Sound Doctrine, p.2

Dragon bottles let's go to first Timothy chapter 6 and as far as a direct since this is the last thing that Tom Paul says to Timothy about false teachers and false doctrine and how it is his commission his responsibility to protect the church from this, though it does splash over into the rest of the chapter saw mainly the rest of chapter 6, he's addressing Timothy the pastor more directly about his old walk and his own faithfulness. We called this series of preaching to the book 1st Timothy beautifying the bride as Paul is telling Timothy how to fashion the church and how to function in the church and I'll be quite honest I have been surprised at the amount of weight. The apostle Paul puts on guarding true doctrine rebuking false doctrine correcting error in teaching in the church going say this up front as a church becomes biblically and spiritually healthy.

That becomes a rather easy job, but not singular stops becomes a lot easier. I just thought about grace like Churchill thought, maybe not about my first 20 or 25 years here in the last 15 or 20 years here, and how different it is. As far as things that are on sale. Let's say creeping up and being embraced are a group in the charge chasing off this thing are after this thing or that thing as a church matured, it just didn't seem to be a factor much anymore and so those of you who are passers out there may be listening to my sermon on the Internet or whatever are going to be pastors hold on to that truth because Justin Timothy is just on the initial first few years of this church plant in Ephesus and so there's a lot to clean up. Matter fact you guys who might be part of planning new churches like were about it like we been a part of her so long.

If you're directly involved in leading a church plant. You can count on the first 5 to 15 years having a lot of fighting against false teaching. It's good. I made as Jude said they cryptically and unaware and so Satan will do that. I'm so fortunate here that if anything here at grace like church begins to get online it's fixed before I can get to your just you just sound your loving your compassionate that you do not allow errant doctrine and practices to take any root in the church and I praise the Lord for you for that. That didn't mean were through grace liked or did mean we've arrived, we set to be vigilant and careful in here's one thing on tape.

It has been the course through the ages of church history when there's been a church movement arise in their very solid in the second or third generation after the first generation, you begin to see a lot of compromise and a lot of error. You know why because the second and third generation of leadership didn't have to suffer for the truth. The first generation did that for the and they were vigilant and they were intentional and they didn't they didn't man the post like they needed to. That's why prayed many times it anchored in truth missions and ministries are grace like church goes off track. I'm asking God to bring it down. I don't have any care whatsoever about us being bigger, stronger, wealthy, or whatever got things here that I want us to be true to him. And so anyway, Paul's writing to Timothy there in the early years of getting this churchgoing is a lot to get established and structured over and over. Paul keeps warning Timothy commanding Timothy to guard the doctrines that means teachings of the church is a get together first Timothy chapter 6 verse three.

If anyone advocates a different doctor in the does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness.

He is conceited and understands nothing, but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words out of which arise even be strife, abusive language, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of depraved mind, and deprived of the truth. Suppose that godliness is a means of gain. So the first thing we pointed out last time. I under sound doctrine, its ground and source divinely inspired Scripture that's not the major teaching here, but it is a major teaching in a sense he's talking about false teachers and how they veer from the true doctrines given through Christ and given through Christ early apostles, like the apostle Paul, but I didn't want to take the time and I did take the time to point out that our the source rather of sound doctrine is always the divinely inspired 66 books of the Bible.

The old and New Testament uses the phrase in verse three sound words she means wholesome words this point, is there some who are indeed coming into the church there some who are indeed getting the ear of church members who are not teaching sound word that I sound impressive. They may be intellectuals. They may have dominated dynamic personality and great charisma. The point is there not teaching you the truth, not teaching you what's according if I might elaborated amplify what policy here pulsing the not teaching you the doctor died giving you which came from Jesus Christ. That's why uses those phrase verse three says those of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so I will spend some time establishing how we hold to the clean area verbal inspiration of Scripture that means the very words of Scripture are inspired and all the words are inspired we have the truth of Ephesians chapter 2 that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

What does that mean that means those men were inspired by God through the Holy Spirit superintending through them to write God's perfect word to us those early prophets and apostles and I said to you that God has said all he's going to say I know there's been somebody that became huge on the on the Internet.

Recently a pastor somewhere who seeing some dreams and it appears that those dreams might be happening.

As a pastor should not pay any attention to that. No, no, the old song, milled him is true and it's been the conviction of our forefathers forever.

What more can he say than to you he has said God said the last thing he's going to say through his son Jesus Christ, and those prophets and apostles are used to give us the New Testament that the next direct revelation from God will be Jesus appearing and returning to the earth. So we have the perfect word of God to buy took to guide us.

We don't need any special revelations from anyone else so saying all that to say my first point was that sound doctrine, its ground and its source is divinely inspired Scripture.

That's what we stand on.

We bring everything back to that to my second point in last point has many subpoints sound doctrine. It must be defended. False teachers exposed and opposed again. You may say factories a lot about this is because pulsatile about and that's why the apostle Paul when he was nearing the end of his ministry said.

I fought the good fight.

Paul did not say I finish the fight for you.

He said no. I thought it until God got there with me. He said I finish my course in the fight but I finish the fight meant that every faithful pastor is still fighting today for the truth of the gospel and to defend the church from false teaching that cannot be honest with you soon to celebrate 40 years with you guys here in how humbled I am in blessed took to even say that I did that. Not that I didn't like the grace of God did it through million. I'll be honest you get tired of fighting, because while you are not so prone to chasing error. We work with and we have association with and we have a mentoring and oversight relationship with many pastors who are in many churches and their fighting it all the time and so why have some care for them to and sometimes he wished he just would would stop for a little while but Satan never stops.

That's why Paul tells Timothy to keep on keeping on.

Here he begins to expose and oppose the false teachers and the false doctrine they're bringing in and you talk about not pulling any punches. Look at what Paul says to Timothy about these priceless godless teachings that come into the church again. He says in verse three. If anyone advocates a different doctor and he means what he means by that many are all right. Then he can guess that phrase and off. I call this subpoint a that is in pure doctrine that produces impure living. By the way, that's one of the things that give it some time seems to always come out among false teachers and that is the embracing of immoral living. The embracing of sin in their lives. And often their doctrines even talk such things were acceptable God. They turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, turn the grace of God into a license or permission to sin Nepal didn't say that here to Timothy but that's what's implied when he talks about if anyone's teaching a different doctrine.

Let's remind ourselves that a man's morality tends to dictate his philosophy and his theology will wear hearing all these teachings today in and were seeing many in the professing church beginning to cuddle up to and accommodate some of this we could teaching about sexuality in all of this stuff that you can't even keep up with itself about perverse and keeps devolving into various forms and fashions and then a lot of the claim to be Christians. I'm hearing that over and around the Christian gave this from a Christian that and you have the same thing Paul was dealing with in this day and that is their life's RMR also there theology is immoral. It's on sale. The word sound. There is a has the idea purity. He said that it you'll notice that not only is there theology impure, but their morality is impure. Paul says it this way, they have a doctor and they do not really have the doctrine according to godliness. It doesn't seem to produce piety or godly living sound words that does produce piety or godly men affect that word for sound word just the word for wholesomeness.

The word we get our English word hi Jean, for all cleanness purity goodness in their lives. Paul again talked about this over in the first chapter. First Timothy chapter 1 verse 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurer's and whatever else is contrary to sound same word there sound teaching ungodly teaching brothers and sisters. Those who would tell us that even the sins and by the way, including homosexuality, is somehow becoming acceptable to God are not teaching you sound word teaching you unholy unwholesome doctrine which leads to unholy none of an unsound or unclean living. True, Dr. produces sound spiritual health and true Dr. produces sound moral health in the lives of those under it. I never forget being converted, age 19, and attending my first Baptist Church and knowing a lot of the people there because I'd grown up in the community and I remember a particular man there that was well known that had several wives and I thought if he's living that, lifestyle housing, just sitting in this church wising morality and sinfulness.

This not repented of just accommodated in the church troubled me as a young man not too many years ago, a couple came to grace life church, a sweet couple and a faithful couple in our interview of them for membership.

They should pastor. We want to tell you one the reasons why we came over here and I said okay I said well a deacon in our church, a leader in our church abandon his wife and his marriage for this other woman, and it wouldn't but a few weeks later he had the other woman toward the front pew. The church attending the services. No one in the church said anything.

No one in the church was willing to do anything. We just don't think that's right, brothers and sisters. That's quite commonplace. Paul says when there's an unwholesome and in shortness of the doctrine there tends to be in on wholesomeness and in pureness in the lifestyle. It all comes from false teaching. I got a call from a couple not long ago from another town and they all, they might be moving to this area and part of the reason they might be moving this area was they like brace like church and they were asking me about the church and I was asking them about them end up basically asking a question. Should we finally found a church that we think is teaching sound doctrine, but literally every fellowship outside the Sunday meetings of the church. Every fellowship we go to in the church is centered around alcoholic beverages. Every time there's a meeting of fellowship. A small group that it's all about. Bring your bottles and bring your alcohol and they were very gracious in spirit, and said you know are not jumping up and down beat everybody up about drinking in moderation.

Whatever but that that troubles us and then she said pastor without you have some meetings at your church where alcohol is not involved. I said ma'am for 40+ years. There's never been a meeting of our church that involve the drinking of alcoholic beverages and there will never be a meeting of our church that will involve alcoholic beverages and really took them that had become something they just seen all the time. It troubled them. They didn't think it was right.

What am I say Paul says to Timothy, Timothy, you'll notice that on wholesomeness fleshly indulgences worldliness begins to creep into the church and has two sides to it. Not only is there there there lifestyles impure and unwholesome doctrine begins to be impure in unwholesome user you have to come up with any of theology to hold up your immoralities.

That's what happens happened. It happens today. It continues to happen but he says there doctrine is not the doctrine verse three.

Give the doctrine according to godliness, because Paul had to deal with all kinds of sexual immoralities emphasis car rent. Name the city of this day and they were played with the wall of China embracing and rejoicing in sexual immoralities and sexual perversion and those would kinda creep into the church that the fight fight fight fight decide that's not acceptable in Christian living. Titus chapter 1 verse one Paul, a bondservant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. Matthew 715 through 20. Jesus had been where the false prophet to come to you in sheep's clothing. Outwardly, they claim to be righteous in Piety, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits and that takes some time to see fruit sometimes grapes are not gathered from thornbushes nor figs from thistles, are they verse 17 so every good tree bears good fruit in the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good true tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. So when we see these people begin to accommodate, celebrate and promote things that are impure or unclean.

According to the word of God. That's not coming from a good route that's coming from an unsound heart and unsound teaching GU chapter 1 verse four for certain persons have crept in unnoticed. Those who were long before hand marked out for this condemnation, that's powerful and it in the sob that God those who are false teachers who have false doctrine and false practices in their life. Huge says God marked them out long beforehand to condemn them ungodly person to continues to turn the grace of God into licentiousness are a license to sin and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. Second Timothy 35. These are those who hold to a form of godliness. They put all the outward appearance of I'm a man of God, holy teacher, knowing of God have been on the power of God.

They have the outward form all day that that although they have denied its power that is there lifestyles have not been changed by the power of God and of course as their heart holiness, godliness, purity still matters it still matters.

It matters greatly. It is essential these things are central Christian snowfall and Christians do fail, but they do not embrace impurities. They do not embrace on wholesomeness unsound teaching and living use Paul's phraseology here, over all the Christians live has a different trajectory. It's going in a different direction might be some some Paul's innocent dips but is going in a different direction from the world pulse is one of things you'll notice about these false teachers involves teaching. Not only is there doctrine unsound their living is impure and on-site. They tend to promote that kind of stuff. Some of our largest denominations we have leaders right now who are beginning to stick their fingers in the air and feel the current of the culture and decide that some of these things the church's center sends maybe aren't really that serious of sins anymore. What I like to say that gentleness serve you sound just like with the apostle Paul calls a false teacher was run sound words and unwholesome impure and unsound leaving your promoting well I told you Timothy didn't pull any punches each of starting up already. Just starting to Timmy on Timothy on the seriousness of this of this false teachers and false teaching creeping in your notes in verse a for their he talks about being his proud heart is proud heart. He said he is conceited. Erica proud you know pride is the foundational sin. Pride is the sin that all other sins flow out of pride is what made the devil. The devil pride and that the first cuts in the pride are the other side of the coin of pride are an aspect that never lease pride is the desire for power and control. Satan look to God and somebody's got to get all the glory. Why does God make all the decisions. God has all the power and control. We all have that in us in this fallen flesh, but the false teachers given over to it it it says MO it's it's it's common in all that he's about to see all other sins are mere flea bites in comparison to prod you know other sins can bring people together. People bought drinking together. People go out big and moral to give the people bought stealing together whatever it is that your pride puts you against everybody else prods about me power and control is the driving goal of Satan. And that's basically what's behind the false teacher. He's proud he wants the power in the church.

He wants control of the church and he wants the praise and the profit that comes from not only does his immoral, impure doctrine correspond with his impure and immoral life and only see that you have a proud heart. Paul goes on to sister Timothy C. He has a nifty head is empty headed, he says in verse 40 understands nothing. This is a man who is certain that he knows everything.

Yet God says he knows nothing. You know, I've known in my life that comes my mind Donald Trump. I've never seen him.

It was so convincing, knows everything I told you before, although born again because I don't have a choice and I'm thankful that he's got bulldog tenacity in these tough it's a look brothers and sisters were not in a day where our country needs sweetness on time. We need somebody that's tough. I'm thankful for those manly attributes. I just wish you didn't have some of the other. This proud man has a need to head he thinks he knows it all and God says you know nothing. By the way, all that matters is what God thinks listener. Proverbs 18 to a fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind. Proverbs 1 verse seven the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

You see, you don't know anything into your first fear the Lord, that means irreverence, and in all that means I set up something of yourself before him and his word that he's right and in every way you're thinking your motivation are your conclusions disagree with him. You say he's right wrong. That's the beginning of knowledge, the fear of the Lord and to truly fear the Lord, you acknowledge that you know nothing and when you acknowledge that you know nothing.

That's when you really start knowing something your sin that you so when a pastor I know people that don't know God and they think they have wisdom about medicine are aeronautics or whatever it is these technologies and that a lot of you think yes but their motive behind it is not the glory of God. Yet they still know nothing about it.

This themselves. Romans 718. I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. Paul says nothing good was then that included his mind.

He knew that apart from God's changing of his heart and mine. Ultimately, there was no good thing that could come out of his life. Proverbs 32 and three the writer. Progress is surely I am more stupid than any man I do not have the understanding of a man, neither have I learned wisdom, nor do I have the knowledge of the holy one what he saying is, in my natural condition. If God didn't help me in my natural condition. I'm more stupid than any man I have nothing good in me.

So we see his impure doctrine least interleaving. We see he has a proud heart we see his empty head, although he thinks he knows everything thoroughly. Notice his contentious mouth. His contentious mouth.

Look at verse four. Again, and we see their sissies conceived understands nothing, but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about word I which arise evil and be rather strife, abusive language, evil suspicions and constant friction was so backed up that first phrase. He has morbid interest.

It just means an unhealthy interest in other words, he's interested not in what glorifies God. It was good for the church just interested in having his way, and I actually causing trouble.

When I see that in the world today. There's a notion. Today we can cause enough chaos in the culture.

We can gain power and control is basically going the false teacher worked in the church. He uses his words not to build up and to help but to be contentious controversial questions. He says he's always about controversial questions.

It was interesting to me. If you open your Bibles. You'll find that God made so much exceedingly clear the false teachers not interested in what God has made exceedingly clear he wants to cast doubt on the Scriptures by camping out on secondary things that are not real clear what it is. It's a way to divert attention from his unholy living whistle get to the stuff. It's clear about good and bad writing Roman law and truth.

This is missed these questions about all these things and we get don't quite understand and that way we will have time really talk about the things that condemn me. That's really what is going with this whole thing. Paul elaborates further verse 40 disputes about words strife, it means with words. This will form parties and factions and groups in the church over things that don't matter. The words they form divisions over secondary things that Christians can disagree on but I'll stay in fellowship over, but they'll say if you don't join our group and interpret the way we interpret on the secondary point and you're not really spiritual. You're not really godly. I think we got the will. Illustration we put on the screen that all illustrations have weaknesses in them but in the will of the Straits, and we point out the main things that are very, very clear in Scripture and sometimes I'll tell people that, as I'm teaching pastors or whatever. So what can you do this in the church and do that in the church.

I say yes that you get these main things performing well in the church than off-site and you not get there with that you not going to get through doing per/digit were Mrs. as well as you wanted and I don't get them every member ministry in small break as well as you often got not going to get through preaching the word and the power, the spirit as well as you want to get through thing I a model church, a Spirit empowered church that God might use as a model for others as well as you will yours are things we know that are clear, false teachers notice toif them secondary minor point, actually. Usually it's a distortion and misinterpretation about some vague thing in Scripture and forming a group around it so he could be head of that group. Again, it's about power and control.

So what comes out of this kind of action and behavior in the church.

Verse four in the strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, they don't agree with our position. They don't agree with our leader and what he understands this text over here.

They're not spiritual. They might not even be say evil suspicions.

The stirring that kind of stuff up in the church. Then in the next verse, verse five, and constant friction will be had, so many of those flow through the evangelical church in years and I mention this one because I probably have heard more pastors talk about this when the last 2030 years in the other. That's homeschooling homeschooling is good and homeschooling schooling can be blessed of God and we have great homeschoolers.

A grace like church that we stand with them and we help what we don't have is homeschool Nazis will have that we all have those that rise up and say if you don't like we do it all the rest of your inferior and unspiritual. We don't have that will that's what the false teacher would you take an issue that Christians can have different approaches on a need.

So you got it like this when I told her it doesn't matter.

Paul elaborates further about them in verse five, and says these are men of depraved mind, and deprived of the truth literally means a corrupt night it means what's in their head is corruption. No truth is there there there deprived of the truth.

Again, the apostle Paul had to deal with so much like this in the Gnostic someone in who claim to be elitist if you didn't understand the Bible the way they required you to understand it, and according to their quote superior elite knowledge that you weren't really spiritual that he had the Judaizers over here who thought that you want to bring the law into the gospel. If you didn't keep the certain laws of Moses. You could be a real Christian are really pleasing to God. It's all here that and he says those men are corrupt in their minds and there deprived of the truth Paul brought fighting against false doctrine and contentious false teachers, and church over and over and over again.

I found some interesting thoughts and Calvin's, to listen to this. Calvin holds that false teachers may hold orthodox doctrine.

He said they probably got a seat somewhere to filing cabinet like influenza here's the doctrines I believe in him a solid. He said yet they pollute the teachings of Christ with stupid chatter about words of the Calvin's work.

Stupid chatter is a get all stuff that don't matter.

When you call them out inside will. You cannot allow to something the Bible is not clear about your dispelling dissensions and suspicion and strife in the church.

I don't know. We hold the sound doctrine in the path of the peace pipe.

So be careful and they just profess they believe the same things we believe, what are they making a big deal out of Willie putting the attentional's will Calvin say they go all out on stuff. The Bible says little or nothing about you know here in the South. We don't hear about it much anymore but years ago when I first was converted and say your strong movement so there were some good and godly people in these movements.

Some of you have been in this movement, but it was a movement that had real strict rules about your dress and what you appeared, and particularly for the women in the church member that can cut your hair couldn't wear makeup and their few other essential things of the Bible talks about over and over again, nor does then talk about that over the I'll never forget eyes just a young preacher and I was reading J.

Vernon McNaught probably was listening to J. Vernon McGee on the radio.

Don't jaybird McGee is and he came to that text about women and their parents, and jaybird McGee said I don't think the Bible teaches that women can't wear makeup and then he said a little paint will help any old barn anyway. The point is rule after rule.

Emphasis after emphasis Tran Dr. Tran the false teachers prone to get on the bandwagon of some of these things and pull the church into divisions and strife over things that really don't matter. No doubt some Christian ladies need to pay more attention to the way they dress. Are there lack of dress so you modestly do a better job on makeup front probably, but we start a movement for our against now. I've missed 100 others.

Okay, those are just illustrations of the kind of stuff and balls get rolling and movements get started. You have hold John movements of people following the stay in every few years. There things that come along like this. Calvin again said this good sounding courses that are not the primary calling of the church year that false teachers prone to have a good sounding course this when all ago sounds very good but it's not the primary mission of the church. They twist simple and genuine teachings and make it about their own subjective personal view of godliness. Now we got in bed missing evangelical life today. The social justice movement all the stuff and there's some good in it and it sounds good but the way they're doing it. There are actually making it a course of religion in a gotten way, way out of balance is not the main mission of the church going back to Calvin's well ENR outline his base motives his basement.

We talked about his pride in his conceit and arrogance that certainly is base motive, but in verse five he brings us out again and he says to suppose that godliness is a means of gain. He's figured out if I can get in the church and I can give them a show of godliness and all the legs so I'm so impressed with his devotion to God and the man's eyeball he's committed I can use that to bring the disciples astray from falling Christ in the main truths of Scripture.

The following day and when he did it when I use the phrase base motives.

I made it both ways. Base means of the lower RAM motives that come not from the wisdom of heaven, but from the lower motivations of earth and base meeting the foundation for which all his other actions flow from this base is he's using godliness for selfish pride and gain his motivation was to gain power over men to get profit from them in and praise from men here that you get down to his base motive. He wants power. He wants financial profit and he wants praise. Why because he's enslaved to the fear of man feel it's all about people all about getting the following. Calvin said again.

Their single objective is to parade themselves, their single objective is to parade themselves. They scheme to make use of the church and their all nonbiblical subjective contrived quote godliness" to gain carnal profit the same way men of the world.

The unregenerate gains profit out in the world he just bring it into the church. That's what Paul is saying to Timothy about sound doctrine. Here's one real powerful illustration from the New Testament in acts chapter 8 and I separate beginning in verse 18, that when Simon saw that the spirit was bestowed the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money sums it all went away the minute I see this apostles can do something. I don't know anything about. So I would give the money they give me the spiritual power verse 19 saying, give me this authority to me as well so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter Singh's motives are wrong. Verse 20.

But Peter said to him, but your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God money you have no part or portion in this matter. For your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours and pray the Lord that if possible. The intentions of your heart may be forgiven. You see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity Simon to give Mrs. Simon the magician answered and said, pray to the Lord for me yourself so that nothing of what you said may come upon me years ago when you say what's on the fish was saying was I going to get in this movement I see it has a lot of profitability to has a lot of praise of men in it and I'm good I'll even thought if I have to witness Peter site you've missed everything you're trying you have base motives misusing the things of God so selfish gain. So Paul tells Timothy in a direct way for the last time in this letter Timothy guard sound doctrine and guard against false teachers.

Those of you in ministry are low and by the way, if I could say this. Thank you for over these decades how you've stood with the elders as we have faced thing after thing.

Issue after issue that would lead us away from the main thing the Bible says is our calls is our mission now. It may be more important today than ever because increasingly there are young pastors all over looking to us for God's.

And if we compromise here. It'll be hard for them to not compromise here list be a good example of the glory of God that we might be part of spreading his truth and his gospel in his glory, to the very ends of the earth