“Inasmuch as I exhorted you to remain in Ephesus, when [I was] traveling into Macedonia so that you should command certain persons not to teach heterodox doctrines and not be concerned about myths and endless genealogies which encourage useless speculations rather than instruction of God in faith.”

(1 Timothy 1:3-4)

Gee, things haven’t changed much. Here is the church in Ephesus was established in large part by Priscilla, Aquila, Apollos, and the Apostle Paul (see Acts 18:24-19:41). You don’t find much better of a pedigree than that when it comes to churches. The letter that Paul had addressed to the church, likely about 4-5 years before he wrote this letter to Timothy, was filled with imagery of the Gospel and closes with a reminder to put on the full armor of God to defend against the powers of darkness. Yet, as Paul is addressing Timothy, what is his first task? To deal with false teachings. How quickly such things find their way into the church in every age.

The theme of protecting against and destroying heterodox doctrines is one of the major motifs found in Paul’s writings. He chastises the Corinthian church because they have put up with eloquent speakers preaching a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different gospel than the one he taught (2 Corinthians 11:1-6). He tells the Galatian church that he is horrified that they have so quickly deserted the true gospel and that any teaching (even if it came from an Angel) that is contrary to his teaching, is to be accursed (Galatians 1:6-9). Twice, in this letter, Paul speaks to Timothy about the same. Never once in the scriptures do we find an instruction to tolerate false teachers or false teachings. Not once are we commanded to be polite to those who proclaim a false gospel. At no point in the Bible are God’s people taught that they are to consider those who hold to a heterodox teaching to be fellow believers. No, we are to strive to take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5; Matthew 28:20). 

And, how is Timothy to do this? Is he encouraged to persuade people not to teach false doctrines? Does Paul exhort him to preach truth so that the people of Ephesus can hear both sides of the debate and decide for themselves? No! Paul tells Timothy to “command” these people not to teach heterodoxy! The Greek word translated as “command” in this text is παραγγέλλω (parangello). It means “to give orders, to command, to insist that it be done.” It is military language that leaves no room for negotiation. God commands our obedience through His Word and we are expected to obey and not look for wiggle room because people are nice, traditions are fulfilling, or they sing the songs we happen to like. No, we are to obey, but how few professing Christians understand that principle and how many make excuses for their own disobedience?

What are the marks of those who teach a heterodox doctrine? The first thing that Paul says is that they concern themselves with myths or fables. Remember, this is the Greco-Roman culture of which we are speaking. Stories of gods and goddesses abound and in the early church, gnostic religions sought to combine elements of Christianity with the fables, myths, and philosophies of the Greeks. We may be tempted to wipe a bead of sweat off of our brow upon hearing this, because surely we don’t have those who are devoted to myths in our culture. Think again. Any teaching that is grounded in something other than scripture becomes a form of mythology. There are churches that have idols in them, statues and pictures of Christ that are meant to aide devotion. These are clearly contrary to the Second Commandment and are again a form of mythology. In the Greek language, anything that constitutes a fictional narrative is considered a form of myth. Thus, any doctrine or practiced based on a fictional narrative, falls under the category of those teaching heterodoxy.

Yet, we are not done. Paul also speaks about “endless genealogies.” What are these? In the Jewish church, people often fell into the trap of thinking that because they had a proper birthright or could trace themselves back to Abraham, that they were special and favored by God. Paul utterly demolished this teaching when he wrote that not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring (Romans 9:7) and that those who have faith in Jesus are the true children of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). How many people in our churches view themselves as favored because they have a long history in the church? How many churches give deference to old families over the plain teaching of Scripture? How many people think that because their parents were Christians or that they are going to heaven as well? As some older preachers used to say, “God has no grandchildren, only sons and daughters.” Of course, Satan has no grandchildren either. 

What does heterodoxy encourage? Useless speculation. Note, there are times we may draw inferences based on Scripture and speculate based on what we know from the Word and from history or natural theology, but these speculations are not useless so long as they are clearly grounded in the Word. Useless speculations are grounded in the minds of men. So, when inferences or speculations take place in church, where are they grounded? Are they grounded in the clear teaching of the Word or in the fantasies of men? In the end, useless speculation detracts from focusing on the Word. Dare I ask, how much of your church service is clearly the Word of God and how much is based on the words of men. How many sermons have you heard that simply use a scripture verse as a jumping-off point for the preacher to talk about whatever he wanted to talk about?

Instead of these things, what is the purpose of the church? Paul writes that it is the instruction of God in faith. The Greek word he uses here is ὀικονομία (oikonomia). Literally, this means “house-law.” What are the rules of the house? How is the household to be ordered? Paul is simply stating that heterodox teaching skews or provides a lopsided and distorted view of how life is to be ordered in the household of God. And, what is the starting point of the right view? It is faith. It is not faith plus works nor is it works alone. It is faith alone. Paul will go on to develop those things that are marks of a church rightly ordered according to God’s law, but for now, we conclude with a simple question: who rules your church? Is it Christ? If so, all things must be done in a manner that is submissive to the Word of God. Are they?