Doctrine Matters

“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk.” (1 Timothy 1:3-6)

Pastor Timothy was the pastor in Ephesus—the largest and most important city in what we call Turkey. Paul himself had served the congregation in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, and it sounds like Paul returned there on a fourth missionary trip, before leaving Timothy behind to lead the congregation.

It wouldn’t be easy for Timothy to serve a diverse group of new Christians in the middle of a diverse city. If Paul were to follow the advice of our world today, he might have written to Timothy: “Try to get along with everyone. Don’t get bogged down in little details. It’s okay to agree to disagree…”

Is that what Paul wrote? Absolutely not! Instead, he encouraged Timothy to “command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer.” Doctrine matters! Every teaching of God’s Word matters. The Bible urges Christian pastors to command false teachers to stop teaching false doctrines.

We don’t know exactly which false doctrines were being shared in Ephesus in those days, except that they had to do with “myths and endless genealogies.” Perhaps people were using dates and ages to try to predict future events. All this “speculation” was contrary to what God wanted: Faith in his Word.

That’s what all false doctrine does. Every false teaching distracts us from the Bible’s true message of salvation through faith in Jesus. That makes every false teaching dangerous. Doctrine matters!

Notice the goal: Love. “The goal of this command is love.” To point out false teaching isn’t mean. It’s love. How? It’s love for God and his precious Word. It’s love for the false teachers and their souls. They need to repent! It’s love for our church, so that no one be led away from the truth of Jesus’ salvation. 

A “pure heart” and a “good conscience” and a “sincere faith” lead Christians to care about every teaching of God’s Word. Doctrine matters!

Dear Holy Spirit, our world today is still filled with false teachings. Don’t let our hearts ever be led away from Jesus and his salvation. Give us courage to stand up for every teaching in your Word. Amen.

Pastor Nathan