1 TIMOTHY 6:1-52007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Timothy 6:1-5

And now...

And now as he has been talking about those different groups and different types of people for Timothy to relate to, now he begins to share with Timothy two more types of people that we'll look at this morning. Those who are employees or those who are bond servants and those who are troublemakers, really those who are false teachers or divisive people within the church.

And so Paul will be sharing with Timothy about these two groups of people. And may I remind you, as we begin our study this morning, that you are a Timothy, that God has called you just like he called Timothy to be an example.

And he's called you to make disciples and he's placed people in your life that are there specifically for you to train up in the ways of God. They're there so that you could teach them how to walk with God and to obey all that he has commanded us.

These things are not just for you as an individual to practice, although that is true. You need to relate to people in these ways and deal with these situations according to what Paul has been sharing. But these are also the things that you need to pass on to those that God has called you to disciple.

Those co-workers and family members, those friends and neighbors that God has placed there and he's given you influence in their life and you are able to minister to them spiritually.

These are the things that you're to teach them. These are the things that you're to encourage them in. These are the things that you're to help them walk in and be obedient to the Lord in these areas. And so they're very important for us in both aspects, for our own lives personally. And also, as we share with others, we get the content, we get the understanding of what we need to be sharing and the things that we need to pass on.

There's three things this morning that I want to discuss with you from this portion of Scripture. The first one, it's the command to us based on verses 1 and 2, and that is that you need to be a witness in the workplace. Paul is sharing with Timothy about bondservants.

And he says in verse one, let as many bond servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor so that the name of God and his doctrine may not be blasphemed. The word bond servants here is a word that means servant or slave.

It's talking about one who renders service to another, whether that's free or voluntary service or a service that is obligated based upon some type of debt or owing. In those days in the Roman Empire, there was a great many slaves and servants of this nature.

It was considered to be a huge class of people, probably 60 million strong, they guess, of people who were in this category of bond servants, slaves or servants to masters. They were either indebted to them and seeking to pay off their debt or they had found themselves in some type of difficult situation. And so this is the way that they made their living.

Their master would supply their needs and supply their food and all of those things. It would not be slavery perhaps like we think of in the sense of American history, but their needs would be provided for and it would be a way of working off their debt while they were able to have room and board. And so these bond servants...

as we look at this group of people throughout the New Testament, we can understand and correlate that to today as the employee and employer relationship. The relationship between servants and masters here in the New Testament is really the same relationship that is to exist between employees and employers of today. And so we can look at these things and discover that

What are we called to do as Christian employees, as those who work for others? What is our attitude to be and what is our work ethic to be? It's something the New Testament has a lot to say about this. In Ephesians chapter 6 verses 5 through 8, Paul deals with this subject of bond servants. And then again in Colossians chapter 3 verses 22 through 24.

Here in 1 Timothy chapter 6 we have it. It's also again in Titus chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. And then Peter deals with it in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 18 and 19. All these portions dealing with this same subject and basically have the same thrust, the same message.

That is, as employees, as bond servants to those who have masters or bosses or supervisors, you are to be obedient, you're to honor, you're to serve them as you would serve God, whether they are good or bad masters. That's the essence of what all of these passages say. Paul says here,

As many bond servants as are under the yoke, that's all of them, all the bond servants, let them count their own masters worthy of all honor. As a Christian, you and I are to count our bosses, our supervisors, our masters worthy of all honor. We're familiar with this word honor because we looked at it just last week as we shared and discussed how

The elders were to be treated and regarded within the body of Christ. They were to be honored and they were to be respected and obeyed. It's the same word that's used here in talking about the masters, those that we serve, those who are over us in authority within the workplace.

Just as you are to honor and respect and obey your spiritual leaders, you are to honor and respect and obey your earthly boss. He says, count them worthy of all honor. Count them, it means to impute to them. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are very honorable, but because of their position, because of their role, because of the authority that they have, you're to count them worthy of all honor.

Why? I know that could be a difficult thing for some of us and some of the bosses we've had throughout the years. Why are we to count them worthy of all honor? Why are we to have this respect and reverence and obedience towards these people who have been our supervisors and bosses? These people who have authority in the workplace. Paul tells us why there at the end of verse one. He says so that the name of God and his doctrine may not be blasphemed.

See, here's the point. You are a Christian. The name Christian means little Christ. In claiming to be a Christian, you take on the name of Christ. You represent Christ. Well, there's a saying that says you may be the only Bible that people ever read.

by looking at your life, by watching what you do, by observing you and your conduct, that might be the most exposure to a Bible that a person will ever have. Because you represent God. You act on behalf of God because you call yourself a Christian. You take his name. And in taking his name, now you represent him. And so Paul says you need to be careful so that his name that you have taken is not blasphemed.

That you don't cause people to reject God because of the way that you have behaved, of the way that you have conducted yourself within the workplace. So you understand, as you become a Christian, as you want to follow the Lord, it changes our perspective on things. No longer is your goal and whole point of life to get ahead and climb the corporate ladder, although you might and God may allow for that.

But you need to understand that the most important thing to God is not what level you are within the workplace, but the people that you're working with and that you would share with them his love, that you would share with them the gospel message, not necessarily with words, but by how you live your life, whether your boss is good or bad or deserves it or has it coming to him. God's more concerned about his salvation, right?

than his unjust practices or the things that he's doing. He's more concerned about his salvation than where he goes in the workplace. The whole point is there's things that transcend this life. And I know bosses can be frustrating and difficult, but you need to think not on the earthly plane.

When everybody else, all the other employees are disgruntled and discouraged and, you know, morale is low and and man, this person, that and that person, this your mind is not to be on those things, but your mind is to be set on eternity. See, the most important thing is, OK, where are they going to spend eternity?

And how can I make a difference in that? How can I impact them if they're not believers, which is what Paul is dealing with here? Those Christians who are working for those who are not believers, how do I minister to them?

How can I reach out to them? That's more important than whatever happens within the workplace or what things they've done against me or what wrongs they've committed. More importantly is I'm here and I have a position, a role that I'm able to be an example and represent God and demonstrate to them the love of God. If you could think about it this way, remember the Apostle Paul, who is radically opposed to the Christian church.

Yet, God spoke to him on the road to Damascus as he's going there to arrest more Christians. God knocks him off his horse. And so he becomes blind as a result of his encounter with the Lord. He goes into Damascus, led by his servants. And then God speaks to this other guy, Ananias. Ananias, I want you to go. There's a man named Saul, Saul of Tarsus. And you need to go to this house and lay hands on him and pray for him that he may receive his sight.

And then Ananias says, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out, Lord. Hang on here for a second, because don't you know who this guy is and what he's done and that he could kill me and hurt me and take me captive back to Jerusalem? Lord, don't you know who this guy is? But what was God more concerned about? Saul's salvation and what he could do for the kingdom of God or what he would go on to do for the kingdom of God.

Yeah, your boss may have done a lot of bad things or difficult things. He may be, you know, one of the hardest persons you've ever had to work for. But God's concerned about their salvation. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how difficult or how complicated or how unjust. Paul says, let as many bond servants as are under the yoke count their masters worthy of all honor. Why? So that the name of God and his doctrine may not be blasphemed.

You are to be obedient to your boss. You're to honor and respect your boss, your supervisor, those who are over you in the workplace so that you may accurately represent God so that his name will not be blasphemed so that your boss or as your supervisors are gathered together. Yeah, you know, those Christians don't want to hire those guys. Laziest people. They object to everything. They're so difficult. And that can happen within the workplace.

It can happen because often we do not represent God well. See, the issue here is that a disrespectful and lazy employee is a bad witness and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the people. Why would they want to turn to your God when look at how you represent him? Look at what your God has done for you.

You're slack and lazy. You barely show up or, you know, whenever you feel like it, projects are, you know, not done all the time. Your desk is a mess. Why would they want to have that type of relationship with God? They have lots of those sloppy employees without Christ in their life. There's no difference. But the Christian is to be different in the workplace. The Christian is to be different.

I like what William Barclay had to say in regards to this. He said, Barclay says,

The one who shows the right amount of honor and respect. The one that the supervisor or boss can count on. And that his aim is not to be, well, how little can I do? How little will I get them to squeeze out of me? I just want to skate by as little as possible. I'm not really feeling like working today. I'm just going to check some emails and answer some phones. I'm going to go hang out in the break room for a little bit. Hey, I've been there.

That's not to be the model of the Christian. That's not the way that we're to represent God. It's to be how much can I do for this boss, for this supervisor, for this authority that God has placed in my life. Being a witness in a workplace is not getting on top of your desk and preaching or even using company time to talk to other people about God. But being a witness in the workplace is about working hard, being submitted to your boss, being

Counting them worthy of all honor. In Colossians chapter 3, verses 22 through 24, one of the portions I referred to earlier, it says this about bondservants. Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men.

I won't go into all the other portions, but you get the picture. Count them worthy of all honor. Hey, obey your masters in all things, not with thy service. So not just when they're looking over your shoulder, even when they're out of town, even when they're not going to find out, represent their wishes, fulfill them, be obedient to them in sincerity of heart. Let it be your heart's desire. I want to do my best.

Let it be your heart's desire to please God by being fully submitted to those who are your masters according to the flesh. Those who are in this life on this earth ruling or having authority over you. He says, whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. The way you work at the workplace is the way you serve the Lord. Now, we don't think of it in those terms many times, but it's true. Do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men.

Do it with all your heart, serving God, and you'll be a good witness. And they won't blaspheme the name of God or his doctrine. That word blaspheme means to speak evil of or to hurt the reputation. Man, I don't want to be the one who hurts the reputation of God. I want to be one who represents him well. Do you hurt God's reputation by how you work? Do you cause people to speak evil of the Lord?

And those who follow the Lord because of the way that you work, instead we're called to help God's reputation by being the best employee that we can be, by serving the Lord with all of our hearts as we serve our bosses. Going on in verse 2, he says,

Paul goes on now in talking about those who are bond servants, not just those who have unbelieving masters, but now he deals with those who, well, your boss is a believer. Your supervisor is a Christian. Your brothers and sisters in the Lord. And Paul says, OK, there's some special things to consider here as well.

If you work in a workplace where there's other Christians or where your supervisors are Christians, then you need to take care that you do not despise them because they are brethren. That word despise literally just means to think little of. It's the same word Paul used in 1 Timothy 4.12 where he tells Timothy, let no one despise your youth. Let no one think little of your age or your youth.

And in the workplace, you are not to despise your Christian boss. That is, you're not to think less of your boss or honor your boss less because they are a believer. See, just because they're a believer doesn't give you the right to work half as hard.

Well, yeah, if it's a non-believer, you know, I need to be a good witness. I need to represent the Lord. So I'm going to work real hard. I'm going to do good. But, oh, now I've got a believing boss. Well, see, he's already a believer. So the job's done. I don't have to be such a great witness. And so I can just, you know, skate through. I don't have to be that great of a witness. He's already saved. The work is already done. Hallelujah. I can just, you know, relax.

If that were the case, then all of us would just strive to get Christian bosses, right? So we could just skate through on nothing and hardly do any work. Paul says, no, don't think less of your boss because they're a believer. Don't honor them less, but you're to honor them the same. Count them worthy of all honor. Another way that we could despise or think little of a Christian boss is, you know, there's concepts in the Bible and in church that don't really exist in the workplace. Concepts like grace, right?

Your boss sits you down. This is the third time this week you've been late. Grace. I need grace. Come on. I was up early praying with my wife. And, you know, we just started praying for you and we prayed a long time. Don't think little of. You know, I can't make it in today because I've got this church event. This church. You know how it is. You know, it's really important. Souls depend on this. I mean, I'm involved in this outreach. We could come up with all kinds of things.

Paul says, hey, don't despise. Don't think less of your boss because they're a believer. Serve them with all your heart, just as you would if they were not believers, because you know that those who benefit are believers. Your job is to make your boss look good by doing your job well.

Do it. Let them look good. Let them get the credit. Let them get the glory. Because they're believers. They benefit. You should rejoice in that. And so we're not to change the way that we work simply because they're a believer. But we're to give the same honor that we would if they did not follow the Lord. So the first thing Paul shares with us this morning is about the employee and the way that they're to relate to the employer.

to their boss, to their master, that we're to be a good witness. And so we need to be a witness in the workplace. The second thing we find, though, that I want to discuss with you this morning is found at the very end of verse two, verse two. It says, teach and exhort these things. And so that's the second point this morning. Teach and exhort these things.

Paul is sharing with Timothy about the employees and the bond servants and how they're to relate. But then he ends it by saying, teach and exhort these things. He's redirecting now, changing the subject. Timothy, let me remind you, these are the things that you need to teach. These are the things that you need to exhort. And again, may I remind you that you are a Timothy.

That you are called to make disciples. That you've been placed in people's lives so that you can minister to them. There's a spiritual authority that you have so that you can lead. That you can be an influence and you can teach them how to walk with God. And so you need to know these are the things that you need to teach and exhort. You are to be an example. You're not just to be an employee, but also a spiritual leader.

You are to live out these things individually, but then also you're to take them and pass them on to those that God has entrusted to you, those that you are called to disciple. And so as you are learning how to be a good employee and representing God, then those people in your life that you're ministering to, you're to teach them and disciple them how to be good employees in their workplace. But it's not just limited to that.

He says, teach and exhort these things. What things is Paul talking about? Well, I believe that we can find some insight based upon the words that Paul used here in the passage that we're studying. Chapter six, verses one through five. He uses the word doctrine twice in this portion of scripture, and he uses the word godliness twice in this portion of scripture. These two words kind of are intertwined together throughout the passage.

And it's the same way if we look back just a little bit in 1 Timothy to chapter 4. These things connect all the way back to chapter 4 and all that Paul has been talking about to Timothy. In 1 Timothy chapter 4,

Verse six, it says, if you instruct the brethren again, teach and exhort these things. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine, which you have carefully followed. Verse seven, but reject profane and old wives fables and exercise yourself toward godliness.

Paul tells Timothy, these are the things you're to instruct and then you'll be a good minister. The good doctrine, which you have carefully followed. And hey, also, you need to exercise yourself towards godliness. Doctrine and godliness go hand in hand. What you believe about God, what you believe about the Bible, what you believe from the word of God will affect your godliness, the way that you live your life.

In representation of God. Doctrine and godliness go hand in hand. It's what Paul's been encouraging Timothy about. And it connects it all the way to where we are in chapter 6, verses 1 through 5, where Paul has been saying, look, these are the things that you need to do. These are the things that you need to know that you can live life right, that you can live the godly life. Also in verse 16 of chapter 4,

Paul says, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.

Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. So all throughout, Paul is saying, okay, this is important for you, but it's also important for those who hear you. You need to take care of your life and your doctrine and what you believe. Make sure you walk in godliness and are an example so that those who follow you, those who receive from you, that they'll be able to do the same and put the same things in practice. You need to make sure that you watch your doctrine.

What you believe and how you live the godliness in your life. And so Paul is telling Timothy, hey, the things that I've been telling you, they are for you, but also for those that you exhort and teach. What has Paul been telling Timothy? Well, enter chapter five. Hey, Timothy, here's how you are to treat older men and older women. Timothy, here's how you're to treat younger men and younger women. Here's how you're to treat widows.

Here's how a person is to provide for their own family. Here's how you're to honor and respect spiritual leaders. And here's how to be a good employee. Timothy, these things are for you, but they're for those who hear you. These are the things that you're to teach. These are the things that you're to live. It's all intertwined. You're to live the things that you teach based upon the things that are found in the word of God. Doctrine produces godliness.

It's why it's so important for us to study the word and know what God has to say. But then it's not enough to just leave it there. OK, now put feet on it. OK, treat this person that way and live out this way and do this. And then as you do that, then you can pass on those things. Timothy, teach and exhort these things. Those people in your life that God has placed there, they need to know how to treat them.

Older men and women and younger men and women and how to relate to widows and how important it is to provide for your own family. They need to know how to honor spiritual leaders and be a good employee. Timothy, these things are not just for you, but but you need to command these things and share these things and teach people how to walk in these things. These are the things you need to do and to teach. So first we find Paul says, be a witness in the workplace. And second, he says, teach and exhort these things.

You know, when you come in contact with people, when you have conversations with people, make sure you center them around the word of God. Make sure you're teaching and exhorting the things that are found in chapter five or in chapter six or in chapter one or in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. Make sure that you are teaching and exhorting the things that are taught throughout the word of God.

It's one thing to be friends and have good conversations and talk about this or that and how the football team is doing or what's going on. And I don't know sports, but all the different things that we could talk about. That's great. And there's a place for that. But don't let your relationships consist only of that. Teach and exhort. God's put you there for that purpose. You're called to be a spiritual leader. You are a Timothy. There's those people in your life and you may not think so.

But God has placed you there to be an example, to disciple, to teach them to observe what God has commanded. So teach and exhort. Come alongside the people in your life. Share with them what God's word says. That word exhort is a great word. It means to come alongside, and it can be used in a variety of contexts. It can mean to come alongside to encourage, to uplift, to correct, to turn around, to

to instruct. That's what we're to do. There's people in your life. They're younger in the Lord than you, perhaps. And they need someone to come alongside them and help them lift them up. Sometimes, sometimes turn them around and get them going back the right direction, adjusting their course a little bit. Teach and exhort these things. Don't just be involved in the chit chat, but get into some substance.

And share with them what God says. And when you see things in their life that are out of line according to the word of God, help them get back on track. Share with them what God's word has to say. The great thing about this word exhort, again, it means to come alongside. It's not a condemning or a jumping upon or laying down the law. But it's coming alongside to offer the helping hand. To help bear one another's burdens.

It's a way of, with gentleness, encouraging and helping someone to walk in the ways of God. That's what we're called to do. Teach and exhort these things, Timothy. That's you. God has called you to do that. The third thing we find in verses 3 through 5, and that is withdraw from false teachers. It's from the last part of verse 5 where Paul tells us to withdraw from

From from such withdraw yourself. So withdraw from false teachers. We find the beginning of this in verse three. It says, if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ into the doctrine with which accords with godliness. And he'll go on in just a moment, but we'll stop here for a second. He's just finished saying, teach and exhort these things. Now, on the other hand.

If there's anyone who teaches otherwise, who doesn't teach and exhort these things, if they teach something else, then you are to withdraw from that type of person. This is the beginning of the description of the people that you're to withdraw yourself from. And you need to understand as a Christian, there are going to be some people that you are not to have fellowship with.

That you're not to be buddy-buddy with. Doesn't mean we have to be rude and disrespectful. But we're to be careful in our relationships. And there are those that we're called to withdraw from. Specifically, those who teach otherwise. Those who teach other than what we found here in chapter 5 or chapter 6 or somewhere else in the Word of God. There has always been and there always will be people who come into the church that teach something different.

Paul warned the Ephesians of this. Remember, Timothy is in Ephesus. He's there ministering. And Paul, interestingly enough, warned the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20 of the danger of people coming in to bring division. There are those people who will come in to this church and to any other church who are disruptive. They bring division and they're very dangerous people.

They can wreak havoc within the church. Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock. Why? He says in verse 29 of Acts 20, for I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Paul tells the Ephesian elders, hey, watch out.

I'm going off to Jerusalem. There's, you know, going to be some difficult days ahead for me. I'm not going to be as accessible, perhaps, as I once was. And I know that as I go off, as I start this new phase and you guys are more on your own, there's a danger. There's going to be those savage wolves who come in from the outside and they're not going to spare the flock.

You need to understand that there are those who will deceive and lead people away and cause them to walk a path that leads them to hell. There are false teachers. There's false doctrines. There are those who would turn people away from the Lord, who would turn people away from salvation in Jesus Christ. We need to be on our guard. We need to take heed. We need to withdraw ourselves.

From those false teachers. But that's not all. Paul goes on in Acts chapter 20 verse 30. He says also. From among yourselves. Men will rise up. Speaking perverse things. To draw away the disciples after themselves. So there's two scenarios here. The first hand. There's those who will come in from the outside. And they won't spare the flock. They don't care about the flock. They're not seeking the benefit of the flock. They're just out to destroy.

Because it says, Jesus said, hey, the enemy comes to steal and to kill and destroy. They come teaching other things. They're not teaching the word of God. They're not following his word. They're not holding steadfastly to what the Bible says. And so they've deviated from what God has said. And they don't care. They will not spare the flock. But even more scary, Paul says, that's not all. Also, from among yourselves...

Then we'll rise up speaking perverse things. Why? To draw men or draw away disciples after themselves. So there's the danger from without, but there's also the danger from within. There's a danger of someone within this fellowship, within this body or within your family or within the circle of people that you know. There's the danger of people rising up. Now, Paul is speaking to the elders, right?

of Ephesus. Picture this for a moment. It's much like when Jesus was there with his disciples and saying, one of you will betray me. The elders are there and he says, from among yourselves, men will rise up. There will be those leaders that will rise up and they will begin not to seek after the things of God.

Not seeking to make disciples to follow God, but it says that they will draw away the disciples after themselves. It becomes a power trip.

Those who would gather people to themselves rather than sending people to the Lord. That's our job. In our call to make disciples, that doesn't mean we gather all these people to ourselves and, okay, you're my flock, listen to me. No, what our job is, is to teach people, Jesus says, teach them to observe all the things that I commanded. That's Jesus.

You're to teach them to go to Jesus, to teach them to follow him, to be obedient to him, to listen to him, to walk with him. That's our job. That's our role as disciples. But these will come and will decide perhaps those that we've known, perhaps those that we've trusted or confided in, or perhaps those that are dear to us. From among ourselves, men will rise up seeking to draw away disciples after themselves.

There's a great danger. Always has been, always will be because of the corruption of our hearts. And so Paul says, you need to know how to deal with it when that situation happens. You need to know how to relate to those people and you need to withdraw from false teachers. Withdraw. If anyone teaches otherwise, and he goes on to say, and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So first of all, they teach otherwise. But Paul goes on to say not only that, but they don't consent to wholesome words. They don't consent to the words of Jesus Christ. They don't agree with. They don't pay attention to. They're not obedient to the words of Jesus Christ. Now, last week we dealt with how to approach a person in sin from Matthew chapter 18. This is the same thing.

They don't consent to wholesome words. The idea here is, hey, you have approached them. You've shown them biblically where they're off, but they do not consent. They won't agree. They do not turn from their false teaching. They won't submit to the words of Jesus. You're to withdraw from those, to remove yourself from those. And they don't consent to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he says at the end of verse 3. So they've rejected God.

The basic doctrine, the words of Jesus, the wholesome words that you have to offer and sharing with them and encouraging them to come back to the biblical standard. And they don't consent. They don't agree. Paul says you need to withdraw from those who do not consent to the doctrine, again, which accords with godliness, the doctrine, the teaching that leads to right living, because that's the problem with false doctrine.

It leads to the way that you live. If you believe falsely, well, you will live contrary to the truth. It will impact your life, what you do, and how you relate to others. And that's why it's so important for us to know the Word of God. This is our test. This is the standard. Because this is where we find the truth.

Paul tells Timothy later in 2 Timothy 2.15 to study to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Listen, if you or I get caught up in false teaching, we will become workers that are ashamed when we stand before God. Can you picture that for just a moment? Standing before God, Lord, I blew it. It was right there in your word, but I deviated from it. I turned from it.

And the result is shame in regards to the actions that that resulted. Paul tells Timothy, hey, you need to study to show yourself approved unto God. You need to study the Word of God. You need to learn how to rightly divide it. It's not just taking a verse here, a verse there, but what does the whole thing say? What does God teach throughout His Word regarding this subject, regarding this teaching? As you learn how to rightly divide or cut it straight, you won't have to be ashamed.

Because you held fast to what God taught. The word of God is the test. The word of God is our standard. Understand that this is important because false teaching, where does it come from? What do they use to teach false doctrine? They use the Bible. But they twist and tug and pull and stretch and cross out some things and overemphasize other things. It comes from the Bible, but it's not true.

In accordance with it's not cutting it straight. It's not rightly dividing the word of God. It's cutting out just the portion that they favor and holding on to that, to the neglect of what the rest of the word has to say. And so we need to hold fast to the whole counsel of God. And that's what Paul would go on to tell the Ephesian elders there in Acts 20. Hey, I haven't shunned to declare to you the whole counsel. I've taught you the whole thing. You know it. So hold fast to it.

Watch out for yourself and for the flock. Isaiah chapter 8 verse 20. Isaiah gives the warning that we need to take heed to. He says to the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. If they don't speak according to the word, it's because there's no light in them. You know, there's a saying, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I don't know the origin of that phrase. Tammy and I were talking about origins of phrases, but actually I just remembered it. They would take a big tub, and this is not relevant at all, but it just is interesting. They would take a big tub, and the whole family would take a bath, starting with the dad, the parents, and then the kids. And so the last one would be the small baby. And by that time, you know, you only take a bath once a month. And so the water is pretty dirty. And so...

If you don't notice the baby's in there, you might throw the baby out with the bathwater because it's dark and you can't see the baby. So anyways, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The whole point is, you know, hey, there might be some good things in there, so don't just toss out everything. That's not what Isaiah says. If they don't speak according to the word, there's no light in them. There's no baby to find. There's not light worth holding on to. If they don't speak according to the word, disregard it altogether.

Don't try to decipher it. Well, maybe this applies and I could find scriptural support for this. Hey, if it's not according to the word, just disregard it altogether and stick to what you know is true. Stick to the word of God. These false teachers do not consent to doctrine which accords with godliness. And then he goes on now to tell us a little bit about this person and what the effects of these people are within the church. In verse four, he says he is proud.

If this person doesn't consent to wholesome words, the words of Jesus Christ and the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over word from which come envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions. He's proud. Understand that everyone who thinks that they have a better answer than Jesus is proud. Everyone who thinks that I know better than Jesus knows is

He's puffed up with pride. Everyone who thinks that they are not accountable to God and his word is proud. When I value my own opinion and my own reasoning and understanding over what the Bible teaches, I'm puffed up with pride. I consider myself and my opinion to be more important and more valid than God's.

I like what Warren Wiersbe has to say. He says, a believer who understands the word will have a burning heart, not a big head. A believer who understands the word. If you will study the word, if you'll spend time in the word, the result will not be a big head. It will not be puffed up with pride. And I have the answers and I know the truth and you have to follow me and listen to me. And I know the believer who understands the word will have a burning heart.

God will be working in their life. They'll be relying upon God, recognizing their sinful condition in the holiness of God. He is proud. Not only that, he knows nothing. He says, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. This guy who doesn't consent to wholesome words, who doesn't consent to the words of Jesus, or to the doctrine which accords with godliness, the teaching that leads to right living, he knows nothing.

It's kind of a funny, you know, irony that he's puffed up with pride thinking I know better than Jesus and I know better than the Bible. But in reality, he knows nothing. If there's no light in them, I mean, sorry, if they don't speak according to the word, there's no light in that. Not that he knows some things, not that he knows a little bit. He knows nothing. Again, if it's not according to the word, disregard it. Throw it out completely. Don't consider it. Don't regard it.

Because if they do not speak according to the word, they know nothing. If they count themselves to know more than God, they know nothing. In Romans chapter 1, Paul tells us that professing to be wise, they became fools. Because they did not regard God in their hearts. Although they knew God, they didn't regard him as God. They knew he existed. Every person does. Based upon creation, Paul says. But because they refused to acknowledge God,

And receive him as God. Even though they profess to be wise. They've got lots of degrees after their names. They've become fools. They know nothing. They're proud. And there's no light in them. He says that they become obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. And that can happen a lot within Christian circles. Just disputes over things that don't matter. There are things that are worthy of division. The doctrine that accords with that doctrine.

Where'd I go? You know what I mean. The doctrine that leads to godliness. The doctrine that's in accordance with godliness. The foundational elements of the gospel message. Who Jesus is. How we obtain salvation. Who God is. Who the Holy Spirit is. There's foundational things that are worth dividing over. That's why we withdraw ourselves from those who teach false doctrine. But then there's also those who are divisive and

Cause division and disputes and arguments over things that are not essentials of the Christian faith. When we get caught up in that, here's the danger. Getting caught up in intellectualism and the disputes over words and my translation or interpretation is better than yours and what about this scripture and we can go back and forth in circles and I used to do that a lot when I was young. I still think I'm young, but when I was younger and it goes on and on and on. And the problem is...

There's a man named J.S. Whale who wrote a book called Christian Doctrine. He says this. I think it's so profound. So pay attention. Instead of putting off our shoes from our feet because the place where we stand is holy ground, we are taking nice photographs of the burning bush from suitable angles. We are chatting about theories of the atonement with our feet on the mantelpiece instead of kneeling down before the wounds of Christ.

What happens when we get caught up in all the arguments and disputes and all these words and how we can look at this and do that? We missed the whole point. We're taking pictures from all angles of the burning bush, but we failed to come in contact with the God that is the burning bush. We failed to come in contact with God who died upon the cross for our sins because we're too busy arguing about and concerned about this obsession with disputes and words.

We need to be careful. Don't miss out on the relationship with Jesus Christ over arguments and disputes of words. It's dangerous. There's tons of useless and pointless debates that we could have. We could discuss them endlessly and never know God. Those things are not productive. They don't draw us closer to the Lord.

They don't edify or build up. Instead, the result is, look at the end of verse 4, from which come envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions. Instead of drawing us close to the Lord, developing our relationship with the Lord, helping us walk with God, instead, what results from these arguments and disputes over words is all these hideous things. Envy, jealousy, striving for position,

and hard feelings towards one another, reviling, which is the slander, the injurious speech to another's name. You know, when you're losing your argument, then you just start saying things and accusing them of things and talking bad about them because you're not winning your argument because winning the argument is the most important thing because you don't care about knowing God.

It's horrible when these things take place within the church, but they do. And we need to watch out. Evil suspicions. You know, we become suspicious of everybody's motives in their heart. And what? Oh, why'd you say that? And what do you mean when you said that? It's not the unity that God desires within his body, but it causes all kinds of problems and division. He goes on in verse five to say there are useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth. I think we could spend four days just on that phrase.

That portion of the verse, useless wranglings of men, of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth. There's no truth in them. Their minds are corrupt. And it's just the useless, pointless, circular debates over and over again. Paul says, watch out. Timothy, withdraw yourself from those men. Withdraw yourself from those people.

There are those that we are not called to have fellowship with. We're not called to be close to. We're called to separate ourselves from them and have no part with them. Paul will say it a different way in the book of Titus chapter 3 verse 10. He says, Paul says,

You need to warn them. You need to admonish them once, twice. After that, if they don't receive the admonition, if they don't receive the correction, if they don't consent to wholesome words and sound doctrine, reject them. Separate yourself from them. Warn them once or twice, but then you're not to have anything to do with them. It's a mistake for us to think, well, I can convince them.

I can win the argument because I know the truth and I know it's true and I think I can do it. And if I could just spend a little bit more time, Paul says, look, don't waste your time. Withdraw from such a one. There are those that we need to know we're not to have fellowship with. Instead, what God calls us to do is withdraw from them. Openly, honestly, hey, what happened? We used to be good friends. We used to go to lunch all the time. What happened? Well,

You're not listening to wholesome words. You're deviating from the word of God. I've tried to encourage you. I've tried to point you back. And you insist on these arguments and divisions and disputes over words. And they produce envy, strife, reviling, and evil suspicions. And I don't want any part in that. But there are those that we need to take that stand. Paul says there at the end of verse 5, From such withdraw yourself.

And so you and I this morning as Timothys, first of all, we learn that we're to be a witness in the workplace, to represent God accurately by giving our best for those who supervise and oversee our labor. Secondly, we learn that we're to teach and exhort the things of God's word, the things that lead towards godly living. We're to take advantage of those relationships and use them to make disciples. And number three,

Those who are not teachable, those who won't receive sound doctrine, we're to withdraw from them. We're to keep ourselves from taking part in their work and their wrecking havoc within the church or within people's lives. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would help us, give us strength. Lord, none of these things are easy, as easy as they sound, just reading about them or talking about them. God, to be a witness in the workplace, that's difficult.

It's hard, Lord. Our flesh hates it. Lord, it's against often what society says and what the rest of our co-workers are doing. Lord, give us strength to be obedient to you and to represent you well. Lord, I pray that you would help us not to bring shame to your name, but to bring honor to it by the way that we conduct ourselves and the way that we relate to those who are over us within the workplace.

God, I pray that you would help us to teach and exhort these things. God, it's easy to have a kickback and casual relationship with people and not deal with difficult subjects and not address these things. But God, give us strength. Help us. There are those in our lives, for every one of us, because you've called us to make disciples. Lord, there's those that you want us to come alongside and

to teach them how to relate to their boss, to teach them how to relate to their parents and perhaps restore a relationship with their family. There are those that you want us to come alongside and teach them how to walk with you, how to be obedient to you in their life. God, help us. First of all, help us, Lord, to see those that you've placed in our lives for that purpose, that we might disciple them. Lord, give us a heart like you have for them.

Lord, that we would desire to see them grow and strengthened in you. Lord, that we would desire to see those who are unsaved come to a saving knowledge of you. Lord, may we come alongside those that you show us and may we minister to them. Help us, God. And Lord, it's not every day necessarily, but occasionally there will be those times that you call us to withdraw from certain people. God, I pray that you would give us wisdom and discernment when that is to take place.

Lord, that you would help us to have grace and mercy on those who stray, on those who stumble. Help us to love them enough to give the first and second admonition, Lord, that we would follow Matthew 18 and, Lord, seek restoration. And, God, if there is that need, help us to withdraw. Help us to take a stand for you and to not take part in the devastation that will result of their actions and arguments. Lord, in all these things, we ask for strength.

that you would help us, that we might represent you and accomplish your will for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.