There are a lot of counterfeit gospels out there today. Have you noticed? The problem with a counterfeit is that it only needs to be a little bit wrong to still be wrong. It doesn’t take a major error to go off course. Take a ship, for example. A course adjustment of only a degree or two doesn’t make a drastic change right away, but the destination will be miles away from what is intended.
In our passage for this week, Paul started off his letter to Timothy by encouraging him to avoid such counterfeits. Take a look at 1 Timothy 1:3-5.
My wife and I had the opportunity to visit the Treasury Department when we were in Washington DC a few years ago. It was pretty fascinating learning about our nation’s currency.
One thing that really stood out to me was how counterfeit money is identified. Treasury agents don’t study counterfeit money in order to identify counterfeit money. If they studies the fakes, they wouldn’t be able to identify new fakes because they wouldn’t know their distinct characteristics. Instead, they study the real thing; they know legitimate money intimately.
By knowing the real thing so well, they can spot a fake almost immediately.
Paul is telling Timothy the same thing here. Timothy is to instruct certain men not to teach counterfeit messages. They are worthless, only creating controversy and problems.
What were these men teaching?
Strange Doctrines – These were teachings that went directly opposite of what the disciples taught.
Myths – This might refer to legendary stories about supernatural beings. Ephesus was a part of the Roman Empire in Paul’s day, and was located in Asia Minor. Timothy’s congregation would have been familiar with both Greek and Roman mythology, and may have tried to incorporate these stories, along with Jewish myths into their newfound faith.
Genealogies – Most likely, some of the Ephesian believers were trying to exclude certain people based on their pedigree. If they couldn’t trace their family in a certain direction, the were looked on with disdain. Paul instructs Timothy to make sure all people are included, because God includes all people.
The goal of this instruction? Love. Love stands in stark contrast to envy and strife, which are the products of these false teachings.
Paul’s instructions to Timothy ring as true today as they did then. With so many “alternative” to our faith available, some of which are glaringly false, others more subtly so, we must avoid false teachings and instead spend our time getting to know the real thing, Christ and his Word, intimately.
What are you doing to accomplish this?
What is your method for getting to know the real thing intimately? How do you study the Word? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.