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)

Quality Instruction

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Well, I thought that I was going to go through this book much, much faster than I did through Romans. But if this is any indication of what is ahead I don't think that is going to happen. Every time I come back to read some more I end up hearing something very important for my heart in the very same verses again. But then, that is the primary reason I come here anyway – to hear something from God, not just to cover ground reading the Bible. So I will not complain or feel guilty about sitting in the same spot for extended lengths of time. What I value more is that God continues to share new things with me and especially things that affect the way my heart perceives Him.

When I compare this verse with the descriptions of the alternative kind of teachers in both the preceding and following verses, I sense that I need to be convicted of the times when I participate more in fruitless discussions than in meaningful instructions. And since I don't want to stay in that position but want to learn how to align myself more closely with the right kind of dialog with others, I feel the need to meditate on these verses and listen to what the real difference is between these two paradigms.

I really like the simplicity of this description of the right kind of instruction. There are three things that can be viewed as trademarks of healthy spiritual dialog. The first is love from a pure heart. This is the most important goal of the three listed here and the one most needed to prepare us to see God. It is learning to live in love and not fear that is the only way that anyone will ever be prepared to encounter the close presence of the living God and survive without being tortured in agony of spirit. Only as we learn to respond with love that is without resistance to the love flowing toward us from God's heart will we be able to live in the presence of love of that magnitude. Thus the need for a pure heart filled with love, for purity simply means that our love will be undivided, undiluted and increasingly loyal to the One who gave His life in love for us.

The second hallmark of good instruction listed here is a good conscience. This is a little bit harder to really understand because of our nebulous ideas about what our conscience actually is. But to have a good conscience in the presence of God is also a very important attitude to pursue if we seriously want to have our hearts and minds in such tune with God's Spirit that we can hear Him speaking to us from the inside on a regular basis. A person who is serious about following the leading of the Holy Spirit in their life will find that there are many things that they can no longer participate in or allow their minds to dwell on or else their conscience will become contaminated and it will be much more difficult to hear clearly the voice of God speaking to the soul.

The last thing listed here as a sign of true spiritual instruction is sincere faith. Again, because we tend to have such confused concepts of what faith really is we fail to realize just what this may be referring to or talking about. What I have been learning is that faith is something that is caught and reflected much more than worked up as I used to think. In fact, I am coming to believe more and more that the best way to increase faith or trust in our hearts is to fill our minds with thoughts and reminders of the enormous faith that Jesus has in us even before we ever began to respond to His love for us. As we become aware of the total faithfulness of God and the things that make Him worth trusting, we will be inspired with faith ourselves. To have a sincere faith is to allow faith to develop in an atmosphere in our heart of acceptance and belief in the truths about Himself that God wants to reveal to us.

Alternatively, a person who is involved in fruitless discussions, who wants to be a teacher of the law while not really knowing what he is talking about but thinks he does, is probably going to be lacking in at least one of these qualifications listed for true instruction. This person will many times be so out of touch with their own heart that they will find it baffling to even comprehend the real meaning of this phrase, love from a pure heart. It may be something that they can dissect and analyze from an intellectual perspective and even pontificate on as teachers thinking that they have figured out just what it must mean. But if they have not allowed their own heart to be humbled before the presence of God and have listened to the longings of their heart for real healing and growth, then they are likely to be found in the latter group and their discussions will tend to be rather fruitless when it comes to affecting the hearts of other people on a deeper level.

Likewise, people who allow themselves to compromise their conscience, who think that they can feed their minds with worldly entertainment or engage in activities out of harmony with the ways of heaven and still be actively involved in leading out in religious instruction for other people's lives; these people will not often even realize that their conscience has been compromised and is not trustworthy to be relied on to lead them in the right direction. Because they have violated their conscience so many times in what they consider little insignificant things, they do not realize that they are not even hearing the real voice of God in their hearts. Instead they tend to depend more on their knowledge of Bible texts, their extensive training in religious training and their acquirement of doctrinal truths to be their support that makes them think they are right with God.

And lastly, the faith that they believe they have is generally only an intellectual “faith” which is really more of an assent to what they believe is truth instead of a heart connection with the heart of God. Their faith is not really sincere from God's perspective and when the day of reckoning comes they will be surprised to hear Jesus say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me... They may have spent their whole life working very hard for God, doing all sorts of very successful religious activities and even leading many others to a knowledge of God as a career veteran in God's church. But because they failed to engage their own hearts in serious pursuit of an intimate connection with Him at the most vulnerable depths of their soul, they will be shocked and even angered when they discover that they have spent all their energies in the wrong priorities.

I want to be keenly aware of the differences between these two kinds of teachers so that I can be aware of when I am slipping into the wrong mode of thinking or teaching. I want to keep myself accountable to this verse that reminds me of the real purpose of all religious instruction. I want my heart to be pure and reflective of God's love for me. I want my conscience to be good and protected from the contamination of worldly influences designed to corrupt and compromise it. And I want my faith to be genuine, sincere and growing each day as I make myself more and more aware of the amazing faith that fills the mind and heart of my Savior and His incredible worth that makes Him worth trusting to the uttermost.

Grace After Law

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious...(1 Timothy 1:8-9)

I keep coming back to this part of the chapter listening for what else God has to show me here. Now I am beginning to see some connections more clearly between these two parts of this passage.

Paul was intimately familiar with the kind of people he was referring to in this passage, people who thought of themselves as teachers of the law but actually were engaged in fruitless discussions. How did he know so much about them? Because he used to be right in the center of them himself. He was one of the main people who studied the law endlessly to amass proof for the beliefs that he had grown up being taught. He himself had researched endless genealogies and had speculated with his peers who were among the elite scholars of the Jews. So he was not just making accusations about people he knew little about. He had once been a strong leader doing the very things that he now warns others against getting involved in.

He was also painfully aware that he himself was one of the people that he lists here as those who needed the law. While professing to be a strict adherent and teacher of the law himself and considered himself to be very righteous, he also used his zeal for the law to persecute and advocate violence against all those whom he felt were betraying the law of the Jews by spreading heresy. He was particularly upset by a new and very dangerous cult that were teaching perverted interpretations of the Torah and making claims that to any good Jewish scholar were obviously blasphemy. And it was well established that the punishment for blasphemy according to the law was death by stoning. So Paul, back then Saul, was not out of line at all in simply trying to enforce the clear pronouncements from the very mouth of God given through Moses in the law.

This is the context from which Paul is now writing his letter to Timothy. He knows that anyone who is aware of his background could consider him a hypocrite for saying such things about people who were no different than the life he had once strenuously advocated. But he makes the point here that there was something about his heart that was very important in God's eyes. While he was honest to admit that he was wrong in many of the things he had done in the past, he insisted that he had done them from a position of ignorance and in sincerity.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:12-14)

Is Paul trying to diminish the severity of his past mistakes? Is he trying to justify himself in some way? Does unbelief excuse us from guilt? Absolutely not! But notice the main emphasis in these verses. The main point he is focusing on here is not his relative innocence or guilt but is the attitude of Jesus toward him while he was fighting ferociously against His followers. The absolutely stunning thing about God is that He has so much faith in us even when no one else sees any reason to do so. He considered me faithful, putting me into service... This was the surprise ambush of Jesus that caught Paul's heart in a conspiracy of kindness. And Paul is very clear in Romans 2 that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.

Paul for the rest of his life can do little more than gush about the faith that Jesus has in sinners, the grace of our Lord that is more than abundant and the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. As Christians we far too often tend to gravitate into thinking that faith and grace and love are things that we have to come up with in order to satisfy God's requirements so we can be saved. But it is impossible for us to have any of these things ourselves without having them just reflected from our lives. And the only way that a mirror can reflect anything is if the mirror is turned to face that thing or person. When the mirror of our heart is turned to focus its gaze on the amazing truths that define the very nature and character of God, those realities can then become seen more and more clearly in the lives of all who choose to turn to Him.

Faith can only exist as a response to faith. Love can only be ignited in response to being loved. And grace is learned and empowered by experiencing grace. It is only as I come to Jesus and encounter His heart with my heart that I will be able to reflect those characteristics necessary to enjoy the atmosphere of heaven. And in addition, the context of this passage implies that this is the only way that the law of God will be fulfilled in my own life.

The Law of God is nothing more than a very simplified description of what God is like. The only way that I can come into harmony or synchronization with the character of God, His law, is to practice reflecting Him. That process is known by the saying, By beholding we become changed. Paul was transformed from a law-enforcing zealot to a Jesus freak who couldn't ever keep his mouth shut about the grace that had shown so much faith in him while he was still an open enemy of Jesus. For the rest of his life Paul was happily willing to endure any pain, threats or abuse in order to demonstrate the grace to others that had so radically altered his perception of God.

I want that kind of radical encounter with Jesus. I want a much clearer inner picture of this stunning grace, this bizarre faith that comes from Jesus, this love that I find so hard to practice myself. I crave a clearer glimpse of the face of God so that my own heart will become supercharged with a reflection of the real truth about Him which is His glory.