Sermon Tone Analysis

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

[1]

Paul charged Timothy to remain in Ephesus, indicating that the young man was considering moving from that location.

Specifically, the young preacher was charged to remain in that port city so that he might confront one particular group of false teachers who were creating problems for the congregation.

The anticipated confrontation was not to consist entirely of negative statements; Timothy was to provide, as it were, the antidote of “sound doctrine.”

The membership of the congregation was to be inoculated against succumbing to error with “sound doctrine.”

Sound doctrine, literally healthy doctrine, will serve to guard against error.

One great fallacy of contemporary church life is the effort to “dialogue” with error.

Whenever false teachers spread their novel teaching, it has become de rigueur to endeavour to understand them—to understand why they feel the need to disseminate error and to understand what they are saying.

Students of the cults expend considerable energies trying to understand the motivation for the cultists’ execrable work—energies that would be far better spent in studying the Faith.

Consequently, elders who attempt to answer every false teacher will shortly discover they are incapable of keeping abreast of the plethora of strange new doctrines that seemingly multiply out of thin air.

I must wonder whether Timothy was frustrated as result of attempting to reason with those promoting gross error.

Nothing can be more discouraging, depressing, disheartening that attempting to reason with those who promote errant doctrine.

Often, they have become so invested in the error that any attempt at change threatens them at a visceral level.

Paul’s charge was couched in strong terms precisely because the consequence of leaving the church to the devices of those promoting error was too great for the Apostle to contemplate.

Thus, Timothy’s presence with the faithful in Ephesus was far more vital than the younger preacher could imagine.

Should he leave, the congregation would be defenceless against the erroneous teaching that even then threatened the church.

To permit the teaching to continue unchecked would assure that the church would shortly disappear from that community.

Before continuing into our study, I need to speak rather pointedly to problems resident among the churches of our Lord—problems bearing on the message.

Whenever those holding to errant doctrine are threatened, they respond with choler, attacking the character of the righteous.

When those so attacking the godly are themselves in positions of trust and authority within the congregation, the godly have but two choices—they may either submit to error, accepting the promotion of falsehoods as somehow honourable; or they may act with courage to quit the errant.

On other occasions, I have cited Charles Spurgeon as advising precisely the latter course.

The great man has written of his withdrawal from the Baptist Union, “As soon as I saw, or thought I saw, that error had become firmly established, I did not deliberate, but quitted the body at once.

Since then my one counsel has been, ‘Come ye out from among them.’

If I have rejoiced in the loyalty to Christ's truth which has been shown in other courses of action, yet I have felt that no protest could be equal to that of distinct separation from known evil.”

[2]

The situation confronting Timothy, however, is that of an elder facing errant teachers.

When challenged by such situations, the minister of Christ is compelled to take a stand.

For the sake of Him who appoints to holy service and for the sake of His holy flock, the man of God must point out the error, standing firm until it is evident that the people of God refuse to follow.

That is a different situation requiring a different response.

However, when the false teachers are first infiltrating, then the man of God must stand firm in opposition to them.

Standing firm is not to be done with choler or malice in the heart of the elder.

He must be motivated by love—love for the Master, love for the message of life, love for the people of God.

The object of the elder’s love will be evident by the manner in which he responds to error.

THE FALSE TEACHERS’ DOCTRINE AND LIVES — There are several verses that are vital to understanding what it means to be righteous or to be unrighteous that are found in the first letter attributed to the Apostle of Love.

Here is one such verse that is worthy of serious contemplation.

“If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” [1 JOHN 2:29].

Underscore that final clause in your mind: “You may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

John continues that theme soon after when he writes, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

Little children, let no one deceive you.

Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” [1 JOHN 3:4-10].

Consider one final passage found in this first letter from the pen of John.

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.

And why did he murder him?

Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.

Whoever does not love abides in death.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” [1 JOHN 3:11-16].

There is a relationship between the guiding principles for an individual’s life and the manner in which she lives.

What one believes influences the way that individual lives.

In short, beliefs matter.

If I fill my mind with thoughts of rebellion and anger, I will likely be an angry person who can never be content with what I have or with who I am.

If I feed my mind on pornography, I will disrespect others and set myself at the centre of life.

If I expend my energies on acquiring things, I will value possessions more than relationships.

Jesus warned of precisely such danger when He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body.

So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness” [MATTHEW 6:19-23]!

In this context, it is beneficial to remember something Jesus said as recorded by Mark.

“[Jesus] said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him.

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person’” [MARK 7:20-23].

The false teachers whom Timothy would need to confront were motivated by their own desires.

They appear to have sought adulation from people rather than commendation from God.

They were greedy for gain rather than seeking to honour the Master.

Let’s look at some specifics statements that expose those who were even then threatening the Ephesian congregation.

These false teachers wanted the praise of men rather than the praise of God.

Paul says they had a consuming desire “to be teachers of the law,” though they had no understanding either of what they were saying or concerning their confident assertions [1 TIMOTHY 1:7].

Their ambition exceeded their ability and their knowledge.

They were incapable of answering questions concerning morality and ethics since they were above their pay grade.

These ecclesiastical parasites fit the damning description Jesus gave of such individuals.

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others.

For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others” [MATTHEW 23:5-7].

They endeavoured to make people feel good about themselves, rather than declaring the whole counsel of God.

They were unwilling to call sinners to repentance, ignoring the truth that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” [1 TIMOTHY 1:15].

They preferred allowing sinners to perish in their sin rather than expose the sinful condition in which they were trapped.

They chose not to pursue holiness, choosing rather to be religious [cf. 1 TIMOTHY 4:6 ff.].

Controversy and quarrels about inconsequential matters marked their service [1 TIMOTHY 6:3 ff.].

These false teachers were masters of minutiae, ministers of the mundane.

Motivated by a desire for financial gain, they were concerned about the pay scale rather than the opportunity to serve [see 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10].

They shrank from the hard tasks of serving as ministers of the Gospel, seeking an easy life [see 1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16].

They were expert at avoiding contact with broken, hurting people, even while being noted as pompous and ostentatious in the pulpit.

Writing at perhaps the same time Paul was writing this letter to Timothy, Peter warned of such false teachers as those Timothy was confronting.

“False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.

Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” [2 PETER 2:1-3].

Earlier in his ministry, Paul confronted such errant teaching among the churches of Galatia.

At that time, he wrote, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” [GALATIANS 1:6-9].

Later in this same letter, the Apostle speaks quite sharply concerning these false teachers.