First Timothy lesson 32 cont.
1 Timothy · Mike Doyle · Nov 9, 2025
1 Timothy, No. 91
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926194127185

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Okay, we're in lesson 32, right? I think I have my ducks in order today. Something new and different. I think so. You're supposed to respect your elders. So we are studying 1 Timothy chapter 6. And we're looking at verses three through the beginning of five. Three says, if anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the doctrine conforming to godliness. So we talked about the direction of 1 Timothy.

We compared chapter one with chapter six. Chapter one addresses certain men. Chapter six says anybody, anyone. Chapter one talks about those who might teach strange doctrines. I find it interesting, there's so much strange doctrine today in Christianity that isn't strange anymore. We're kind of used to it.

Where in Timothy 6.3, he's talking about different doctrines. In chapter one, we're talking about mere speculation. In chapter six, we're talking about controversial questions. Give me an example of a controversial question today. What would be a controversial question? Same-sex marriage. What's that? Same-sex marriage.

That's, yeah, well that wouldn't even be a controversy for us. It would be something as simple as teaching law principles as opposed to grace principles. And we don't, the church today in general doesn't see anything wrong with teaching law principles. Law principles.

One of the problems, and look, principle is one of my favorite words. Because what is a principle? The way something operates. The way a thing operates and functions. So if we go up on the roof and I throw you off, you're not gonna go up in the sky, you're gonna come down and hit the ground. Why? Principle of gravity.

So there are spiritual principles which is one of the things we really focus on around here is let's find out what those principles are. And they will, as we'll see, they lead to a specific kind of life that's based on those principles. And from the body of Christ, there's no law in any of those principles, but a principle does operate a certain way. So one of the hard things I think for believers to get a handle on is understanding how a principle works as opposed to trying to obey a law.

Okay, which these next couple of lessons we're going through hopefully will enlighten us. Back in chapter one, he talked about sound teaching. Here he's talking about sound words. So we talked about this verse that it starts with the word, if anyone advocates a different, and we discovered it's a first class conditional clause, which means what?

It's assumed to be true. So you can translate it, since anyone advocates for a different doctrine and does not agree. Do you think at Holly Hills there may be somebody floating around that tries to preach a different doctrine and doesn't agree with what we teach? Yeah. Yeah, there are. Depends how sneaky they are. How long have you been here, Mike? We've had our eye on you for a long time. But, you know, there is a difference between thinking or holding a principle or a doctrine to be a certain way, and you really are, and it's not a criticism, but you really are ignorant. and probably because nobody ever taught you. Chester McCauley made a great statement in those five tapes he did on grace. He said, grace has to be taught. You do not grow up in the world understanding what grace is.

How does it work? We love the word, but we don't know how it works. It's a principle. Most people only know what the definition of grace is. Yeah, and you start with the definition, and that helps you understand, but the definition lays out how the principle is. In other words, we really think that we need to be told what to do spiritually, and then we need to comply, and that God will reward us for doing it, right? That's law. That's the law principle. So how does grace work? Well, I mean, spell it out.

God's done everything. I'm sorry? God has done everything for us. God has done everything. And when he comes to you and says, here's what I've done, and here's the principle, what's he expects you to do? Believe him. And receive it. Receive it. Believe him.

And I think, Mike, the other thing, which is I think the struggle in all churches, all people, is that the flesh is so strong. The flesh is law-based and wants works. It's completely 180 degrees from grace and flesh. And that's why I think a lot of people struggle with it, because the flesh keeps telling you you have to do stuff, where grace is believe and receive, just say thank you.

And the flesh says, no, you really can't do that. You gotta do this. You have to do this to receive it. And that's why I think it's the hardest principle to understand and to receive. It's really hard. Because you have the flesh that's vehemently opposed to it. And so therein lies the struggle between you in Christ and the sin nature in you.

This in nature is always based on law, always. You have to do this in order for God to be pleasing with you. And if you don't do it, God's gonna condemn you. Whereas grace is, God has already done. You just need to believe him and abide. In other words, don't move, stay where you are.

And that's hard because, I mean, you walk out of church on Sunday and the first thing you run into is a traffic sign. What's a traffic sign? It's a law. It says don't go over 35 miles an hour. Nowadays it's more of a gesture. Suggestion. Suggestion. Yeah, yeah. If you feel like it.

We drove up to Johnstown and back yesterday. Boy, what a trip. Going up, there was a closed freeway accident and a mousetrap coming south, and we were going north. And coming back, there was a closed freeway going north, just above the mousetrap, and we were going south. And the traffic was backed up for five or six miles. stopped dead. Somebody didn't obey the rules. Can you drive by grace?

My wife would say, no way. Clarify that too. Romans 13 is subject to the rules. Those aren't the same laws as or same-sex marriage or something like that. I mean, there are rules that God has put rulers in place to put a speed limit of 30 miles an hour. Yeah, when you talk about that, I think that if you're not under a law system, you're living under grace, and the society you live in has rules. You gladly do them, but you don't have this sense of, oh, God's really gonna be happy with me, because I did. a law-based system, that's the motivation. Under grace, I'm already blessed, so it's, you know, if you want me to function within the society I'm in, I'm gonna obey the rules.

You know, not hard to do, you know, not hard to do. Okay, moving along, question three. How do we know that this teaching might not line up with correct teaching? So we looked at the New American Standard Translate said, if anyone advocates, you know what an advocate is? No, someone who represents you or represents. If I hire a lawyer, he represents me, he advocates for me. So if anyone advocates what?

Represents a different doctrine And it's interesting, different is this great Greek word we've talked about before called heteros. And what it means is it's a doctrine of a different kind. There are things that are different that are of the same kind, and there are things that are different of a different kind. So that's why I've brought up the issue of there isn't anything more opposing camps than grace and law. See that? They're so totally opposite.

And when he talks about different, he's talking about, I mean, that's the best example, law or grace, okay? Now, if you look at the word in this verse that says, and does not agree, really is the word consent. It means to come to and draw near. In other words, if different doctrine is professed or advocated, and that doctrine doesn't come near to what the truth is, what do you do about it?

Maybe put it this way. The dweeters are trying to buy a house. So they submit an offer to buy one at certain price and terms. The offer's there, and the seller could accept the offer or reject it. This word here means to draw near, to give one's assent. This Greek word could be used, agree, if I offer you $5,000 for your car, and you say, okay, you've agreed. That's what this word means. Okay with that? But he says, does not agree. So I offer you five and you say, no, I want six. So we agree about the sale of the car, we just disagree over how much.

In doctrine standpoints, we disagree about the soundness of the truth, as opposed to what you think it is, what your opinion is. So it's interesting that God's truth is absolute, and It is what it is and you can't modify it. Theologians for decades and years and centuries have tried to modify what God's word says, but it only says one thing, one thing. And so we have a lot of issues in theology today where theologians of great reputation have disagreed with what appears to be sound doctrine. So where does that leave us? We've got to find out. You know?

And the bell that always rings in my head, the first question is, is it gracious or is it legal? See that? That's the first question that always hits me. You know, you listen to what the opposing doctrine has to say, and is it gracious or is it legal? You know, is there any sense from a legal standpoint, that if I consent to believe this doctrine or to abide by it, that I will be rewarded any more than I already am. It's legal. See that?

Maybe I'm the only one that thinks weird like that. That's kind of how that goes. And the cool word here, is my translation says sound words. That word really means wholesome. It's kind of a cool word. It means to be well, to be healthy. Our words, Kenneth Weiss said our word hygiene comes from this Greek word. Hygiene is cleanliness. Okay? Healthy, wholesome, admirable, describing Christian teaching.

Now, I'm not here to say that false doctrine is presented in such a way that it's black and white, because it isn't. A lot of times you have to spend some time in God's Word. You do. You do. And I really think that, back to a principle, if you work for the Secret Service and you're in the, what's the word I'm looking for?

Money that's fake. Counterfeit. Counterfeit. Do you study all the counterfeits or do you study the real thing? You study the real thing, because if you know the real thing, the count of it is exposed to you right away. It stands out. It stands right out. So if you study God's word, and you know, in a dependent, Lord, you have to teach me and persuade me about all the little nuances of what I'm studying. Well, it's like what we're studying on the main service. We're talking about what we call the identification of Romans 6 truth.

And the question has to come up, did I really die? I think I'm still alive. I've got a few bruises, but I'm, you know. Did I really die to the sin nature? Is that true? And the persuasion of the Holy Spirit makes it true. And Roger's gonna talk this morning about reckoning. Reckoning is such a terrific word, but it's way more than just believing. Because I can be presented with Romans 6, 6, that my old man was crucified. that the body of sin might be put out of business, that I would no longer serve sin. I can see that and see what it says and say, Lord, you know, I don't really have a lot of understanding about that, but you said it, so I believe you. But then you get down to 11 and Paul says, reckon yourselves indeed dead unto sin, but alive unto God. The reckoning comes after the persuasion. Does that make sense? And once you reckon upon the truth, it's really, really difficult to move you off of it.

Is that that word, logizimae? Logizimae, yeah. And logizimae is an accounting term that means if I sit down to pay my bills and I have six ledger entries and they add up to 500 bucks, put $500 down, check, What did I do? I looked at every one of the bills. I determined that they were correctly billed and they correctly add up to 500. The 500, I reckon it's 500. Why? Because it is. It's not 501 or 499, it's 500. So again, false doctrine will always come at you at 499 or 506. You know? It's always missing the mark.

It's really interesting because God tells Adam and Eve to, you know, that they get the whole garden, they get the whole earth, and there's a crease and multiply and subdue it. And God, you know, doesn't have to say, I built this place just for you. And what's the first thing Satan does? Did God really say? Yeah, is it really 500 or maybe it's 501?

And the doubt comes in and you start listening to the doubt, boom. So again, it points up the real critical need. to be settled on doctrine. And if nothing else, the Romans doctrine, because Romans is Christianity 101. It's the basic survey course of Christianity. And if you get that down, you get, as you go along in your Christian life, it's more difficult to fool you.

It really is. And it doesn't... Well, I mean, you think about this. God starts with salvation, and he's gonna end with glorification. And there's a lot to learn in between. And you're not gonna learn it all. But you're gonna learn enough, and you're indwelt by the Holy Spirit that you're protected, you're safe.

Okay, according to this verse, what must doctrinal teaching agree with? If anyone advocates a different doctrine or does not agree with the sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the doctrine conforming to godliness. Ask the question again, according to this verse, what must doctrinal teaching agree with?

Sound words. and godliness. Well, sound words from the Lord Jesus, his teaching, which then is doctrine conforming to godliness. But it stems from Christ's words. It's interesting because Back in Romans 1, you remember what the issue was with all men being lost? I'll start the verse and you tell me when I stop. The righteousness of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness.

So what does that say? I mean, what is it? If someone said, well, you're ungodly, what does it mean? You're not like God. Do you see that? You're not like him. And so what does God mean when he says it in Romans 1, that godliness is really important? What does he mean? You got to be like him, which eliminates this whole process of doing good and avoiding evil.

Because God doesn't go, It's interesting, the tree in the garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Adam and Eve could have lived forever without knowing good and evil, because they would know godliness. See that? So here's, God says, look, you wanna be with me for all eternity? You gotta be like me. That's really what he's saying. And you do not have it within your, and your energy to become godly by doing deeds. The only way you get to be godly is you let me do it.

You see that? So here comes Christ. He gets the sin issue handled, paid for, out of the way. Everything that's between humanity and God has been taken care of on the cross. So now, If you believe in the personal work of the Lord Jesus, we say, well, you get saved. Well, what does salvation really mean? You become godly from a positional standpoint. Now, you may not live godly, but from God's perspective, you are.

Ephesians says you're blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. He didn't leave any out. Sounds too simple, huh? You mean there's nothing for me to do? Plenty for you to do in terms of believing and functioning by grace, yes. But God makes these incredible statements. There's no physical, empirical evidence that you're blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. The only evidence you have is God's Word.

He said it. You see that? So when Timothy, or when Paul writes Timothy, that's the flavor of what he's doing. He's saying, sound words, godliness. These are the things that are important. Okay? Godliness to act piously. I love, I hate that word actually. It's such a Catholic word. Reverently towards God. You can't act reverently towards God unless you have his life. Do you see that? It's faithfulness towards God, reverence, respect, Christian living.

I don't know if I like that. But here's the issue here. This doctrine, which is according to God, therefore refers to that teaching which concerns the proper attitude of the individual towards God. So let me ask you that. What is the proper attitude of a believer towards God? That's a hard question, isn't it?

Yeah, thank him. What else? And you're not going to thank somebody unless you believe what he's done. If I say, I'm going to give you five bucks just because I want to give it to you, and you take it, and what do you say? Thank you. Why? Because you took it.

You know, the other thing is, is that God would have us know him personally and know what his personality and his characteristics are, and he's a God of love. And religion has made him into a God of vengeance and a God of condemnation. And if you don't keep the rules, he's gonna hammer you.

Now, how am I doing time-wise? Oh, good. Alright, any questions about verse 3? That's a cool verse. So the very first thing that God offers humanity is, we call it salvation, but what's the substance of what he's offering? His life, which means you're gonna be like him. That's godliness. So now you've met the first criteria by grace. All you did was believe. Now, watch what Paul says about these guys that advocate a different doctrine. He's pretty nasty about them.

He is conceited and understands nothing, but he has morbid interests. in controversial questions and disputes about words of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions. How would you like somebody to write you a letter and this is how they describe you? You are conceited, you don't understand a thing, you have a morbid interest in controversial questions, and you love disputes about words, and out of which arrives your strifeful, You always have controversial questions, and you want to dispute, and you create strife. Why don't you come over and have a sandwich?

So it's really interesting here how absolutely precise the Apostle Paul is to Timothy about people who teach or advocate sound doctrine. He is really harsh on them, and rightfully so. Now, this is the last question you have on your sheet. It says, list the four things that are said of one who departs from sound doctrine and kind of explain them, right? Isn't that what it says? So as I looked at this, I thought, well, we don't need anything other than that. Question five says, what are the four things that show departure from sound doctrine? Explain each one of them. Number one, pride and conceit.

Now, what this word, tofu, tofu, to raise a smoke, to wrap in a mist. It's like when Nick Hemingway is smoking turkeys. There's a cloud. I'm kidding. It speaks metaphorically of a clouded and stupid state of mind as a result of pride. And what is pride? How would you define that word? I think- Self-admiration. Yeah. I think conceited is a good synonym of pride, you know.

We live in a society today where two generations have been taught through the school system that they personally are the purveyors of what something is true or not. What does that tell you? If you're a little Johnny sitting in the first row and you, over eight years of elementary education, he begins to think, oh, truth is what I think it is. Would that have a tendency to make him prideful and conceited?

So you end up with a whole society of people who believe that they are the purveyors of truth. And you've seen in Christian circles where people will say to you, well, that's your doctrine, but I'm entitled to my opinion. No, you're not. You're entitled to what God says in his word, that's it. But the world says, no, I'm entitled to what I think or better yet, how I feel about it.

Okay, so first one, pride, conceit. It's interesting that from a geeky Greek standpoint, the verb pride or conceited is perfect tense. What's perfect tense for you Greek guys? It means it's an action that was completed in the past and has results into the present. So at some point, you became conceited in the past and you're still that way today. The person concerning whom Paul is speaking has come to the place where the pride has finished its work in him, and he is in a permanent or settled state of pride. That's really what this tense means.

So the next time you get in an argument with somebody who has opposing doctrine, keep this in mind. You're not going to change their mind. A lot of times, the spirit has to change their mind, otherwise it'll never get changed. I don't care how many pages of proofs you have. It's like we're studying John on Wednesday nights, and the Lord Jesus stands up and gives five proofs of his deity, that he was the Son of God, and he was the Messiah. And the Jews said, I don't care what you say. And I don't care what your proofs are. You're not the Messiah. And if we get a chance, we're going to kill you.

And this word for understand is a word for knowing. It's to put one's attention to or fix one's thoughts or to understand. So thus this person is not merely devoid of a knowledge of facts. but they are unable to do any concentrated or reflective thinking. It's so relevant to 2025.

What's the problem with most leaders in the world today? They don't know how to think. They operate on emotion. I hate to go political on you, and I didn't follow it very close, but you take this guy that just got elected the mayor of New York City, Mondami, it was all emotion. Those people are not thinking. If they took a look at what this guy really talks about, they would have rejected him out of hand. But they don't think. And it's because they haven't been thinking ever. So they're easily fooled.

You know, one of the things that your education should afford you, if nothing else, is that when someone makes a statement, you say back to them, why do you think that way? You understand that? Why do you think that way? If there are questions that come up or statements that are made, it's perfectly fine for you as an educated person to say, why do you think that way? Why do you think that's true?

And don't tell me about emotion. Give me some facts about that. I think the general answer is now, "'Cause." "'Cause." I'm dealing with a guy from CDPHE, and that's really literally the answer. Here's the regulations. Well, this. Why? That's not in the regulations. Well, well isn't an answer.

You know, you watch people, even in sports, you know, why? Why'd the team play so lousy? And the coach may give a good answer, a thought-out, a well-thought-out answer with facts, but the talking heads that are talking about his football team, it's all about how they feel. Oh, I feel he didn't do a good job, or I feel this, or I feel that. And I feel is kind of that, Mark in your speech, it says, this is it. If I feel it, then it's so.

Well, it's not so. Because you're not thinking. You're not using the brain that God gave you or the will that he gave you to think through things and make decisions about them. So. Well, emotions are just responders. What's that? They just respond. When a person is asked a question, why do you think that way? They answer and say, I'll tell you how I feel about it. They won't answer, I'll tell you how I think about it. That's kind of going back to the reckoning. They aren't counting things. They're just making up numbers. It's not looking at the facts and then reckoning.

Sure. We're not even looking at the list. A couple things before you, I think all of this, how important it is about Paul's instruction to Timothy, and I was looking back, in 1 Timothy, and that was about, you may be in instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrine or pay attention to send us a lot he gave that again in the words back then were like like a pariah don't even get close to these many did it again and uh... first timothy three nine where but avoid foolish controversies junior out you know a strife disputes he's doing it again so he's really hammering timothy about sound doctrine how important it is and how important it is not even get involved in the other I remember when we did the first Timothy 1, the words were like literally pariah, you don't even go there, you don't even engage. That's right.

And just the importance of sound doctrine and just staying away from any, weird doctrines. Don't even engage it. Just go back to the sound. He's telling, always go back to the sound words, sound teaching. That's where you go. You don't get into the strife and the controversies and all this. You go back to sound doctrines. That's where you stand. That's right. Okay. We gotta go. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you're so instructive about how we respond, that we can trust you with the truth and the doctrine and that you will teach us and keep us safe from people's opinions and keep our focus and eyes on you and your word. We thank you for that. We pray in your son's precious name. Amen.