False prophets and profits

False Prophets and Their Profits
1 Tim 6:3-5

Ø Back on this again—Why is this such an area of stress for Paul to Timothy
o First, the false teachers were plentiful
o Second, in reading the two letters to Timothy, one gets the impression that he needed to be encouraged to stand up and fight the false teachers
o It is always an option, (though a wrong one, to let it slide—with disastrous consequences
o But fighting against error has its costs

1. The First Problem With False Prophets—They Oppose the Truth—1 Tim 6:3) "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness…”

a. Language analysis

(1) If—is a first class condition, which assumes that whatever is being addressed is going to happen—So, SINCE there are false teachers…

(2) “…Teaches otherwise…” is heterodidaskalei—the word “hetero” we should be familiar with—it means “…of a different kind…”, and is in the present active tense, indicating a habit of life.

b. The False Prophets taught lies as a matter of habit

(1) They were teaching Strange doctrines— heterodidaskalon—“…a doctrine of a different kind…”, one that does not match with the teachings of the Bible. What are some of these teachers and teachings?

(a) Paul speaks in Galatians of “another Jesus” taught by false prophets—Gal 1:6-9—this “other” gospel, which Paul condemns as a perversion of the truth, teaches that believers much obey the OT dietary and ceremonial laws in order to be a Christian—we still have this set of false teachings today, in the leftovers of the Armstrong Cult, and in the 7th Day Adventists heresy

(b) Jesus, in Matthew 24, warns of false Christs and false prophets that will arise to deceive many

(c) Peter in 2 Pet 2:1-3, warns of false prophets who bring in destructive heresies, teaching people that they can live any old way they want to live, and still claim to be a believer. See 2 Pet 2:18-22.

(d) Peter makes the point that the Old Testament saints had to deal with them too.

(2) The False Prophets rejected “…Sound Doctrine…” “….Sound Doctrine…”Literally means “healthy teaching, or (1 Tim 6:3) “wholesome teaching.” “Sound…” refers to good health, soundness, not in need of a doctor. It is where we get our word “hygiene.” —

1 Tim 1:10 "for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,"

1 Tim 6:3 "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,"

2 Tim 1:13 "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

2 Tim 4:3 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;"

Titus 1:9 "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

Titus 1:13 "… rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,"

Titus 2:1-2 "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;"


(3) First, they rejected the words of Jesus Himself! “…even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness…”

(a) This could be referring to the earliest Gospels written
(b) Or it could refer to collections of Jesus’ sayings which had been gathered as Luke and the other writers were preparing and being prepared to write by the Holy Spirit
(c) Or it could refer to the True Doctrine about Who Jesus Is and What He Has Done (i.e., the Gospel)
(d) Either way, they rejected the Truth about Him!

(4) Then, they rejected the Truth about godliness itself.

(a) Godliness (Eusebia) refers to living for God and in accordance with God’s will
(b) Godly people have some of it
(c) Lost people don’t.

(5) They reject Sound Doctrine about salvation—Eph 2:8-10—By Grace, Through Faith, Unto Good Works

(6) The False teachers taught and lived NOT in accordance with sound doctrine

(7) There are those today who are unsound, and who believe that a consistent lifestyle is not required of believers. That idea is a distortion of Grace, it stands against “sound doctrine,” it is literally unhealthy spiritually

(i) God wants His people to live in a Godly fashion—it was, after all, Ungodliness that unleashed His wrath against sin to begin with—Rom 1:18

c. Key verses (Mac)

(1) The Fruit of a Christian’s life is not the number of people they have led to the Lord
(2) The Fruit of a Christian’s life is moral excellence produced by the indwelling Spirit of God—Gal 5:22-24
(3) The False prophets produce bad fruit—Mat 7:15-20


2. The Second Problem With False Prophets: They are ignorant and proud of their ignorance!—“… 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions 5 useless wranglings …”

a. The False Prophets have false Pride (which implies conceit and arrogance.)

(1) Pride—Mac—The attitude of false teachers can be summarized in one word: pride. It takes an immense ego to place oneself as judge of the Bible. Such egotism blatantly usurps the place of God…[conceit] is from a Greek slang word which means puffed up like a cloud of smoke. In English slang, we would describe such a person as “blowing smoke,” or “full of hot air…”

(1 Cor 4:6) "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other."

(1 Cor 4:18-19) "Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power."

(1 Cor 5:2) "And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you."

(Col 2:18) "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,"

(1 Tim 3:6) "not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil."

(2) The word can also refer to a person who is arrogant enough to believe that their views and opinions are superior to the Word of God.

b. Knowing Nothing –This is a present particple

(1) The false teacher is habitually ignorant, and proud of it—what an indictment!

c. They are addicted to stupidity—They are hooked on the debate, the argument, the “Gotcha”

(1) Now, it is not always wrong to debate—Jesus did it with the Pharisees, etc.,
(2) But this is talking about fruitless debate:

d. What are the results of these pointless and fruitless false teachings? “...envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions 5 useless wranglings…”


3. The Third Problem With False Prophets—They are listening to the wrong people— “…of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain…”

a. If a man is paying attention to false doctrines, and if he is not grounded, he may be drawn in to them.

b. Who writes this stuff?
(1) Men of Corrupt minds
(a) The depraved mind is a powerfully ignorant thing
(Rom 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

(1 Cor 2:14) "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

(Rom 1:28) "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;"

(Eph 4:17-19) "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."

(2) Destitute of Truth—“deprived” of Truth (NASB)

(a) They had been presented with the Truth
(b) But the false prophet had robbed it from them before it could take root, like parable of the soils.

(3) Men seeking profits for the Prophets .and they get their cut too)—
(4) Even in Paul’s day there were those who used religion to rip people off—2 Tim 3:1-9



4. The Cure For False Prophets— Doctrine. and Quarantine –(from 6:2)— “…Teach and exhort these things…” “…From such withdraw yourself." (present tense imperative verbs)

a. Doctrine“…Teach and exhort these things…” “teach and exhort—present imperative—teach the Truth, exhort the believers, and keep it up.

(1) The first, most desirable and best outcome is that no one would fall under the spell of false doctrines and false teachers—Jude 1:20-21 "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

(2) The second most desirable outcome is for the false prophet and those deceived by the false prophet to see the Truth and be saved.

Jude 1:22-23 "And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

(James 5:19-20) "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

b. Quarantine—Church Discipline—“…From such withdraw yourself."

(1) Leaven in the lump—sin in the camp—the church must be prepared to quarantine the infection of false teachings.
(2) This is not the first alternative, but it is a valid one.
(3) There are steps to follow, and there are direct instructions and examples given, but the fact is that discipline is one of the marks of a true New Testament church.

(Titus 3:10-11) "Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned."

(2 Th 3:6) "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us..”

c. A church, like the Corinthians in 1 Cor 5, that refuses to obey the command to discipline its members is rejecting this specific command.

d. Examples

(1) 1 Cor 5
(2) Rev 2