Lesson One of the Letters to Timothy

“A Warning”

Most of us know to move out of the way when a Mac Truck comes barreling towards us. All of our senses scream at us to “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” The sound of the big semi and its big engine, the smell of the diesel, the sight of its grill and headlights warn us to MOVE!! It’s easy to see and hear the warning of danger in this situation but in some situations we don’t because of their subtly or our desires to get closer and experience the danger. 

Paul warns Timothy, his beloved prodigy, about false doctrines (beliefs) that rob Christians of truth found solely in the Good News of Jesus. Teaching of false doctrines is not something of the past. It is very prevalent today and the warning of the Apostle Paul should be heeded now. He warns us of the approaching “Mac Semi Truck” of false teaching barreling towards the Church.

Read 1 Timothy 1: 3-4. What did the Apostle Paul urge Timothy to do?

Why did Paul think it was so urgent?

The blaring warning Paul gives Timothy screams to all Christians down through the ages. Today some people who call themselves “Evangelical Christians” are teaching heresy. Their blinding false teaching is polluting many people, distracting them from the truth of the Scriptures. To me it seems as if they are trying to make apologies for the Bible, or when the Bible doesn’t line up with what they want or can’t explain they decide the entirety of God’s Word isn’t true.

“Each generation of Christians faces its own set of theological challenges. For this generation of Evangelicals, the question of beginnings is taking on a new urgency. In fact, this question is now a matter of Gospel urgency. How are we to understand the Bible’s story, if we can have no confidence that we know how it even begins?” Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Just like Paul and Timothy faced theological challenges, each generations has their own set of challenges. It’s how we face it and who we believe that matters. Today’s controversies within the Church are not new by any means, but have increased in intensity over that last few years. Three of the issues include the “inerrancy versus the fallibility of the Bible”; “Were Adam and Eve the real parents of mankind”; “is hell real?.... One popular writer, speaker speaks to the topic of whether there is a hell or not:

"A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear." Rob Bell  from"Love Wins"

Rob Bell is a false teacher. We need only read the words of Jesus Himself to know that Hell is a real place and that we should fear it. God’s doesn’t want to see anyone end up there, rather, He made a way for us to be with Him through the ultimate sacrifice of His Son Jesus for our sins.

Read Matthew 10:28. What does Jesus say about Hell in this verse?

People like Rob Bell don’t want the message of the Bible to be scary, threatening or off-putting. Instead they water down the truth of what Christ came to earth to do. His life was a purposeful thirty-three years leading us into a real relationship with God. Our relationship with God was marred from the moment sin entered this world in the Garden of Eden when Eve ate the “apple” and shared it with her husband. It took a Savior to take on our penalty for sin, death itself. Why would He need to die if there was no penalty? No hell? No punishment?

Liberal theology, false doctrine, down-right perversion of the Scriptures has no place in a believer’s life. We don’t have to make excuses for God’s Word or explain away those hard things we read in it. God calls us to believe Him and gave us the supernaturally inspired and inerrant Bible to live our lives by.

Read Romans 16:17-20. What does the Apostle Paul say “to watch out for”? 

Who are these people serving?

How do they deceive others?

What does he want the Roman Church to be wise about? To be innocent about?

What is the promise and blessing Paul gives to the Church in verse 20?

Satan wants nothing more than to destroy God’s beloved ones. He will use any means available to accomplish this. Sometimes what seems like a good idea is really evil. There are many smooth talking pastors and teachers who persuade the innocent to go down rabbits trails away from the Truth of God’s Word. Some of these pastors and teachers are popular evangelists, lead large prosperous churches and are charismatic in their teaching. They have been deceived. Sometimes they are deceived because traditional Christianity seems too strict and narrow-minded. They want to make Christian faith more palatable so people will come back to Church. Instead they are causing people to stumble.

Read Matthew 7:13-14. Where does Jesus say the “broad gate and path” leads to?

How many will enter this way?

Where does He say the “narrow path” leads to?

Who will find this narrow path?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “the path of least resistance”? It is used in nature. For example, water flowing down from the top of a mountain will take the path going downhill not uphill because gravity pulls it down. It is also used to describe human behavior. It is often used as a metaphor for personal effort or confrontation; a person taking the path of least resistance avoids these things. So when we hear of an easier way to get right with God, it is easier to take it and a better way. This is what false teachers do. They point people down a path that appears to lead to God and is easier to follow but in truth leads to destruction. 

Read Mark 8:34-38. What does Jesus say about following Him?

What does a person have to give up to receive true life in Jesus? Why?

Answer the questions Jesus poses in verse 37?

What does Jesus say will happen if we are ashamed of Him?

Following the “path of least resistance” by listening to and believing those false teachers who, point people down easier paths and teach false doctrines making excuses for the Word of God’s position on sin, will find themselves in a world of hurt. Laying down our propensity to sin and taking up our cross of repentance in the Name of Jesus, is the only way to be saved. There is no other way.

Read Proverbs 16:25. How does this proverb apply to our lesson today?

The writer of this proverb tells us the path we often choose seems right in man’s eyes because it looks easier and doesn’t require sacrifice on our part. Jesus tells us the road to God, through Him, requires us to give up our right to live our lives for ourselves. It’s not easy. There is no room for sin on this path. He has made it possible to follow Him by forgiving us of our sins against God by sacrificing Himself on the Cross of Calvary.

The Apostle Paul firmly warns Timothy of the false teachers of his day. God in His great wisdom and mercy has allowed this warning to reach our ears today. Watch out! Choose the narrow way. Don’t follow the crowd to the path of least resistance. Move out of the path which leads to destruction. Stand up for what the Bible teaches. Believe it in its entirety for it truly is the Word of God. We aren’t called to make the Bible fit or make excuses for it. We are called to believe and trust it.