We’ve been taking some time to work through the Pastoral Epistles, looking for the elements that Paul considered essential to the apostolic gospel. Yesterday we looked at two categories of passages that instruct in this regard. Today we’ll look at the other two passages, and then tomorrow I’ll finish up with some summary comments.
3. Doctrines Associated with False Teaching
We get a sense for the essentials of early Christian faith by paying attention to the sort of teachings that Paul considered most dangerous.
• 1 Timothy 1.8-11 “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”
• 1 Timothy 4.1-3 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
• 2 Timothy 2.18 “[Hymenaeus and Philetus] have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”
• Titus 1.16 “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.”
As we’ve already seen, one way to leave the gospel behind is to deny its power to change lives. This is why the issue of homosexuality is so important in our day. False teachers are leading people to perdition by calling darkness light, and insisting that unchecked sin is consistent with the gospel. Clearly, for Paul, living an ungodly life was contrary to the sort of sound doctrine that defined the Christian. On the other side of the spectrum, ascetic legalism is also a false doctrine, as is an over-realized eschatology that claims the resurrection of the dead has already taken place.
4. Truths Associated with the Gospel and Sound Doctrine
Finally, we get a glimpse of the essentials of the faith by noting what beliefs are explicitly linked with the gospel and sound doctrine.
• 2 Timothy 1:8-10 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
• 2 Timothy 2:8 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.”
• 2 Timothy 3:14-17 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
Sound doctrine is determined by our fidelity to Scripture. That’s why Paul contrasts (i.e., But as for you…) the false teachers who have wandered from the truth with Timothy who should continue in what he has learned about faith in Christ Jesus from the sacred writings. We see that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of David, is crucial to Paul’s gospel. Most importantly, 2 Timothy 1:8-10 gives us an extended accounting of the gospel, what Paul will call “the pattern of sound words” and “the good deposit” in the verses that follow. The gospel is the message about Jesus Christ who gave us grace before the beginning of time and saved us to good works and immortality because of the grace he gave us, not according to works, but in accordance with his own eternal purposes.
