We must be exceptionally careful in the matter of comparing Scripture with Scripture. The Bible never contradicts itself. We must never base our doctrine upon one statement only; or to put it in another way, our doctrine must never be so formulated as to be in conflict with any other statement of Scripture or to contradict any other clear and obvious scriptural teaching.
From Life in God, p. 116. by Dr. M. L. Jones
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,
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
There is just something about the richness of the King James text. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes to his protégé, Timothy. To the church of Ephesus, urging them to reject all false doctrines (v. 3). Then, in v.4, he says the way to determine if it is so is whether it is edifying, faithful, and Godly. If it fails any part of this rebuke, it is false doctrine.
The test Paul charged Timothy with some 2000 years ago would be well applied today. The advent of worldwide media is a blessing and a curse. A blessing for the accessibility we can gain from sound teaching that was totally unavailable even 25 years ago. A curse, because of the amount of false teachings broadcast on the World Wide Web has grown exponentially as well. Most of those teachers/teachings downplay the importance of doctrine.
1:3 At least one of Timothy’s purposes in Ephesus was to address the false teaching that was troubling the church. We are not given enough information to determine exactly what the false teaching was. The concern here is not so much the identity of the false teaching as its effect—“empty speculations” (v. 4) and “fruitless discussion” (v. 6). This is in direct contrast to the goal of apostolic instruction in v. 5.
1:4 Myths is a negative term used to characterize something as fanciful or untrue. Thus it is used here (and elsewhere in the Pastoral Epistles; 2Tm 4:4; Ti 1:14) to critique false teaching as the stuff of “fairy tales.” Genealogies seems to refer to speculative interpretations of the OT.
1:5–7 The goal of the false teachers was speculation. But the goal of all Christian teaching should always be love, even when confronting false teachers.
Ray Van Neste, “1 Timothy,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1920.
STUDY
Drawing the Line: Why Doctrine Matters
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Topical Bible: The Importance of Doctrine
Why is sound doctrine so important? | GotQuestions.org
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