Mr. D's Notes on I Timothy
Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D.
Copyright 2000

CHAPTER 3

We now shift gears from the glories of Christ and His Fathers salvation, to those that might teach other than the truth.

A couple years ago there was a theology board on the internet that had some real contenders for the faith. Just what faith some of them were contending for was the difficult question. There were radical charismatics, there were moderate charismatics, there were reformers, there were baptismal regenerationists (even thought they denied that title), there were good logical minds, there were nonsensical minds, there was a man that thought he was the Beast of the book of Revelation and there was Dennis Clough. He was one of the sane voices on the board. I would love to give a big hello to Dennis if he happens to read this someday - Hi Dennis, and a big thank you for the following!

At one point when the false doctrine was flying way too thick, Dennis posted the following:

To Quasi Theologians:

"I don't study, it gets in my way, Nevertheless, I've still got plenty to say.

"Peter and Paul were oh, so wrong, It's a good thing for you I came along.

"I am sent by me to edit His Word, to define good news you thought you heard.

"So it's not by grace after all, It's not enough on Him to call, on your boot straps you must haul!

"It's true that Jesus came to die for sin, but in my system, the cross doesn't fit in.

"We must save ourselves by our works, People who only believe are really jerks!

"I know my message is really true, Cause I made it up, with scissors and glue.

"It came to me in the middle of the night, my toes tingled and my head felt light.

"It makes me feel good to be able to bless, To take confusion and add to the mess.

"I don't care about truth or context, as long as I take some into the vortex!

"Please don't bother me with Scripture, Of such things, MY doctrine is pure.

"So come and go with me, I know not where, But be sure, there won't be any Christians there!

"Dedicated to all who deviate from the "faith once delivered to the saints"! Dennis Clough"

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,

This verse is the basis for some thinking the book was written from Macedonia.

Paul had given Timothy authority to begin setting things in order in the church at Ephesus.

To the point of teaching of false doctrine: Paul states, "charge some that they teach no other doctrine. . . ." Charge according to Vine is "strictly used of commands received from a superior and transmitted to others."

This passage, it would seem to me, gives the church leadership the right, indeed, the obligation to see to it that there is no doctrine other than correct doctrine taught in the church.

That my friend, is a tall order. How can church leaders fulfill this responsibility?

It will require knowing the teachers. Don't ever allow anyone to teach your people without knowing some of their background. This includes fill in pastors, this includes Sunday school teachers, this includes missionaries, and this includes all that would teach doctrine in the church over which you have leadership.

Know those that you invite in among the sheep. I have seen missionaries from questionable missions invited in only because they grew up in the church. That is not the criterion to determine speakers on.

It will require not allowing some to teach. If you don't have the proper information to make a decision - don't allow it! If you have to say no to aunt Tillie's favorite nephew, the missionary then so be it. Don't allow it.

It will require correcting those that are in error. If you find that someone in your church is teaching false doctrine, then action must be taken. It will be embarrassing and it will be hard but it must be done. They must be corrected or removed.

It will require some serious prayer time before getting into the situations that you will get into. Pray for wisdom concerning what is going on. Be sure that you are correct in your facts. Be sure that all is correct and that God is in the lead before you move.

It will require knowing your Sunday school curriculum and checking it from time to time. The Sunday school publishers are in constant flux. What was a good company ten years ago may be very poor in their curriculum today. Many of the Sunday school publishers are now owned by secular companies. One of the fundamental publishers changed its name to widen its customer base, then was purchased by another publisher which in turn was purchased by another publisher - from fundamental and denominational to evangelical and nondenominational in about fifteen years.

Review your materials every year or so, ask your teachers to evaluate every year or so - be sure the materials are still sound.

It will require knowing your entire church and its programs. What is being taught to your children, what is being taught to your youth, what is being taught to your adults?

As I talk about this, I am not talking about the differences of opinion about minor doctrines, but major variances from the major doctrines of the church. We can have differences of opinion on where I Timothy was written, but not about whether I Timothy is a part of the Bible. We can have differences of opinion on how we approach the book of Revelation, but as to the identification of the Lamb we should be in accord.

Church leadership is not a fun office that gives us a good concept of ourselves. It is work. It is responsibility. It is accountability to the Lord for how we did. It is thankless at times. It is NEEDED!

I personally think when Paul speaks of men that "desire" the office of bishop in 3:1; he means they know up front what they are getting into and still want to fulfill the office. We will take a longer look at this when we get to chapter three.

It is of interest that the church where Timothy is ministering is one that Paul had planted. Indeed, Paul stayed three years in this church seeing to its teaching personally. It went down hill! What can we learn from this?

Don't condemn a man that plants a church for how it turns out in a few years. The former pastors may be at fault or they may not be at fault. God will sort out all the details when the time comes.

Realize that most Christian organizations and institutions head downhill soon after they are started. Not that they need to, but many do.

Most of the schools that I have attended were in the process of decline while I was attending. Some are way down the road and others are doing very well. One is in the extremes of Evangelicalism and on a cash only basis with suppliers due to their very poor stewardship.

It is also of interest to notice that Paul knew that this would happen. He mentions it in Acts 20:29-31, "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."

Notice that Paul not only warns of trouble entering in, (speaks to being careful in the area of accepting church members) but also mentions men from within the church will arise "speaking perverse things." He knew the world and he knew human nature.

Notice "after my departing" It is indicated that only after he leaves will they come in and rise up. Is it possible they knew Paul could not be fooled? Is it possible they knew Paul was not one to argue doctrine with? Is it possible they knew Paul was a force to be reckoned with?

Note his last comment - "I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." It would seem that warnings were keeping the false out and from rising up - CONSIDER THAT CAREFULLY!

And so what are you going to tell that person the next time they say doctrine isn't important? Paul thought it was very important and if we want a strong church we had better pay attention to it as well.
Keeping a church or organization straight is a full time job. It takes constant watching for possible down hill trends and problems. A serious problem can creep in, seemingly overnight if watch is not kept.
I'm sure this is one of the frustrations of pastors as they leave a ministry. They can assume fairly safely that trouble will come with either the new pastor or from within the assembly sooner or later.

A very sound pastor left a medium sized church in Nebraska. Within a year the new pastor and part of the board were at odds with the rest of the board and ultimately the church split with the pastor taking the majority of the people with him to begin another church in the same town of about three thousand people.

A pastor that sees this happen after a number of years of struggle, sweat, commitment, heartache and tears must really hurt!

"When I went" literally means "while departing.” This was the last admonition that Paul left with Timothy. AND NOW HE IS REPEATING it in his letter - sounds to me that this is kind of important!

Question: WHAT IS FALSE DOCTRINE? Might I suggest anything that contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture?

Paul mentions the same thought in his second letter to Timothy in II Tim 2:15-16, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase [or grow] unto more ungodliness." The Word is the key! Notice the word "more" - the profane and vain babllings are ungodly - if you don't shun them there will be MORE ungodliness.

4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: [so do].

Give heed has the idea of occupy yourself with. Don't sit down and occupy yourself on any long-term basis on these things. I recall many times in Bible College when as freshmen we know it alls would talk and argue and discuss at great lengths the intricacies of the Word - many times it was about useless questions, though it did keep us out of trouble.

Don't occupy yourself with:

fables = myths, something without historical foundations. You might consider UFO's in the class, or you might consider some of the creation myths that are in circulation today in this class. Indeed, anything besides a six 24-hour period creation is in this category. Arguing the fine points of other theories is not worth your time and effort.

endless genealogies = some feel that some Judaizers were laying stress on the genealogies of the Old Testament or possibly their own genealogies. They may have been quibbling over their personal roots.

I can imagine in a couple of generations the problem that might have been had by the church if Paul hadn't taken the Corinthians to task for their division over Paul and Apollos. Can't you just picture it in 450 A.D. - the elders of the church at Ephesus - some claiming that they are descended from Apollos, while another would be bragging of being in direct line to Paul himself, thus seeking power over the church? The First church of Apollos and the First church of Paul could well have resulted in many cities.

These things cause questions rather than promote edification of the saints. The thought would seem to be that anything that causes questions should be set aside unless the questions are answerable from Scripture. If the questions aren't answerable, then it would be best to set those topics aside and replace them with things that will cause edification of the saints.

There are some Christian books on the market which are totally outside the scope of Scripture, trying to prove God through science. I am not sure this is wrong, but at this point the Word is adequate for the bringing of the lost to the Lord, and I am not sure spending millions on books that try to prove things outside of Scripture is a wise use of the Lord's money. Had God wanted to prove His existence scientifically the Bible would contain I & II Science.

"so do" is not really a part of the text. The King James is one of the few translations that show it and being in italics it is indicated that it is not there. It is implied in the command.

Apply these thoughts to your Sunday school materials. Do they lead to good scriptural principles or do they lead to long discussions about what a text may or may not mean?

We attended a Bible study one time that had about fifteen in attendance. We read a verse and discussed what it meant. About ten different interpretations were presented. The leader finally closed the session with "Well there certainly are a lot of possible interpretations of the passage and I am sure one of them is the right one."

An example would be faith healing. We could discuss it for hours, but the moment we brought Scripture in we would limit our discussion very quickly.

We should have a major problem with much of what is on the airwaves today. People are listening to everything under the sun and to everyone that can get a channel. Much of what is out there is not edifying the local assemblies.

It is taking financial support from the local assembly.
It is taking people from the local assembly. (some stop going to church)
It is taking doctrinal soundness from the local assembly.
It is teaching false doctrine in many cases.

As believers listen to the false, sooner or later they will begin to incorporate some of the information into their thinking and soon it will be in the local assembly.

By the way, what did Paul just say about that? Church leaders should stop it. Many listen and watch this trash because pastors have not been warning their sheep of the wolves! There are good programs on television, but there is also a ton of bad ones. GAIN DISCERNMENT FOLKS. If you know you are watching someone that is off doctrinally now and then, why bother listening to him at all.

While we are talking about listening, I might mention a woman that was very worried about her husband. (From Baptist Publications adult quarterly/Keeping the Faith published years ago.) "A distraught woman said to her physician, 'I am really afraid, doctor that my husband has some terrible mental affliction. Sometimes I talk to him for hours and then discover that he hasn't heard a single word I have said. 'That is no affliction,' was the reply, 'that's a divine gift.'"

Don't spend time listening to the false prophets of the airwaves and byways. TURN A DEAF EAR! PAY ATTENTION TO THE GOOD DOCTRINE AND TEACHING THAT YOU ARE GETTING IN YOUR LOCAL ASSEMBLY AND FROM THE WORD.

I must admit that I am not really for the radio and TV ministers - even, the good ones. At times they lay out what I would class as misleading if not false doctrine. Once that information is unleashed over the air there is nothing that they can do about it. Someone may have tuned in for only one program and picked up something that he shouldn't have. The listener assuming the preacher was good might practice false doctrine unknowingly.

I would like to read a quote from an adult Sunday school manual from Scripture Press (April-June 1969; Adult Living; p 3) I think this line of thought has weakened the church in recent years.

"There is another caution in this chapter. Some first-century Christians spent hours talking about the Old Testament genealogies, making up fictitious histories about each name. In the Dark Ages, theologians argued endlessly about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. And today there are people who delight in endless - and pointless - speculation on predestination and free will; immersion and sprinkling; the pre, mid, and post-tribulation rapture; and many other “fine points.”

I personally think that there is much that could be taught on some of these subjects that would clarify the discussions. The problem is that many people that are doing the discussing have never studied the topics that they seem to be experts on.

A man on the internet made several ridiculous unfounded, undocumented statements against dispensationalism. It was obvious that he had never read of dispensations. He stated that dispensationalists believed in two ways of salvation - one for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament. Totally unfounded!

I tend to think that to relegate these topics to the idea of endless - and pointless - speculation is other doctrine. There is much that we can know from the scripture on the topics and we should not relegate these doctrines to the back burner just because some people seem to get stuck on them and cause problems with them. It seems to me this material was relegating good doctrine to the area of false doctrine.

Doctrine is very important. Otherwise, Christ and the apostles wouldn't have given so much of it to us to live our lives by!

Study these topics, find your own ideas, and discuss with others to find if you have missed something and don't let it hinder your spiritual life. Don't, as Paul says, dwell on these things - study them - learn of them and move on to other doctrine.

The modern application of the genealogies might be seen in those that claim that they are in part of an apostolic succession. The Roman church holds that all Popes have come from Peter in direct line. Others hold to a succession back to John the Baptist and state that if you haven't been baptized by a man that was baptized by a man that was baptized and so goes the succession back to John the Baptist, then you aren't really baptized and that you need to be baptized by one of their men.

5. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and [of] a good conscience, and [of] faith unfeigned:

Now I don't know all that this verse is saying, but it certainly sounds important and probably kind of hard! As some would say - that is deeeeeeep stuff!

The NASB mentions "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

What commandment is in view? I would think in relation to the context that it is probably the instructions concerning false teachers.

Some suggest that the commandment is the command to love - they set forth Gal. 5.14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Rom. 13.8-10 also supports this thought.

Others suggest that this is speaking of the Law of the Old Testament. However, verse seven seems to say that the Old testament law is what some of the false teachers are teaching.

I think that the thought of it being the instructions or love fit best, and I would opt for the specific context - instructions to deal with the false teachers.

Question: Do Christians practice verse five? Do we show love to one another as we are in the business of edification?

The idea of love has some very perverted results in some quarters of Christianity. I was in a session a number of years ago and the speaker was telling of an old man in Denver, CO that called himself Isaiah and dressed in a white robe. The man wondered the streets preaching a bit of everything. The speaker mentioned that one Sunday he was driving the Sunday school bus and he was tempted to run over Isaiah. He figured that when the police found "FORD” stamped in Isaiah's chest they would know what had happened. I trust that you do not find this attitude to be that of Christian love. Isaiah needed the Lord and quite possibly some mental treatment, not the disgust of God's people.

Love should come from the three sources mentioned:

Love out of a PURE HEART

Question: What does this mean? Matt 5:8 mentions, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This may relate to the motivation of the heart. We should act toward others with true spiritual, Christ like motivations. This is going to require spirit controlled people not self-controlled people. A holy heart - no unconfessed sin.

Two verses will give some further understanding to the term pure heart.

Ps 24.3-5 "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

I Pet 1.22 "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:"

All of these verses show a pure heart to be one that is regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

Only as we have a pure heart, can we ever love another properly. Without the pure heart we will love through clouded eyes - eyes clouded by material concerns, by personality concerns etc.

Barnes probably sums it up when he says "The commandment was not designed to secure merely the outward expressions of love, but that which had its seat in the heart."

Scofield has a side reference to Eph. 6.24 where Paul ends his book to the Ephesians with this comment and blessing. "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

Love out of a GOOD CONSCIENCE

This is going to take a person whose life is without sin. There is no way that a person with sin in their life can really have a good conscience.

This phrase goes to the motivations, as well as the truth of character of the individual. Things are to be done with a clear conscience - free of guilty feelings - nothing but the total truth in motivation and character.

I don't want to get high brow on you but I ran across a quote that fits quite well here. Now, mind you I ran across it in my illustration database, not in the original writer’s book - I don't want you to be mistaken on that!

"As two assassins stealthily crept into the sleeping Duke of Clarnence's bedchamber one is suddenly stricken with pangs of conscience. "A man cannot steal, but it accuseth him; he cannot swear but it checks him; he cannot lie with his neighbor's wife, but that it detects him. It is a blushing shamefast spirit that mutinies in a man's bosom; it fills one full of obstacles; it made me once restore a purse of gold that I found; it beggared any man that keeps it; it is turned out of all towns and cities for a dangerous thing; and every man that means to live well endeavors to trust to himself and to live without it. . . . it is even now at my elbow, persuading me not to kill the duke." William Shakespeare, King Richard III act 1, scene 4.

A good conscience will bring you to do right!

The book of Acts mentions Paul's labor in this area as follows when he was appearing before Felix. "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and [toward] men" Acts 24.16

Love out of a FAITH UNFEIGNED or as the NASB puts it a “sincere faith.”

Sincere faith can come only from salvation. Any faith that we might have without salvation is going to be polluted with the sin nature!

It probably indicates also that the person is committed to Christ in their life in all areas of life as well.

A Sunday School teacher saw one of her little boys drawing furiously with a set of crayons. "What are you doing, Johnny?" she asked.

"I'm drawing a picture of God," said Johnny.

"But Johnny," said the teacher, "nobody knows what God looks like."

Replied Johnny: "Well, they will by the time I'm through with THIS!"

That is sincere faith - faith that they know what is going to be!

Now, the import of the phrase relates to how we are to love. Imagine if you will, trying to love someone, without a sinless heart, a clear conscience and true faith in God. Any of the three lacking would make it very difficult to love, and impossible to love adequately.

When we confront the false teachers, we must be on this kind of footing! When we confront the lost, we also must be on this kind of footing! Anything less and we will most likely falter.

These should be our personal goals as well as our CHURCH GOALS! These are things that come naturally from the love of Christ that should flow through us.

"A rich Dutch merchant was seeking to buy a diamond of a certain kind to add to his collection. A famous dealer in New York found such a stone and called him to come and see it.

"The merchant flew immediately to New York, where the seller had assigned his best diamond expert to close the transaction. After hearing the assistant describe in perfect technical detail the diamond's worth and beauty, the Dutchman decided not to buy it. Before he left, however, the owner of the store stepped forward and asked, "Do you mind if I show you that stone once more?" The customer agreed.

"The store owner didn't repeat one thing that the salesman had said. He simply took the stone in his hand, stared at it, and described the beauty of the stone in a way that revealed why this stone stood out from all the others he had seen in his life. The customer bought it immediately.

"Tucking his new purchase into his breast pocket, the customer commented to the owner, "Sir, I wonder why you were able to sell me this stone when your salesman could not?"

"The owner replied, "That salesman is the best in the business. He knows more about diamonds than anyone, including myself, and I pay him a large salary for his knowledge and expertise. But I would gladly pay him twice as much if I could put into him something I have which he lacks. You see, he knows diamonds, but I love them."

"God is not interested in how much we know but in how much we love. When we truly love Jesus, we love others as well, and that is how the good news of the Gospel is spread." Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice.

We can know all about God, but not love Him - As we love Him we will love each other and be better equipped to do His work in and out of the church.

With this kind of love we can confront those that are in error. With this kind of love we have the best opportunity to bring them back into truth or release them from our midst. With this kind of love we can reach the lost.

In case you missed it in 1999 in October the six billionth baby was born. The report also mentioned that there are one billion young people of child bearing years. Thus, we will have another billion or two within years.

Point? Missionaries are on the drastic decrease while population is on the increase. I personally believe that the decrease in missionaries is directly tied to the lack of good solid teaching of doctrine in our churches over the past years. We have been losing the vision of a lost world out there. We have no vision, because we really don't have God's view of the lost!

Maybe in coming days as we start requiring of our preachers sound doctrine and love coming forth from the believers we well see the missionary effort revived.