all probably have 
a red-letter Bible. Beware of the tendency of thinking 
that the red letters are a little bit more than the not-red letters. I guess they'd be black. Well, I'm a red-letter Christian. 
What we read in the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 7, is as much the Word 
of God is as Matthew 15. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't 
pay attention to the red letters, we shouldn't pay attention to 
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, but there is this approach in 
Christianity to see the words of Jesus here and the words of 
Paul here. In fact, there's an instance 
in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 where the apostle says, I'm speaking 
on my own. In fact, let's turn there for 
just a moment so we can dispel any idea that this is not to 
be taken as authoritative scripture. 1 Corinthians chapter 7 at verse 
12. But to the rest I, not the Lord, 
say..." Well, there you have it. Paul's making a distinction 
between himself and the Lord. If the Lord says something, we 
really have to obey it. If Paul says something, we should 
obey it, but we don't really have to. You see, 1 Corinthians 
7.12 has come to be taken as a text where, you know, Paul's 
not on the same level as our Lord Jesus. He says, "...but 
to the rest I, not the Lord, say, if any brother has a wife 
who does not believe and she is willing to live with him, 
let him not divorce her." Why does Paul indicate that I say 
this and not the Lord? Because the Lord didn't teach 
this in His earthly ministry. The Lord certainly dealt with 
marriage and divorce, but He didn't deal with this particular 
contingency. He didn't deal with what we would 
call a mixed marriage. Not mixed in terms of black and 
white, but mixed in terms of believer and unbeliever. Paul 
is speaking with the wisdom of the Spirit authoritatively to 
a specific issue. While Christ may not have reported 
upon it, Paul the Apostle did. And it's bearing and it's authoritative 
as if it comes from Christ Himself. Look at the end, 1 Corinthians 
14, verses 37 and 38. If anyone thinks himself to be 
a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which 
I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. You see, this idea 
that these twelve men just sort of bebopped around Israel in 
the first century, wrote a few inspiring thoughts and put them 
down on paper, but it really has no bearing and no authority 
or any demand or command over our life is simply not accurate. 
The Apostles understood what they were doing. The Apostles 
had a self-conscious awareness. The Apostles knew this because 
Christ invested them with this authority. He goes on in verse 
38, but if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. The Apostle 
knew. Pastor Cam read this morning 
from 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 13. Another passage, 
you can turn there. So you can see what Paul is condemning 
in our text. He is condemning a departure 
from apostolic doctrine. 1st Thessalonians 2 verse 13, 
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because 
when you received the word of God which you heard from us, 
you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, 
the word of God. That would be a pretty arrogant 
statement from a man who wasn't self-consciously aware that he 
possessed authority. He understood this as well. Look 
back for just a moment in Galatians 1. In Galatians 1, the apostle 
actually has to vindicate something of his own calling and position 
within the church. Because the Judaizers came to 
the churches of Galatia and said, yes, it's good that you believe 
the gospel, but you also must subscribe to the ceremonies of 
Moses. The Apostle Paul is right, but 
he's not telling you the whole story. And so for Paul, he has 
to combat this heresy. And one of the primary elements, 
at least initially, is what he does, is to show his authority 
as having been invested by Christ. So that the gospel that he preaches 
is from the Lord Jesus, it is consistent with what the men 
in Jerusalem held to as well. But notice in verse 1 of chapter 
1, Paul, an apostle, not from men, nor through man, but through 
Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead." 
That is a mouthful in terms of authority. Not from man. Not through man, but through 
Jesus Christ and God the Father. Look at where Christ is located 
after the but. He's on the side of God. This 
is a and at least an indirect reference to the deity of our 
blessed Savior. He is not man in terms of this 
first part, from man nor through man, but through Jesus Christ 
and God the Father. So all that to say, these heterodox 
men do not consent to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
then he highlights something else, the end of verse 3. He says, "...and to the doctrine 
which accords with godliness." This is a powerful statement 
as well. And basically it means this, what we believe concerning 
God affects the way that we live under God. What we believe concerning 
God affects the way that we live under God. So a man who is heterodox, 
other doctrine, A man who does not consent to the apostolic 
doctrine is a man who rejects doctrine which accords with godliness. Paul will describe this in great 
detail in verses 4 and 5. But it is intriguing that we 
appreciate that what we believe affects how we live. If we believe 
the truth, We pursue the truth. We live in light of the truth. 
By and large, I'm not saying perfectly, but by and large, 
our lives will be fragranced with the aroma of godliness. When a man rejects the truth 
of the gospel, when a man rejects the truth concerning the living 
God, when a man throws God out of his thoughts and hearts, that's 
then reflected in the way that he lives. Notice in Titus 1.1, 
this connection is there as well. Titus 1.1, Paul a bondservant 
of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith 
of God's elect and the acknowledgement of the truth, which accords with 
godliness. You see, this is most important 
for you to go and live a good life in your homes, to be a faithful 
worker. You need to know the truth as 
it is in Jesus. That's what you desperately need 
in order to reflect the glory of God in the gospel. Notice 
in Titus chapter 2 verse 10. Verse 9, "...exhort bondservants 
to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, 
not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, 
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." 
You see, a first century bondservant who feared the Lord and who did 
what the Lord said, he didn't steal, he didn't get lippy with 
his master, he was a faithful man. In doing that, you know 
what he adorned? He adorned the doctrine of God. 
He taught his pagan master something about the gospel. He taught his 
pagan handler something about the truth. He was making the 
admission that because of Christ, because of truth, I'm not going 
to talk back to you, I'm not going to steal from you, and 
I'm going to be faithful. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? That's why in your workplace, you ought to be the best employee, 
not so you can get the employee of the month. If that happens, 
that's okay. Get your free ice cream or free parking spot or 
whatever it may bring you, but you're doing it for God, so that 
you may adorn the doctrine of God. You want to be faithful 
in your home, not just so your husband and wife will say, boy, 
you're the best. If they say that, that's okay. Take it. There 
might be a day when they don't say it, so take it while you 
can get it. She's doing it for God. So we've got to get this 
theological mindset. What we believe concerning God 
affects the way that we live under God. And when we embrace 
heterodoxy, when we depart from apostolic doctrine, when then 
we reject the doctrine that accords with godliness, we are really 
putting ourselves in a great bind. So don't do that. Mount 
says, as throughout the pastoral epistles, right teaching and 
right practice are inextricably bound together. Calvin says that 
doctrine is neither godly or sound, whatever may be the brilliancy 
of its display, that does not tend to the profit of the hearers. 
Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that what the brother says? 
I'll read it again. That doctrine is neither godly 
or sound, whatever may be the brilliancy of its display, that 
does not tend to the profit of the hearers. It doesn't matter 
how polished, it doesn't matter how brilliant, if it is not orthodoxy, 
if it is not apostolic doctrine, if it is not the truth which 
accords unto godliness, It is useless, and Paul wants it out 
of the church. Now notice, secondly, the description 
of their character. And we'll consider a few things 
here. Note their character. He is proud. See, what does the truth of God's 
gospel do? Or, what should it do? It should 
humble us. The doctrines of grace should 
cause us to see the majesty, the glory, and the excellency 
of God. And when we see that, we will 
hopefully appreciate what we are before him. We will say with 
the prophet, woe is me for I am undone. We will say with Ezekiel, 
I fell as a dead man at his feet. We will say with John the Apostle 
when he saw the glorified Christ on the island of Patmos I fell 
at his feet like a dead man." You see, the truth ought to humble 
us. So, by implication, falsehood, 
heresy, and heterodoxy doesn't humble a man, It makes him proud. It makes him arrogant. It makes 
him conceited. It makes him to be puffed up 
with conceit. That's the way the ESV has it. The Apostle condemns this in 
those being considered for eldership. Notice in 1 Timothy 3 at verse 
6. Not a novice, lest being puffed 
up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. So the Apostle says, when you 
imbibe this doctrine, when you hold on to this falsehood, it 
will not humble you, but rather it will swell you with pride 
and arrogance and conceit. Hasn't that been your experience? 
Do the men that preach falsehood and heresy stand up there very 
humbly, very conscious of the reality that there's a holy God 
standing in judgment over everything they say? Do they approach these 
things with fear and trepidation? No, they're arrogant buffoons. that challenged the orthodox 
and called men out who actually take the time and the effort 
to point out their heresy and their error. Gill says, or swelled 
and puffed up with a vain conceit of himself and his own notions. You see, this is the thing. When 
you reject orthodoxy for heterodoxy, when you reject apostolic doctrine, 
when you throw out the doctrine which accords with godliness, 
and then you posture yourself as a teacher, do you see what's 
happening? You're saying that God's truth 
is not to be listened to, God's truth is not to be respected, 
God's truth is not to be believed, but mine is. That's why Paul 
says what Paul says. Gill says, "...entreats with 
a haughty air the faithful ministers of the Word. The doctrines of 
grace are of an humbling nature, especially when they are spiritually 
and experimentally understood and received. But notional knowledge, 
knowledge of natural things and the doctrines of men, such as 
are of their own invention, fill the mind with pride and vanity." 
Isn't that the case? You should really listen to me. 
I've got it all figured out. Not if you're not expounding 
that book, not if you're not exegeting the truth, not if you're 
not preaching the Apostles and the Prophets, you don't have 
anything figured out. Look at what he goes on to say, 
they are proud and they know nothing. You see, a rejection 
of the truth of the Bible does not lead to academic liberty 
and freedom. It does not lead to new vistas 
of knowledge and information. To reject God's Word, at least 
philosophically, means skepticism, or that's where it often ends. 
To reject God's Word in religion ends in heresy. To reject God's 
Word in life means to end in ignorance and in futility. Look at what Paul says in verse 
20. O Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust. Avoid 
the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is 
falsely called knowledge. You see, if it's not scripture, 
if it's not the truth of God, it is falsely called knowledge. It doesn't matter how many degrees 
they have. It doesn't matter how much skill 
they have. It doesn't matter their oratory 
ability. If it is not the scriptural truth, 
it is falsely called knowledge. So that's their character. Notice 
their sick desire. Who's the text? Verse 4. He is proud, knowing nothing, 
but is obsessed. It's literally a sick desire. 
I think there's a strong contrast here between this and verse 3. 
We've got wholesome words, we've got sound words, we've got life-giving 
words that they reject, so now they have this sick desire. And 
what is their sick desire? It's with disputes and arguments. 
You've probably met these guys before. If you've ever been on 
a theological blog, you've seen them in the comment section, 
I'm sure. They have this craving. They have this obsession. It's 
insatiable. They've got to go on blogs and 
dump all over that. Sometimes these guys come to 
church and they've got to dump all over everything. They've 
got to be the star. They've got to be the teacher. 
They've got to be the one that everybody says, wow, look at 
your learning. They have this obsessive craving, 
this sick desire for disputes and arguments. Now, dispute and 
argument isn't necessarily wrong. Dispute and argument can take 
place when men are pursuing more theological accuracy and theological 
precision. Our confession of faith comes 
as a result of a long session of dispute and argument. The 
Westminster Assembly convened for a long time. And they disputed 
and they argued, but they were godly Christian men, disputing 
and arguing for the sake of theological accuracy and precision. That's 
not what these men want. Because you remember, they are 
heterodox, they have rejected sound words, and they are those 
who have rejected the truth that accords with godliness. So they're 
proud, they know nothing, and they're obsessed with disputes 
and arguments. You may have had one of your 
children be obsessed with disputes or arguments. I know out of our 
five, we had one that we thought would be a lawyer someday, because 
they were argumentative. You've met those ones, haven't 
you? You probably have a kid. Maybe you're hugging on him right 
now. You're saying, yeah, this kid's on their way to the legal 
profession. You tell them, I want you to 
do that. Well, let me give you 15 reasons why I'm not going to do that. 
They're obsessed with disputes and arguments. Finally, you say, 
just do what I tell you. We don't need to dispute and 
argue. You just need to do what I tell you. It's almost cute. Actually, it's not cute. It's 
very annoying in a 10-year-old. It's dangerous in the church. 
This is the mark of wolves in the church, obsessed with disputes 
and arguments. You can't stop them. As we run 
through the list that follows, They're constant friction. It's like a piece of sand in 
your shoe. You just feel it. It might be 
one grain, but it's there. and it's messing up your whole 
life. Gotta get that piece of sand out of my shoe. It's a constant 
friction. That's what these men are. When 
we come to church to dispute and argue, when we come to church 
to win arguments, when we make the church a battlefield, we've 
missed the point. We come to church to worship 
our God. We come to church to encourage 
one another. We come to church to have some 
legitimate dispute and argument. There's times when we might do 
that. It sharpens one another. Iron sharpens iron, so does one 
man. Sharpen his brother, that's okay. provided we agree on apostolic 
doctrine, provided we agree on the truth. Not these guys. They 
have this sick craze, this sick obsession, this sick desire. 
All they want to do is win arguments and battle. All they want to 
do is bloody the field. All they want to do is emerge 
victorious. And all they want is for people 
to say, wow, okay, you are great. It's terrible. These guys plague 
churches. Church isn't a battleground for 
you to win arguments. The church is the house of God. 
The Lord condemns Israel when they go into His house with this 
sort of a background in Jeremiah 7. He says you're making it a 
den of thieves. Well, when we treat the church 
as only an intellectual battleground, we're just going to fight out 
today. We've missed the point. Note the result. Look what happens 
when these men do what they do. They're proud. They know nothing. 
They're obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. It's 
literally a war of words. They dispute for dispute's sake. 
They argue for argument's sake. Yeah, and you met that person. They want to argue about everything. 
It's a beautiful day out. Well, no it isn't. Boy, it's 
raining out. Well, not really. What do you 
mean? What do we have to argue about everything for? It's frustrating. It's frustrating in that sphere. 
What's it like when you're trying to do theology, or trying to 
do church, or you're trying to advance the cause of Jesus? Well, 
we should do that. No, we shouldn't do that. Everything's 
a dispute. Everything's an argument. Everybody 
always has to acknowledge that this person is right 100% of 
the time. Something diabolical about that 
mindset, and Paul doesn't want it. See, Paul doesn't say, I 
want you to have a Bible study with these men. I want you to 
marshal them in and use their gifts. I want you to love on 
them. Now, withdraw yourself from them." 
There's a variant. If you've got ESV, or you've 
got a non-New King James or a King James, the last part of verse 
5 isn't present in your Bible. It says, "...from such withdraw 
yourself." If it isn't there in the original text, the idea, 
the meaning, the implication most certainly is. Paul gives 
this warning in 3-5 so that Timothy and everybody who actually values 
apostolic doctrine will not Give these men the time of day. Do not waste yourself. This isn't a recovery mission 
of an erring sheep. This is the exclusion of a ravenous 
wolf. Get them out. That's the Apostle's 
mindset. Look at the results. Five of 
them the Apostle indicates here. from which come envy." When a 
man is like this, when he is proud, when he knows nothing, 
when he's obsessed with disputes and arguments, what's the fruit? 
You see, there's a doctrine which accords with godliness. When 
you believe the truth of the gospel, you live in a manner 
consistent. If you're a bondservant, you 
don't pilfer, you don't lip off to your master, and you certainly 
are faithful. If you're a wife, you're submissive 
to your own husband, as unto the Lord. If you're a husband, 
you love your wife as Christ loved the church. You're adorning 
the doctrine of God. When you reject the doctrine 
of God, look at the fruit. Look at the nasty fruit that 
comes from men like this. Envy. Envy. These men don't just have a desire 
to win arguments. Face it, we all want to win arguments, 
don't we? I have yet to meet anybody saying, 
I can't wait to lose this argument. No, we want to win. We think 
we're keen. We think we're good. I'm going 
to get my wife. I'm going to let her know. I 
think that's a legit, ingrown thing. We want to win arguments. 
I think what this envy has reference to is they not only want to win 
arguments, but they really want the opposition to lose. There 
is as much delight in, or perhaps more, that the opposition loses. Because that makes them feel 
really good. It's sick. I feel bad if I win 
an argument and somebody feels bad. I want to hug them and say, 
I'm sorry. I don't want you to feel bad. You're going to win 
the argument, but I don't want you to feel bad. These guys want 
you to feel bad. They want you to lose. They want 
you to cry uncle. They want you to admit how great 
they are and how bad you are. It's envy. Strife! You've heard it said of a five-year-old 
or a ten-year-old, these children don't play well with others. 
These guys don't play well with others either. Strife! Do you 
want to come to church for strife? Do you want to come to church 
for chaos? Do you want to come to church 
for confusion? Do you want to come to church to have to avoid 
the fangs of ravenous wolves? Or do you want to come to worship 
God Most High? The chaotic dissension it envisions, 
this is Towner, goes naturally with the situation of controversy 
caused by the opponents. If a man is obsessed with disputes, 
if a man is obsessed with the war of words, it naturally follows 
there will be strife. You're going to see that guy 
and say, ah, I hope he doesn't corner me. I hope he doesn't 
want to talk to me. I hope he doesn't ask me what I'm reading. 
Because he's going to disagree with me. He's going to pick a 
fight with me. And he's going to make me lose. And I really 
don't mind losing. I just don't want to lose to 
him. Because he takes a special delight in it. His strife. Notice 
the third thing, reviling. Blasphemy is the specific word, 
but blasphemy specifically refers to bad speak about God. This in the context of men, also 
translated as abusive speech. They don't treat their opponents 
with respect. You see, I'd like to think that 
if we have a different theological position on a particular subject, 
we can agree as brethren, we can love each other and esteem 
one another, We could show mutual respect for each other. Not these 
men. It's abusive speech. It's blasphemy. It's reviling. It's put-downs. 
It's ad hominems. It's attacking the guy's mother 
because he holds a particular doctrine. Evil suspicions, number 
four. The heretic always assumes the 
worst about his opponent. Well, you know, I just don't 
see things the way that you do. Why, you hate God and you hate 
the Bible. Wait a minute, maybe I don't hate God and hate the 
Bible. Maybe I just don't see it the way you see it. Could 
it possibly be? I think there's something of this 
in probably all of us, but the heretic really has a knack for 
it. He really gravitates toward this evil suspicion. And then 
here it is, useless wranglings. Perverse disputings the King 
James has constant friction ESV that probably captures the idea 
behind the word most vividly they don't stop This is the energizer 
Bonnie in the church. He will keep on going He will 
run you down. He will continue with the war 
on words. He will defeat the opponent Paul 
says, do not entertain these men. To wrap up, he then gives 
three reasons why they do this. Useless wranglings of men first 
of corrupt minds. They're depraved in the mind. 
They're sick in the head. When you reject apostolic doctrine 
and the truth which accords unto godliness, you are not on good 
ground. This is the evidence of corruption 
in your head. This is the evidence of depravity 
in the mind. He then says they are destitute 
of the truth. Ironically, these men think they 
have a monopoly on the truth, and the Apostle says just the 
opposite. They are devoid of truth. They 
are destitute of truth. Truth has no track in their minds 
whatsoever. And then thirdly, they do this 
because they love money. Remember, he's talking about 
religious leaders here. He's talking about teachers here. 
Look at what he says. Useless wranglings of men of 
corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness 
is a means of gain. The bottom line is their bottom 
line, and if there's money to be made in religion, they want 
their share. It's interesting, I got an email 
yesterday and it had a link and so on that link I looked at an 
old clip of Kenneth Copeland. I don't even know if he's still 
alive. Is he alive? Okay. Kenneth Copeland was one 
of these health, wealth and prosperity guys who obviously made a lot 
of money. And in this little bit of investigative 
reporting, they found out that Kenneth Copeland has his own 
pilot's license. He likes to fly planes. Well, 
he happened to own the most expensive jet that a private individual 
can own. Obviously, a private individual 
can't have an F-15 or an F-16. He just can't do that because 
they belong to the U.S. Air Force. But for a private 
individual to have this particular jet, it's big dollars. Well, this investigative reporter 
did a bit of research. He apparently has a fleet of 
planes. Now, understand what I'm saying. 
I agree with Paul. Honor the elders who rule well 
with double honor. Paul is not anti-pay the pastor. Paul is not about saying, you 
know, just let them, you know, live off love and fresh air and 
throw them a smile once in a while. Let the elders who rule well 
be worthy of double, counted worthy of double honor. But that 
does not mean they should have a fleet of planes. There has 
to be a happy medium. Anyway, so investigative reporters 
get close to him. They're asking him questions. 
Isn't it amazing that you're living this sort of a lifestyle? 
And there's bodyguards. Bodyguards. are keeping the press 
away from him. Finally, he gets sucked in. He 
comes over, and she's saying something about living this lavish 
life. He says, well, I deserve it. I'm God's child, you know, 
the whole spiel. And then she says, well, do God's children 
get fleets of planes? It was great. And she says, why 
do you have a fleet of airplanes? He says, that's none of your 
business. This is who Paul's condemning. 
He's not condemning a pastor who isn't living off love and 
fresh air. He's condemning men that are 
in it for the money. Prophets of profit. This is the motivation. This is why the disputes. This 
is why the war over words. To bury the opponents. To look 
good to those who don't care about truth. And then to get 
money from these people. It truly is symptomatic of much 
that goes on today. Knight captures the entirety 
of the passage this way. The indictment of the false teachers 
is thus multifaceted and comprehensive. It begins with their heterodoxy, 
which is correlated with their conceit and lack of real understanding, 
and their sick interest in mere controversy, turns to maliciousness 
of life that flows from these characteristics, roots all this 
in spiritual blindness, and ends with their materialistic motivation. It is given to warn the church 
against such people. From such, withdraw yourself. In conclusion, the Apostle shows 
us the danger of false teachers. Intriguingly, this morning in 
the McShane reading, Jeremiah chapter 23, what does Jeremiah, 
or God through Jeremiah, condemn? He condemns false prophets. There is nothing new under the 
sun. The prophet who has a dream, 
let him tell a dream. And he who has my word, let him 
speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, 
says the Lord? Is not my word like a fire, says 
the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Behold, 
or therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, 
who steal my words, every one from his neighbor. Behold, I 
am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their tongues 
and say, He says. Behold, I am against those who 
prophesy false dreams, says the Lord. and tell them, and cause 
my people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet 
I did not send them or command them, therefore they shall not 
profit this people at all, says the Lord." There is a genuine 
danger involved Truth is absolutely crucial for your well-being and 
for your maintenance as a Christian. We ought to praise and thank 
the Lord God that we have a confession of faith. It is not inspired, 
it is not infallible, but it is a sure and ready guide to 
define and describe for us those things most surely believed among 
us. It serves as a hedge, it serves 
as a perimeter, it serves to keep us in and to keep us on 
track. May God Most High bless in this 
regard and not allow this pulpit to degenerate to the place where 
there is a rejection of a doctrine that accords with godliness where 
there is a rejection of apostolic truth, where there is heterodoxy 
and heresy. May God keep us faithful in this 
vein and in this regard. Secondly, with reference to this 
passage, you ought to see in the text the necessity of discernment 
for you. You will never know a heterodox 
man unless you know orthodox truth. You will never know a 
man who departs if you are not skilled in the scriptures. You will never be on guard against 
false teaching if you are not saturated in the truth of God's 
Word. It is incumbent upon all of us 
It is our responsibility to search the Scriptures, to study theology, 
to know the truth such that we will not be led astray to the 
left or to the right. As well, we ought to appreciate 
the correlation between faith and practice. If you want to 
be a godly man, a godly woman, a godly boy, or a godly girl, 
you will get about studying the scriptures. You will understand 
truth. It is as we take it in, it is 
as it percolates in the heart, that it then gets fleshed out 
in our daily lives. Without the truth, we will not 
engage in godliness. And finally, the truth of the 
gospel is crucial. You see, I take passages like 
these and I see behind them God's grace, goodness, and kindness, 
and His desire to save sinners. You say, why or how do you get 
that application out of this? Because He knows that truth is 
the vehicle by which sinners come into saving contact with 
our Lord Jesus Christ. So he takes pains to make sure 
that his ministers, his elders, his teachers are men who are 
apt to teach truth, men who hold it and cleave to it, and men 
who will not relinquish it, so that they will preach the gospel 
so that he can save sinners to the uttermost. God is about truth. God wants truth to prevail in 
his churches. God wants us not to not go after 
the wandering she, but to exclude with a vengeance the ravenous 
wolf. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your Word and we thank you for this section of 
Scripture and I pray for us as a church that we would be committed 
to the Scripture, to the authority, to the inspiration, infallibility, 
inerrancy, all those things that we see so clearly in the Word 
of God. Give us grace as well to adhere 
to sound doctrine, to the truth as it is in Christ, and help 
us, Father, to proceed in a manner that is consistent with these 
things. We ask now that you would go with us. I pray that you'd 
watch over your people here, that you would cause your face 
to shine upon us in this coming week, and we pray through Christ 
our Lord. Amen.