What Defines Strange Doctrine?

...so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, (1 Timothy 1:3)

I am finding this so full of valuable instruction for me. This morning the thing that grabbed my attention was this thing about strange doctrines. I have heard this expression for much of my life, but often from the other side of the fence from where I think Paul was talking about here. Let me try to explain.

Strange is one of those word that is an explicitly relative term depending on your current understanding and biases. It is relative like the word short or warm or a host of other words that need a reference point, a context or else they are impossible to determine the real meaning of the word. For instance, in the case of strange, what feels very strange to one person is absolutely the center of normal for other people. In this case, those who think themselves to be teachers of the law, who pay attention to “myths” and endless genealogies would most likely consider the teachings of Paul to be strange and even something to be avoided. In fact, they would not necessarily believe that what they were paying attention to were even myths. They would probably have taken offense at these words of Paul and would have dismissed him as simply one who was holding a grudge or was prejudiced against the “truths” that they were trying to teach from the same Scriptures.

These teachers might also be incensed that Paul would say that their discussions were fruitless. They might point out that it is only through protracted discussions and detailed analysis of language and subtle nuances in writings from the ancients that one could ever hope to begin to discover real truth. They might believe that only in tracing their authority back through proper channels of heritage could they even determine who should be qualified to have credibility, who had been endowed with the authority passed down from the fathers, who was qualified to be leaders over those around them.

It is this kind of collective wisdom based on the traditions of “our people”, whoever that may be for any group, that often determines who we decide to listen to and receive our belief system from. Many people have been trained from early childhood to put more value on tradition and on submission to those who have been trained or authorized by “the system” than on seeking to pursue and receive truth directly from its only Source. The massive systems of education and qualifications set up by men through their educational institutions more often than not set up more obstacles to knowing truth than in helping people toward living in it.

Am I against all formal education. No, that is not what I am promoting. But until we are willing to face the fact that we have a penchant for giving more credence to formal recognition and degrees awarded by men's systems of brainwashing over listening to the unpopular convictions of the Spirit, we will always be in danger of staying in a state of deception and will fail to follow the leading of God into a genuine, saving relationship with our Savior. That is not to say that all those who participate in these systems fail to understand salvation. God has His people in all sorts of places, people who are listening to the Spirit of God in their souls and following His guidance and exerting an influence for good. But as a whole, the institutions of men almost always gravitate toward putting more credence on credentials from each other than on valuing real truth as revealed by heaven.

So the result of this massive system usually designed to justify and propagate deceptive ideas that sound more appealing to humanity's sinful desires than the straight truths of the Bible; the result of caring more about what men think of us than what God speaks through our conscience and His Word, is that the messages from God's servants like Paul will often sound strange to us and we will be tempted to explain away or twist their meanings to fit our preconceived ideas more closely.

So, the experience that I have had is that the things I am now seeing in the Bible and the wonderful revelations about God He has been showing me, would be considered strange doctrines, things to be warned against by those who had strong opinions about what they believed was “truth”. Beliefs that now are foundational to my relationship with God were labeled as strange and heretical by those who were supposed to be my religious mentors. Even the idea of a relationship with God being of high importance for spirituality was considered a heresy by staunch religious authorities in my life. So from my own experience, just because the words strange doctrines are invoked does not mean that the ideas being referred to are necessarily what Paul was talking about when he referred to them in this passage.

Thus it is very important to allow the author of a statement define what he intended when he expressed it instead of supposing that our context is the one used to explain it. And even more importantly, we need to have hearts that are awake, humble and in tune with the quiet Spirit of God, that we listen for the inner voice of conviction, of affirmation and of revelation that will help us understand the Scriptures from the perspective that they were written instead of insisting on maintaining our own biases and entrenched beliefs to define truth.

There is another phrase in the next verse that I find encouraging and instructive. Instead of depending on men's systems of determining truth and credibility, Paul says that our instructing should further the administration of God which is by faith. (1 Timothy 1:4) There is an alternative wording of this phrase which for me is more clear. This word administration can also be translated as provision. So what this text can be saying is that instead of being distracted by the philosophies and expostulations of religious people, I need to pay closer attention to the provisions of God which are along the lines of true faith.

This aligns perfectly with everything else I have been learning about God and His plan of salvation. My first need is to focus on God myself more than on other people's expostulations about Him. I need to fill my mind with ever increasing light about His true character instead of dwelling on confusing presentations designed to make me a follower of some self-proclaimed religious guru or popular religious preacher. I need to listen to the voice of the Spirit guiding me in careful examination of the Word of God more than trusting in some person who may have spent years earning degrees and gaining authority over others through human systems of knowledge. And although I may learn many wonderful and useful truths from people who have spent years of training in human institutions of education, the Word of God must be my highest source of authority for doctrine and belief and experience.

I have been learning that God is not only willing but is desirous and eager to teach and personally mentor each child of His who is willing to become a willing and responsive student. Religious education may sometimes help or enhance that mentoring process, but each person is accountable personally to God for how much they are willing to be led by His Spirit. The reality of eternal life is that it is only those who are being led by the Spirit of God, that are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)