This is Larry Jones. You are listening to the Grace and Glory Hour of the Dyer Baptist Church with our co-pastors David M. Atkinson and Dr. Lee Atkinson. We are coming to you from Dyer, Indiana. Our prayer is that you will be strengthened by the Word today. Now, here is our pastor. We are continuing our series in learning about the church that Jesus built. Not quite ready to be done yet. I think there's more lessons for us in God's Word about church. Church is so important. It's such an integral part of God's plan. It's significant that we're gathered here today. And whenever we can be, when we read Acts, we see them together all the time, daily. from house to house and in the temple. And when we gather, we are carrying on that 2,000 years old tradition. Church is still a big deal. And I'm thankful for this particular local church that I get to be a part of. I'm thankful for each person that is a part of this church as a church body. We're stepping away, though, from the Book of Acts, where we saw kind of the history of the early church, and there's more lessons there that could be learned. But I want us to learn now from what are called the pastoral epistles, we'll be in 1 Timothy mostly, where Paul taught a church leader, if you will, some things that the church or churches that they led needed to know. And from that, we can learn also some truths about the church that Jesus built and how God wants his church to be. The title is going to be The Church That Jesus Builds Has Priorities to Preserve. Has priorities to preserve, or you could think of conserving. I have not been shy about saying I'm a conservative person. I tend to do things in a similar way and carry on on things that have been done. You can't enshrine tradition and that can be idolatry. But there's also dangers in just abandoning tradition and jumping on to every new thing that comes along. And I think here this morning in First Timothy, we'll see something that is supposed to be conserved. Conservative has to do with conserving or saving and preserving things. I thought this message would end up more broad than it's going to be. It's actually going to be pretty narrow, but it's going to be really developed. How's that? Sometimes I'll ask people in various settings, you know, if you were moving to a new town and looking for a new church home, what would you look for? And often, the people that I'm talking to know what the answer is supposed to be, and they'll say, well, first of all, I'd make sure that there was a church that had good doctrine. Answer the question right, yes. Well, let me pause and give a little side application. That is a good answer, because a lot of times, we might say that or think that, but when people look for a church, they're actually not looking for that, first of all. They're looking for things that they like to make them comfortable. things that suit their tastes, things that they enjoy, things that are appealing to them. And that's the wrong answer. And most people don't say that out loud, but in reality, that is how a lot of us Christians make our decisions. Doctrine's more important than that. But I usually have not asked this follow-up question when I asked, what are you looking for at church? And people said, well, a church with right doctrine. But I've often wondered, well, what do you mean by right doctrine? What doctrine is it that makes a church the right one to attend? And perhaps I'm being pessimistic, but I have a feeling that a lot of the people that have told me that wouldn't know how to answer the second question. They'd say, well, the Bible. They need to preach what the Bible says. Well, yeah. But there's a lot of churches that say they're preaching the Bible that don't have right doctrine. So I can't unfold everything for us that that means this morning when we say, I'm looking for a church that has right doctrine. But we're going to see just coming right off of the pages of this pastoral epistle, some of the things that we should look for in the doctrine of a church. The church that Jesus builds preserves certain things, including right doctrine. There will be many things we don't touch on that are important, but we will hit some priorities at least. this morning. Let's say this before we start into First Timothy. First Timothy is not the only place where you find this concept of, hey, church or preacher or Christians, these are doctrines that you need to preserve and pass on and teach. It's all throughout the New Testament. We'll get to see just in passing that Barnabas said this in Antioch. He wanted them to hold on to certain truths that they had received. We see it in the opening verses of Jude, where he says, I want you to earnestly contend for the doctrine or the faith once delivered unto the saints. We see it in Peter's letter where he says over and over again, I want to remind you of these things and remind you of these things so that you don't forget them after I'm gone. Jesus said in his great commission, I want you to teach them to observe everything that I've commanded you. There's a chain of doctrine. There's a body of what we would call orthodox doctrine that we have been made stewards of. And there's a heritage of people who've been faithful for the last 2000 years to protect and promote and to pass on that doctrine. And ladies and gentlemen, if we don't continue that Christianity is doomed. I don't believe that's going to happen. God says that His church will continue on until He comes. But we need to take it personally as our responsibility to know, stand for, and pass on right doctrine. Paul says it a number of times in a number of ways just in the short little letter to Timothy called 1 Timothy. Let's start in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine. Paul says, I'm reminding you, Timothy, of what's going on here. I went to Macedonia and I left you behind at Ephesus so that you could tell everybody that they need to not teach any other doctrine. And so that's kind of broad and generic, but I think we can definitely take a cue from this. The church that Jesus builds has priorities to preserve. We have something to conserve. We need right doctrine and we need to avoid different teaching. He just uses that word, other doctrine. Teach no other doctrine. What does he mean by that? Well, it's that whole body of truth that we just talked about that's referenced in all these scattered places throughout the New Testament. That this is the truth and this is what we believe. Luke said it in the beginning of his letter to Theophilus. He says, hey, these are the things that are most surely believed by us. This is what we hold on to. I think probably uppermost in Paul's mind was the gospel itself. And as we heard the gospel presented in our responsive reading time, that's priority stuff. That has to be non-negotiable with us. The doctrine of salvation, and if you teach another doctrine, that's not good. So Paul told Timothy to tell everybody there in Ephesus that you need to teach no other doctrine. I'm going to borrow from Paul's other letter, his letter to the Galatians, to flesh this out a little bit. So keep a marker there in 1 Timothy if you want, but come with me over to Galatians for just a few verses. Galatians chapter 1. Galatians chapter one. The church needs to preserve right doctrine and part of doing that is avoiding different teaching, false teaching, teaching that's not what is orthodox or the same or straight. Do you know the prefix ortho? If you've ever paid an orthodontist to make your teeth straight, ortho means straight. So orthodox is straight doctrine. It's not crooked, it's not twisted, it's not messed up. It's right in line. So we want to have orthodox doctrine. We're not just talking about some kind of high church like an orthodox Greek church or something like that. We're talking about the straight doctrines of the Word of God, specifically starting with the Gospel. This is how strongly Paul felt about it. Listen to Galatians 1, starting in verse 6. Galatians 1, 6. I marvel. I'm shocked that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another. There's that word other, right? Another gospel, which is not another. But there be some that trouble you and would pervert, turn upside down, twist, ruin the gospel of Christ. And with all the fervor you can put in the printed page, Paul says, but though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. There is no place in Christianity for another gospel. It's the gospel that was once delivered to the saints, way back to the apostles, that is still the gospel today. And the church is trusted with the job of conserving or preserving that doctrine. We need to know what salvation is all about. We need to know what Christian teaching in general is all about. I'll say in a general way, we need to be aware of brand new insights. Those religious teachers that would hawk somewhere some brand new idea that everybody else has missed before, I'm suspicious of. Now, I'm open to learning something that I hadn't seen before in the Word. But if they're saying, hey, everybody's missed this, everybody's gotten it wrong for 2,000 years, or it's a big mistake, everybody else will tell you this, but I have a special insight into God's Word, you better be really, really careful about what they say. Because Paul says, charge them that they teach no other doctrine. Take this doctrine and no other. And if it's what all the apostles taught, and if it's what God's people have believed for centuries, Preserve that. Especially, as we saw in Galatians, we need to be extra careful about additions or subtractions from the gospel. Additions or subtractions from the gospel are not acceptable. I want us to survey just a couple places, again, nowhere near an exhaustive study of the gospel, but we were recently in Acts and studying the history of the church, so come back to Acts chapter 11, I think in one of our messages several weeks ago, we passed over these verses and mentioned it as we went. So let's look at it again. What is this gospel that we are not to change? And even if an angel from heaven were to preach something different, that angel would be cursed. Acts chapter 11, this is after Peter has preached the gospel to Cornelius and he comes back to Judea. And the Jews are a little upset with him, and it says in verse 2 that they contended with him, saying, what are you doing going into the Gentiles with the gospel? And Peter tells them the whole story of how God directed him to do it, and how he preached the gospel, and how these people got saved. And Peter is in essence saying, listen, God was doing this. I couldn't stop him. But I want us to notice a few things as he gives his testimony or history to the Jewish brethren. about the gospel being preached to the Gentiles. Verse 15 of Acts 11. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning. Referring to Pentecost. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. For as much then as God gave them the like gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, What was I that I could withstand God? Peter here does a great job of summarizing and describing people that were Orthodox Christians. He says, listen guys, we received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and these guys received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so how can I put them in a different category from us? And what word does he use to describe the category that they, the first believers, belonged in? Did you see it? The light gift as he did unto us who believed. It is a great thing to call Christians believers. It's a great nickname for us, isn't it? Oh, I'm a believer. Now, we need to define what that means sometimes, but Peter did that here. He says the Holy Spirit was given unto us that believed. Believing on Christ is core to salvation. Now, let's keep reading. The response of the Jewish brethren then, who they heard Peter's testimony, they said in verse 18, when they had heard these things, they held their peace. In other words, they quit scolding Peter for going into this Gentile audience. And instead of scolding him, they glorified God, saying, then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. So here, the Jewish brethren are saying that these Gentiles are Peter in the same category as us. They belong with us. And how did they describe the Gentiles who became Christians? It says these are the ones that God granted repentance to. So Peter just used the word believed, the Jewish brethren just used the word repent, and they're talking about the same thing. Isn't that interesting? Peter said, we which believed at the beginning received the Holy Ghost. And the Jewish brethren said, well, they received the Holy Ghost, so God must have given them repentance as well. Repentance and faith go together. They are part and parcel. They are core to the gospel. I'm using this chapter because it's convenient. It's all here together. Come down to verse 21. By the time we get to verse 21, some of the Christians have spread the gospel to other Gentile locations, and they went as far as Antioch. And when they got to the Greeks in Antioch, some special things were happening. Look at 1121. And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a great number of these Greeks and Antioch believed and turned unto the Lord. Again, we see together in tandem, faith and repentance, believing and turning. And by the way, when we get to verse 22, Barnabas goes and checks it out and he finds out that yep, they really did get saved. Look at verse 23. Who when he came and had seen what? The grace of God. I love that phrase. It says he saw the grace of God. When Barnabas arrived to where these new believers in Antioch were, he looked and he said, wow, God's grace is on this place. These people who believed, these people who turned, God's grace did that. And so what did he tell them? He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart, they would cleave unto the Lord. He says, hang on to what you've got. This doctrine, this message of salvation is worth conserving. It's worth preserving. Hold on to it. And so as a church, we are charged today with holding on to this same thing, this doctrine of salvation. In Acts chapter 20, Paul now is talking to the Ephesian elders, and he says very similar things. Since it's not far away, humor me. It's one of my favorite chapters. Let's turn over to Acts chapter 20, verse 20. Our message today is not an entire message on the gospel, but because we are talking about believing the gospel and avoiding a false gospel, I wanted to grab a few verses here in Acts to see the gospel message that was taught and preached by the apostles in that first generation. Acts 20, verse 20. Paul says, when I was with you at Ephesus the first time, how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. Think about that. Paul held back nothing that was profitable. He gave them everything that they needed to hear. And I have showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Additions to the gospel are not okay. It's another gospel. Typically, what humankind has tried to add to the gospel has been a message of who you are. Oh, you can get saved. Yes, Jesus is good. And if you'll just trust Jesus and do these things, you can be saved. A lot of you grew up in churches that taught that and the Lord showed you otherwise from the Bible. Praise his name. But there's always been that tendency throughout the centuries to take the gospel and add to it some system of work, something that I have to do. And let me say, if you're here this morning and you're still under that illusion that I have to do something to go along with Jesus' death and resurrection, and together those things will get me into heaven, that's a false gospel. That's a misunderstanding. That's a perversion of the truth. And as a church, we're trying to tell you today that the gospel is faith alone. No works, no dependence on self. Your own strength can't get you to heaven. Addition to the gospel makes it not the gospel. But a subtraction from the gospel does so as well. If you subtract from the identity and work of Jesus Christ, you no longer have the gospel. The gospel means that the sinless Son of God and His bloody death and resurrection paid for the sin of all who turn to Him. Paul said, you turn to Jesus. Whatever you were facing before, you're not facing now. And often the New Testament uses that picture or that word of turning when it talks about salvation. And sometimes they were told what we're turning from, often we're told what we're turning towards. But I think it's helpful to see that he said here, you turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because I think different people are facing different things pre-salvation. Some people are facing towards their good works. I'm a good person, so surely God will let me in. Some people are facing towards their bad works. I'm so terrible, God can never forgive me. Some people are just facing towards distractions. They're just looking around at all the potential the world has to offer, and they're not looking at Jesus. They're just taking in the things of this life. And whatever it is that you're focused on, you need to turn from that. Turn from your good work, turn from your bad work, turn from the stuff of time, and turn to Jesus. That's salvation. Recognize that he is God. He is your creator. He is the one who died for you on the cross, shedding his blood so that your sin could be covered and paid for. And when you turn towards him and say, I trust in you, you died, you rose again for me, That's salvation. And there are so many religious teachers today that would either add to the doctrine of salvation or take from the doctrine of salvation. And we must not do that. In a desire to be kind and friendly to people, we must not compromise the gospel. Paul told Timothy, the church needs to preserve these truths. The first one is, avoid different teachings, especially a false gospel. I want us to come back to 1 Timothy now, and we're going to still be in chapter 1, and see a second thing that we need to avoid. Paul said over and over again in this letter, avoid this, or stay away from that, or go away from the other. He's telling Timothy where not to go, and he's telling Timothy to tell the people at Ephesus where not to go. Don't go to another gospel. Don't go to another teaching or doctrine. And then secondly, we find in verse 4, he says don't go to distracting doctrine or teaching. Look at verse 4 of 1 Timothy 1. neither give heed to, that means don't pay attention to or don't spend energy and time on, fables, false stories, fake teachings, and endless genealogies. You can almost hear him say it, endless genealogies. What do those genealogies and fables do? They minister questions. They serve up a platter of question marks. rather than godly edifying, which is in faith. So do. So Paul first of all said, avoid different teaching, and then he said, avoid distracting teaching. So now we're not necessarily talking about a false gospel, but we're talking about teachings that are very distracting and they tend to consume our energy and keep us focused on the wrong thing. If you're reading a book or listening to a podcast, or you have a favorite broadcaster, and they get your mind all swirling with doubts and questions, and they don't build you up in your faith, that's probably not who you need to be reading or listening to. If there's certain topics that are not central to the truth of the Word of God, but people tend to just love to get into discussions about them, you know what a discussion is, don't you? A sanctified argument. They like to get into discussions about these doctrines, but they're just like these things here. They minister questions rather than godly edifying. If that's the nature of the discussion, or the broadcast, or the book, or the podcast, or whatever it is, avoid it. He said, don't give any heed, don't pay any attention to fables and endless genealogies, because they minister questions. There are certain people that when you're around them, they just raise questions, and what ifs, and who knows, and maybes, and I don't knows. That's not healthy. You need to have the humility to say, there are some questions I can't answer. But then move on to the things that you can answer. Focus on what you do know. There's plenty to work on there, amen? Let's focus on what's clear in scripture and not things that minister questions. Your job in life is not to make people uncertain. I think that's one of the ways that sometimes when young adults get waylaid from their faith is that professors find them at this vulnerable time and they just raise lots of questions. And they lose their balance and their equilibrium and they don't know anything certain anymore. And they're tossing and turning and then they fall over. Because they're unsure about everything. If you can get people doubting things that they always believed were true, they're vulnerable to believe any new thing. And so Paul says, avoid these things that will minister questions instead of godly edifying. I'll give you some practical examples. All of these issues matter and I have a position on, but I'm not going to focus on them in a way that's going to minister questions. I don't spend a lot of time preaching and teaching on translations or eschatology or predestination. Because we all know that those are juicy subjects, aren't they? And everybody's got an opinion. I mean, just when I said those words, everyone's like, what's he going to say? I'm not going to say anything! Because it would minister questions right now. Right now, what we need to do is be edified and understand that, you know what, those issues are important. We need to study, we need to have the right position at the right time in the right place, stand for truth in those areas. But there are some people who will spend 90% of their time on 10% of the Word of God. God has these expectations for us which are very, very clear. Love Him and love your neighbor. Oh yeah, I'm not worried about that. I want to worry about this little, you know, issue. Because if I worry about this issue, I don't have to worry about loving God and loving my neighbor. Because that's hard. Isn't that true? We need to be careful that we don't get into teachings that just minister questions. I'm calling them distracting teachings. So avoid different teachings, avoid distracting teachings. We're going to come back to 1 Timothy now and forward all the way to chapter 4. Fast forward all the way to chapter 4. before I quite start the next point. I'm just asking you to think about it. Is there an input source in your life that threatens your equilibrium and stability? There's this tantalizing teacher or author and they sound so sophisticated and intelligent and they raise lots of questions. Just be careful, okay? The test of good teaching is that it edifies. That's what Paul said there in 1.4. It needs to edify. So I'm all for taking in Christian instruction in various formats. But is it really helping you build you up? Is it really making you a better Christian? Is it really making you stronger? Is it really making you more of what Jesus wants you to be? In chapter four, Paul gives Timothy some more things that are important in the right teaching and the wrong teaching. I'll read a little bit longer here, starting in chapter four, verse one. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith. That's wrong doctrine, right? They've walked away. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. And these people who fall away, these people who depart from the faith, these people who are teaching the doctrines of the devils, what is it that they're saying? Verse 3, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." So Paul says, be careful of these people that are departing from the faith and teaching devilish notions. Specifically, they're lying, they're hypocrites, they're forbidding to marry, and they're commanding to abstain from meats that God said receive with thanksgiving. Verse 6, he says, if thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ. nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained." He says, you've got the good doctrine, Timothy. You've got the Orthodox straight set of beliefs. Don't let people fall for these doctrines of devils. Refuse profane and old wise fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things. having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe. These things command and teach." So this whole section again is about what to teach and what not to teach and what the false teachers are teaching. And I'm wording it this way for us this morning. We need to make sure that we avoid extra teaching. Avoid extra teaching. Now, that doesn't mean, you know, if you've come to one service, you don't come to another, because that'd be extra teaching. That's a different kind of extra. When I say avoid extra teaching, I mean avoid teaching extra things that are not part of that orthodox doctrine that God has delivered to us. And that's what these teachers were doing. They were making up extra commandments that God doesn't have for us. They were teaching, as doctrines of God, the commandments of men. And saying, oh, if you want to be a Christian, you can't get married. Oh, oh, if you want to be a Christian, you can't eat this meat. And they were making up these rules that weren't part of God's rules. It was extra teaching. They also got into silly superstitions. It calls them, what, old wives' fables? Profane and old wives' fables? We're not told what those were, but superstitious, just little ideas of, oh, don't do this, or, I mean, honestly, the first example that came to my mind was, don't step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back. I'm pretty sure that's not true. I have walked under a ladder many times and lived to tell about it. I've even broken a few mirrors. Those are silly superstitions, but sometimes it gets a little further, and we chocolate those things. But some people put just a little bit of a religious twist on it, and suddenly people are actually afraid of it. Someone gave in their testimony at the Thanksgiving service I was I was saved But I was still just a little afraid to come out of Catholic background. So I'm get my baby baptized just in case That's that kind of silly superstitious thing, right? That's what he says stay away from that these extra teaches. Oh, you got to do this. You got to do that. You can't do that God didn't say so And you may be thinking, well, we don't have that problem. These doctrines are not taught here, and some of them are taught in religious facilities all around the world, aren't they? And what about other variations? Sometimes we get our own soapbox, don't we? And for whatever reason, something becomes very important to us. Maybe it's an error in the previous generation. They miss something, and we see it, and so now it's ultra-important to us. And so now what they under-emphasize, we over-emphasize, and now that thing becomes the measuring stick for all godliness. And the fact is, whether you under-emphasize it or over-emphasize it, it was a small part of the whole teaching of the Bible. And so now, you have swung the pendulum to the opposite extreme, but you're still messed up, because you're supposed to be focusing on the main things. And that's kind of the story of human history, isn't it? We go back and forth, and we pick our measuring sticks and our soap boxes, and we emphasize things that if God didn't emphasize, we shouldn't emphasize. And if you're honest, I think probably most of us have an issue like that. that we're tempted to think, well, that's the defining issue. If they're right on this, they're a good Christian. If they're wrong on this, they're a bad Christian. And it may or may not be something like salvation through faith in Christ. It may be something like what he's talking about here in 1 Timothy 4. But in your mind, it's become a priority. And so you have these skewed glasses on by which you measure all the teaching by all the testimonies of other Christians. And you've fallen into the trap of extra teaching. When little ideas get a big emphasis, we're in dangerous territory. And this is kind of the course of church history. Churches stand for something. because of an error, and then they get so caught up in standing for that, that that's all they stand for. And then they totally blow it with some other area. But we're supposed to be responsible for the whole counsel of God. God give us the grace, the balance, and the wisdom to see the 30,000 foot view. To be able to appreciate everything that God has for us. The macro as well as the micro. So I'm asking you to submit yourself to the Holy Spirit and say, Lord, would you show me if in my conversations and in my readings and in my evaluations of other people, if I'm always pulling out this one pet issue, am I off a little bit? Am I like these people from 1 Timothy 4? Lord, do I need to kind of recalibrate? Do you know what I mean by that? If you have a measuring instrument and it gets messed up, it's not right. It's like when your bathroom scale, you know the thing you never stand on, but you have it in there so you can pretend to be healthy? They have a little dial on it, don't they? Because sometimes the needle gets moved one way or another. It's nice when the needle accidentally gets moved, you know, one direction, not the other direction. Oh look, I lost weight! The scale is messed up. So you need to recalibrate the scale so that zero is really zero. It needs to be recalibrated so that it tells the truth. It needs to be recalibrated so you can see reality. Sometimes we need to be recalibrated so we can see reality. Because I've been so caught up in this one issue that I think that's all that matters. And sometimes I make a big deal out of things that are a small deal. Worse, sometimes I say something matters that doesn't matter at all. So Paul taught Timothy to avoid different teaching, something that's not Christianity, especially when it comes to salvation. Paul taught them to avoid distracting teaching, things that just kind of scintillate our brains and get us intellectually sparring, but don't do anything for the growth of our souls. He also taught them to avoid extra teaching, where we emphasize something that shouldn't be emphasized and maybe even are flat out wrong. Let's go over then to chapter six. Paul kind of intersperses warnings about false teaching with practical instructions. In chapter five, he talks about practical instructions for widows and elders. And then we come to chapter six. Let's start in verse one. Let as many servants, and you could accurately understand that as slaves, let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor. Now, from what you know of human nature, is it natural for us to count our masters worthy of all honor? No! We tend to think the person over us is not worthy of honor. We're the one that should be in the position of supervision. Count their masters worthy of all honor so that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, if you're a slave and your master is a Christian, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit. You guys are going to share heaven someday. These things teach and exhort. Teaching is doctrine. If any man teach otherwise, opposite of what Paul has been instructing Timothy in, and specifically verses 1 and 2, if any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, that false teacher, he is proud, knowing nothing. But tell us how you really feel, Paul. He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words. There's that uncertainty again, isn't it? Whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth. What a sad diagnosis, destitute of the truth. Supposing that gain is godliness. Well, if I'm in a position of gain, then I must be godly. He says, people that teach that, from such withdraw thyself. There it is again, avoid the people that teach this stuff, not this stuff. And he specifically tells them, servants, you need to honor your masters. And you need to serve them as unto Christ. You need to love them. So we need to avoid teaching that is unloving. Avoid teaching, this is number four, avoid unloving teaching. Teaching that incites people to dishonor, and despise each other." Those words, dishonor and despise, come out of the text. He says, they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved. In verse 1, it says, count their masters worthy of all honor. So if there's a teaching or a doctrine or a book or a sermon and it provokes in people dishonor and despising, you need to be careful about that teaching. What are we talking about? This is a trick that is centuries old that many powerful leaders have applied very, very well. Think back to, for instance, the Third Reich and World War II. In Germany, religious terminology and ideology was used to promote the mentality of what Hitler wanted to do. And think back further to, say, the Inquisition. You had these people that wanted to conquer the world, and so they put a religious label over it. Let's convert the Muslims. They were doing nothing of the kind. But let's do this religious thing and that gives us an excuse to vilify and destroy and torture and all these other terrible things. I think probably in United States history, you go back not too long ago, there was something called the KKK. And sometimes in religious tones, they would say, well, this is what we need to do. And there was bigotry between people of different skin colors and there was a religious overtone to it. People have long time learned that if you can put a religious face on a cause, you can whip up people into a fervor and a frenzy. They'll do anything because now it's a holy war. Why do you think people come at Qazi? Why do you think they're suicide bombers? Because they've taken something and they say, they're the enemy, they're evil, and so, for the sake of God, we have to attack them and stop at nothing. And that playbook has been used over and over again throughout history, hasn't it? Good thing we don't do that. And yet I realize that if somebody does something that I don't like, particularly, if they wound my pride, I will very quickly begin the process of finding a way to describe what they did in sinful terms. And I find what's wrong with their heart and what's evil about them to then justify defending myself against their attacks. And so I have used God's word to paint enemy over my brother. And now I'm justified in, well, I'll tell you what. I'm not going to stand for that. I'll tell him what for. And I do all kinds of uncharitable things in the name of holy zeal when I'm actually arrogant. What makes me any different from these leaders in history who've done that? They just do it on a bigger scale. I think probably people are people wherever you go. And the things that were in their sinful hearts are in our sinful hearts. And isn't it easy for us to use religious teaching as an excuse to attack people and to dishonor them, to treat them as, ah, they're so backslidden. They're so lacking in discernment. They're so spiritually immature. Why, I tell you what, one time I even heard them say this. Therefore, everything else that they've said is discredited. And I get defensive like that because they struck a nerve and I want to lash out and get rid of that. There's a lot of hurt among Christians that goes something like that, isn't there? Paul told Timothy, these servants, they need to honor their masters and they shouldn't despise their masters. And he says, if anyone teaches otherwise, they don't know anything. And they're proud. And you need to withdraw from them. Oh, we'll withdraw from people because of some position or stance or standard. But do we withdraw from people who are incendiary? People who just love to stir up a good fight? Do you know why so many people listen to those kind of Insightful With a C not with an S inciting statements where it provokes people to riot. Do you know why do you know why? That works so well Because hate is very very easy to sell People love to buy hate if you give them a rationale to be angry at somebody. Oh, they'll take two of them Sign me up. I want some of that We all have this selfish monster inside that just wants to lash out at people. It's part of our sin nature. And when somebody gives us a nice-sounding speech that says, they're the enemy. Go get them, boys. OK. And we'll go do it. We're like trained bloodhounds. And all somebody's got to do is say, sick them. And away we go. Let's pause and wait. And remember that we're supposed to love our neighbor. And maybe they're wrong. OK, so let's deal with the error. Let's not destroy the person. Maybe they made a mistake. Well, let's learn from it, but let's not destroy them. When we say, oh, we're looking for a church, I need a church with good doctrine, then that means you need a church that doesn't whip people into a vengeful frenzy. We got one more and we'll be done. It's also in chapter six. Good thing, because that's the last chapter. Come to verse 20, please. The very, very end. All throughout, from verse 3 of chapter 1 to verse 20 of chapter 6, Paul is telling Timothy, here's right doctrine, here's what you should be teaching. Oh, Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust. That's another one of those titles, isn't it? For the orthodox doctrine of Christianity. Keep that which is committed to thy trust. Oh, Timothy, keep it. Avoiding profane, that's wicked or evil. Profane and vain, that's empty, worthless, meaningless. Avoiding profane and vain babblings. I don't think I have to define that one, do I? And oppositions of science, falsely so-called. The word science there is maybe not as specific as we would think of it, not like your physics textbook, science there is just knowledge, it's knowing. Oppositions of knowledge, including science, but could be philosophy, or history, or math, or anything else. Oppositions of science, falsely so-called. It's not real knowledge, it's not actually the truth, it's fake ideas. which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. And so for number five, Paul tells us that we need to avoid what I'm calling frothy teachings. Frothy teachings. Do you like froth in your drinks? Like you make yourself a root beer float and the vanilla ice cream makes the Makes the fizz just kind of all froth up. Or maybe you're a coffee drinker, and what are those things where you get froth in your coffee? Something or other, yeah. What is froth, anyways? It's kind of a bunch of bubbles, isn't it? Like, oh, this froth is so good. Well, what's froth? Nothing. It's just air bubbles. But for some reason we like it, you know? Like marshmallows, sugar froth, you know? Froth on a drink is not very satisfying. It's like, oh, I'm full. I've had so much froth, you know? It's not very satisfying. But it promises a lot, doesn't it? It's all fancy looking. Oh, it heaps up there on top of the drink. Some teaching is like that, too. It's big and impressive but not much to it. It flows away. And Paul says you need to avoid profane and vain babblings. Talking and going on and on and it's wicked and it's empty and it's nothing and it just doesn't stop. And he says avoid oppositions of science falsely so-called. People are like, oh, well, we really know. We're the experts here. And we've done research, and it's been peer-reviewed. And so here's all the statistics and the data. And so this is why you need to do what we say. And it's not real knowledge. It's not truth. It's manufactured. It's pumped up. It's a lie. Apostles, stay away from that. It's frothy, because it looks big. It's science, falsely so-called. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And because I say a lot of things, I must know what I'm talking about. No, it's just profane and vain babblings. And he says, you need to get rid of that. Some of those things aren't worth listening to. These wicked and empty false enlightenments. I call it pseudo-sophistication. They're not really sophisticated. They're not really true. They're not wise. It's just pseudo-sophisticated. Isn't there a lot of that available to us today? Experts writing books, and on the radio, and on TV, and everybody's got something to say about everything. I can throw a football really well, so you should vote like I vote. I can dunk a basketball, so let me tell you everything you need to know about this philosophical issue. What? So this false enlightenment and pseudo-sophistication leads to a lot of bestsellers, but not a lot of truth. And you need to learn to kind of recognize what these profane and vain babblings sound like. I am not nearly as well-read as I would like to be, but I have read enough business books that I'm to the point now where they all sound the same. They all sound the same. And it's this New York Times number one bestseller. Like, wait a second, didn't I read this like 10 years ago? You know, and somebody found a new alliterated phrase, or they drew a new diagram or an infographic, they got a sharp cover on it, they did a speaking tour, and boom, this is how you're really going to succeed in life. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. Same old, same old. And the really, really terrible thing is that I've read some Christian books that are just the same. And I'm reading them, and it's familiar. And it's the propping up of self. Here's this truth that you need. And by the way, in our other bestseller, you can read more about this. Our complete line of products is available at www.right? And I've read it just the same in secular books and Christian books. And I'm asking myself, are you helping me with a good idea, or are you just lining your pockets with my money? Fortunately, most of those books I hadn't paid for, so I felt like I was okay. I didn't steal them. Don't think that. My point is there's a lot of frothy teaching out there. Some of it in the name of business success and leadership. Some of it in the name of do it yourself and have a better life. Some of it in the name of Christianity. And he says, avoid profane and vain babblings. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and never a word of truth. Avoid oppositions of science, falsely so-called. They can claim to be as sophisticated as they want to be, but if it's not the word of God, don't trust it. If the main impression of what you're listening to or reading is that the speaker is amazing, I wouldn't pay attention to the speaker anymore. If all he can tell you is how great his method is, he's proud. And I think Proverbs tells me not to keep company with people like that. If the main takeaway from the podcast or the lecture or the radio broadcast is contrary to the Word of God, you need to shut it off. Even if it's on conservative talk radio. I had to do that. I was, you know, we talk about, you know, I was watching a movie or I was listening to the radio and I had to turn it off. Well, it wasn't because there was vulgarity or immorality. It was because a conservative talk host was just being absolutely rude about our president. And I think the Bible says to honor the king. when Nero was emperor. And you need to understand that even these conservative hosts are, before they're conservative hosts, they are also entertainers. And they gotta keep their listeners with them. And they gotta say things that are incendiary and provocative and give them support for what they want and their cause, and we're gonna stand up for whatever and we're gonna save the world. And they are wrapping people around their finger. And I'm listening to this guy, I don't even remember who it was, and he was saying the most terrible, rude and insulting things that no human being should say about any other human being. About our president. It doesn't matter if you voted for him, he's your president. And that's not right. And I thought, you know what, this is not what I need to fill my mind with. I may not be happy with the economy. I may not be happy with a lot of policies. I may not like the direction of a lot of things. I may not like the marriage bill that was just passed. There's a lot of things I can be upset about, but that doesn't give me the right to say what he was saying. So turn it off. We'll say, oh, don't listen to this filth and vulgar. But we'll listen to things that are contrary to the word of God, because God says, honor the king. And it didn't used to be like that. People could be conservatives without being jerks. And now they're just flat out rude. Like, do you have a point to make, or do you just want to cut people down like we did back in fourth grade? Grow up and speak the truth and talk about ideas. Don't just be insulting all the time. If the main impression of something that you're taking in is that the speaker is amazing, or if the message is contrary to the word of God in any way, avoid it. Avoid oppositions of science, falsely so-called, profane and vain babblings. Ladies and gentlemen, there are a lot of voices that want your ear today. And there are some voices we need not listen to. I hope that Diary Baptist Church will be a church where good doctrine is preached until Christ comes back. When we think about what doctrines to avoid, let's be specific. if they are pseudo-scientific and frothy teachings. That's not the doctrine you need. If they're unloving and provoking people to just clash and fight, that's not the teaching that you need. If they're adding extra laws and restrictions that God doesn't add, you don't need that. Avoid teachings that will distract you, filling your mind with questions and taking you away from the main truths that God has for us. And definitely avoid teaching that is a false gospel, adding to the work of Christ or taking from the identity and work of Christ. Truth is truth. The church is called the pillar and ground of the truth. So let's stand for it. Let's humbly ask God to keep us from falling into these pits. Pastor David M. Atkinson also has a ministry on Facebook and invites you to connect with him there. Now, until the next time, remember to walk softly with the Lord.