a man totally committed to the sufficiency of Christ and the sufficiency of Scripture…

Have you ever heard these words in a sermon? “It’s your season for your blessing!” Maybe you’re more familiar with this, “The Lord says if you will sow a 100.00 seed offering that He will open the windows of heaven for you!” If those two sayings are not familiar to you then I’m sure this one is, “Money cometh to me now!”

Most of you who visit this site regularly are probably going to shake your head in sadness at this foolishness. Some of you who are just passing through will ask, “What’s wrong with this? Doesn’t the bible say these things?” The answer to your question would be, “NO, it doesn’t”. I would also add that if you really thought the bible said these things that you are in more danger of hell’s fire then you know.

So the question I hope is on your mind is this: “If this is not found in the bible, where does this stuff come from?” I’ll let the word of God tell you:

“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” 1 Timothy 6:3-5

In 1 Timothy we have a pastor who is also an Apostle, Missionary, and teacher himself warning a young pastor about false teachers. Paul is not telling Timothy that we should just love everybody regardless of what they believe and welcome them into fellowship. He is not telling Timothy that false teachers are just a little confused and you just need to allow them to find the truth on their own as they fleece the flock. Paul is warning is Timothy about a false teacher’s doctrine, character, and desires.

False teachers do not teach the word of God with a Christ centered hermeneutic. Like Paul said, “They do not agree with the sounds words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness.” They do not teach that a man should examine themselves in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not call men to repentance; instead they call men to believe in themselves and try to be a better person. They do not teach the truth about sin and its serious consequences, instead they teach men to pursue their dreams and be true to themselves. This is so dangerous because the bible clearly teaches:

“For by a single offering He (Christ) has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14

God clearly says that those who are being sanctified (to be set apart from sin and set aside to God) are those who Christ has made perfect (saved) for all time. False teachers teach men to follow their hearts which is the same as saying follow your desires or passions. That is not the fruit of sanctification which would cause us to have a renewed mind (by the studying of and submission to the word of God) to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God according to Romans 12:1-2.

Next Paul deals with the character of false teachers. False teachers are puffed up with foolishness yet they understand nothing. They come across as learned men who pride themselves in knowledge, but the knowledge they have is nothing more than doctrine of demons. Have you ever heard Rob Bell speak or Rick Warren peddling his false propose driven life drivel? These men are not stupid, they know exactly what they teach and they know exactly how to twist scripture, which is why false teaching today is so much more subtle. satan, in the garden, knew exactly how to talk to Eve to cause her to fall in to sin. He used the words of God to propagate his deception. This deception is only able to overcome those who have not been regenerated, those who are still depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.

They dress up in their long religious garb and carry crosses and other useless paraphernalia deceiving people into thinking they are true representatives of God but like Jude says they are water-less clouds promising rain but actually giving nothing. Promising money and fortune but only providing death and destruction. Their very character is just like their father satan, who was a liar from the beginning!

The last character that Paul deals with is the desire of a false teacher:

“Imagining that godliness is a means of gain………But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 1 Timothy 6:5, 9-10

False teachers desire money plain and simple. This is nothing new so we shouldn’t be surprised about it. All false Christians desire the things of this world. Do you remember Demas who left the Apostle Paul?

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” 2 Timothy 4:10

Demas loved this things of this world, he loved them so much that he deserted Paul in his time of need (while Paul was in prison) to pursue his ungodly desires. The fact that Paul was in chains and suffering, wasn’t enough to keep Demas from following the lust of his flesh. This proves that those who have emotional experiences apart from the true knowledge of Jesus Christ in repentance and faith will ultimately defect. For those who are in the flesh cannot please God, they cannot mortify the deeds of the flesh. They cannot follow Christ. The truth of where a false Christian’s heart is will eventually become known.

But thank the Lord that Paul did not stop there he also gave Timothy some words of encouragement:

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12

I love how the word of God differentiates between those who make professions of faith and those who make a confession of faith. In Romans 10:9 we are called to “confess” (not profess) the Lord Jesus Christ. These words mean two different things. To profess something means to declare something falsely. To confess something means to acknowledge faith in something. Paul calls Timothy to lay hold to eternal life that he confessed was in the Lord Jesus Christ! To do that means we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. Those who won’t do this have a stern warning from Christ:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27

Amen…..