Light Brings Salt
Volume 2, Issue 13 March 28, 2004
Dedicated to the
Systematic Exposition of the Word of God
Is Doctrine No Longer Important?
The exposition of 1 Timothy along with the other pastoral epistles (2 Timothy and Titus) could be dubbed ‘The
life of the local church’. For in them we find Paul's instruction in many areas
that are crucial to the proper function of the local assembly.
Paul writes at length about local church
leadership, the criteria for eligibility for the pastorate, and conduct/ethics
of leadership, and how young leaders can ensure that their ministry is
accepted, and not despised or rejected on account of their youth.
Other subjects covered include the principles
governing the church’s social work, that is the church's responsibility towards
those in need within the congregation, the support and disciplining of pastors,
the superiority of contentment over covetousness, the call to a radical
holiness, and the dangers and duties of the rich.
But the apostle’s overriding preoccupation
throughout all three Pastoral Letters is with the truth, doctrine that it may
be faithfully guarded and handed on.
The pertinence of this theme, at the beginning of
the twenty first century, is especially evident. For contemporary culture is
being overtaken and submerged by what is called postmodernism.
Post-modernism began as a self-conscious reaction
against the modernism of the Enlightenment, and especially against its
unbounded confidence in reason, science and progress.
The postmodern mind rightly rejects this naive
optimism. But it then goes further and swings the pendulum all the way to the
other end of the spectrum and declares that there is no such thing as
objective, or absolute truth.
The view is that all so-called ‘truth’ is purely
subjective, being culturally conditioned and that therefore each one has their
own truth, which has as much right to respect as anybody else’s.
Pluralism is an offspring of postmodernism, what it
does is to affirm the independent validity of every faith and ideology, and
demands in often shrill tones that we abandon as impossibly arrogant any
attempt to persuade somebody to our viewpoint or convictions. Their reasoning is that its
arrogant since all faiths are equal and all lead to God and salvation.
In contrast to this relativization of truth, it is
wonderfully refreshing to read Paul’s unambiguous commitment to objective
truth.
He has himself been appointed, he says, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and
truth. (1 Tim. 2:7); that the church is
‘the pillar and foundation of the
truth’ (1 Tim.
The false teachers, on the other hand, ‘have
wandered away from the truth’ and even ‘oppose the truth’ (1 Tim.
First, there is Paul himself, who styles himself at
the beginning of all three letters an apostle of Jesus Christ, adding in two of
them that his apostleship is by the will or the command of God. And all through
these letters his self-conscious apostolic authority is apparent, as he issues
commands and expects obedience as he communicates the Word of God.
Also, again and again, he refers to what he calls
almost indiscriminately ‘the truth’, ‘the faith’, ‘the sound doctrine’, ‘the
teaching’ or ‘the deposit’.
The plain implication is that a body of doctrine
exists, which, having been revealed and given by God, is objectively true. It is the teaching of the apostles and
prophets. That which Paul in Eph.
Paul constantly exhorts Timothy and Titus back to
it, that is the truth, doctrine, and since it is a part of the Canon of
Scripture it is not just directed to Timothy and Titus together with the
churches they oversee, but sets an example for all churches to pay close
attention to.
A second thread that also runs throughout,
is opposition to Paul and this message of truth and doctrine by those that are
false teachers. They are heterodidaskaloi (1
Tim. 1:3; 6:3), engaged in teaching what is heteros, ( e[teroj) different from and alien to the teaching of the
apostles.
They are essentially deviationists, who have ‘wandered’ or ‘swerved’
from the faith (1
Tim. 1:6; 4:1; 2 Tim.
Ten times in 1 Timothy and Titus Paul writes ‘teach
these things’, ‘command and teach these things’, or ‘give the people these
instructions’.
On
each occasion tauta (‘these things’) refers to the teaching which Paul
is giving Timothy and Titus. They are
not only to hold on to it themselves, guarding the precious deposit of truth (1
Tim.
These pastoral epistles were written to individual
men, gifted men given to the church who were to be responsible for the L/C, its
direction and function, the how to or how not to do certain things and to be
operating within the will of God.
Look at 1 Tim. 4:11 - here and in the following
verses Paul gives Timothy a series of commands that are very important as we
consider the message of the pastoral epistles and their importance in the function of the local assembly, as it seeks
to honor God.
If you read through
Therefore we are better informed as to what are the
responsibilities of a pastor and therefore what we should expect to find in a
properly functioning local church.
Teaching is central - question is teaching what? The word for teaching is didaskalia (didaskalia)and
it refers to doctrine, Biblical teaching on any given subject not emotional
devotionals for the nursery crowd, that is believers who have never grown and
matured being only fed milk not solid food of the Word. The sad thing is that most do not care about
advancing in the truth of the Word of God at all.
The importance of correct doctrine as you study
carefully the Pastoral epistles cannot be over stated. Too
many believers are ashamed or shy away from saying that doctrine is important.
Oh, its too dry, its too academic, not so!! The nursery crowd needs to be entertained
and made to feel like good.
Question! Is it not important for us to know, to
understand the message God has for us?
What the creator of the Universe has said, is it
true or false? Important or can we just
ignore it with no consequences? Don't
think so!!!
Some
Observations on Doctrine:
1. True
Doctrine finds its source only in divine revelation. Jn 7:14-16
2. Doctrine was
the message of the early church. Acts
5:27-29
Do we see this
consistency of focus on doctrine, teaching, in the pastorals?
In 1 Tim 4:1 we
are instructed that we need to be on guard since Satan is a great teacher, so
also are his operatives demons. This is
the reason that there are so many counterfeits, false teaching, apostasy found
in so many pulpits today. Check also 1
Tim. 4:6;
In 6:1 we are
exhorted to conduct ourselves in
harmony with will of God so that the Word of God will not be defamed or spoken
against.
In 1 Tim. 6:3 defines
sound words, while in 2 Tim 3:10 we are exhorted to follow after truth as exhibited by the teacher of
truth.
2 Tim. 3:16; 4:3 both give us a warning.
Titus 1:9
strong instruction to Titus, all pastors; pos. build
up; neg. refute false teaching. Titus
2:1; 2:7
How can we say
as a believer, this is the Word of God and never study its message, don't even
crack the cover, except at church and you only do that when its only convenient
for you.
This book, the
Bible, has the greatest, highest claims of any book ever published, the
greatest number sold of all time, and its studied the least.
3. True
doctrine was to be guarded from error.
Jude 3 "contend earnestly for the faith"
1 Tim. 1:3 e`terodidaskale,w
strange doctrine; totally different message, not truth
4. True
Doctrine is the basis of right conduct, moral conduct. 1 Tim. 1:10
- man's conduct reflects use of or lack of understanding of
sound healthy doctrine.
5. True
Doctrine will eventually become intolerable to most. 2 Tim 4:1-4
- focus today is need centered preaching, psychologized
"me" centered preaching, all
designed to make you feel good, not to live
righteously before God.
6.
What is the test of fellowship?? 2 Jn 9-10
-
Doctrine is the test, specifically one's Christology.
7. True BD is to be the identifying characteristic of the Church. 1 Tim 3:15