How important is it to warn people of the dangers of heresy? Are we overemphasizing the magnitude of the issue? Well, we are in good company then because the Apostle Paul stressed the issue over and over again. Time would not suffice to list everything Paul warned on the matter, but today, I think we can glean much about the danger of heresies from what Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy. Paul carefully discipled this young man and equipped him to lead and serve various New Testament churches. And a major part of that instruction was to constantly inform him about perilous heresies, and to warn him about specific heretics. Furthermore, Paul told him exactly what to do about them.
For instance 1Tim. 1:3-4 says – “Just as I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, to remain on at Ephesus so that you would instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to useless speculation rather than advance the plan of God, which is by faith, so I urge you now.” Clearly, Timothy was commanded to directly confront those who were in error. This is such a crucial ministry in the church, because men are prone to error, and in their pride they even promote those same errors to others. 1Tim. 1:6-7 says – “Some people have strayed from these things and have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
But herein is our question: Is it really that important to warn against these things? Of course it is! Paul knew that even little errors skew the whole picture of saving faith. Paul also knew who the author of those errors truly was. Fallen men don’t realize it, but in actuality, theological errors are demonic in origin: 1Tim. 4:1 – “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” It takes a loving and patient minister to point out errors of doctrine in the people he serves. No one wants to believe that they themselves have been taken in by demonic doctrine. Everyone thinks they are beyond that – they think they are smarter than that. Most people will not respond kindly to hearing a minister describe their own beliefs as damnable heresies. But nonetheless, that is exactly the service Paul called Timothy to render unto the church: 1Tim. 4:6 – “In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following.”
Paul later goes on to describe the nature of those persons who stubbornly hold to their heresies and continue to promote them: 1Tim. 6:3-5a – “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a sick craving for controversial questions and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth…” Reading these things about those who hold to heresy is incredibly sobering – and it should strengthen our resolve to stand against the lies they profess: 1Tim. 6:20-21 – “Timothy, protect what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thereby have gone astray from the faith.”
Paul ended his first letter to Timothy urging him to protect the purity of the Gospel message he was entrusted with, and that is right where Paul starts in the first chapter of his second letter to him: 2Tim. 1:13-14 – “Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” Apparently guarding against the dangers of heresies was not a small topic that only needed to be addressed once. Paul begins and ends with that warning, and all throughout both letters he addresses the issue, like in: 2Tim. 2:16-18 – “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place; and they are jeopardizing the faith of some.” Notice form that last passage that Paul directly names specific heretics and their specific heresies. Paul was not going to risk merely speaking in generalities, but he was willing to call a spade a spade!
If these lies were left unchecked, if these heretics were left unnamed, then their influence would grow: 2Tim. 3:13 – “But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The end result is that the church would be corrupted by that false doctrine. It would spread like “gangrene,” it would infect other doctrines, and it would pollute the minds of more and more people. Paul knew there was coming a day when people wouldn’t have patience for the truth, when heresy would be rampant, and heretics would be the preferred teachers: 2Tim. 4:3-4 – “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” Paul knew this was the case but that didn’t deter him. In light of these things he rather urged Timothy with even greater urgency to proclaim the truth, to confront the errors, and to warn against the ever present, and very real, danger of heresy. His repeated instruction to Timothy was: Warn them!
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