speculations vs. stewardship

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

1 Timothy 1:3-4

Paul is concerned that false doctrine taught by improperly motivated teachers (see 1 Timothy 1:5-6) would create a chaotic church veering away from the gospel. The content of their teaching was not solid. It was not scriptural. It was not gospel. It did not steward the grace of the gospel but emphasized personal agendas. So here in this passage we are warned that speculations (personal opinions) are not authoritative. They are not the gospel. We need to be careful not to veer away from the central Christian message: Christ died for our sins, and rose again to bring us eternal life by faith in Him.

I think that sadly Christians can get worked up by vain speculations today. Some examples of vain speculations that steal the gospel’s centrality:

• Cultural issues as the church’s first calling
• Patriotism draped in the Christian Flag
• Political positions (right or left) promoted as the Christian agenda to change the world
• Style of worship music
• Lifestyle sermons (income, parenting, career, etc) preached as the most important messages… often with little to no scriptural basis
• Abandoning expositional preaching because the Bible is “old, hard to understand, and irrelevant”

Instead, we steward the gospel. We preach the Word of God in pulpits and at the café. We commit to learning sound doctrine that always keeps a tight orbit around the gospel. We share the truth as the good news of the gospel that calls sinners to repentance, renewal, and reliance on the Word of God and Holy Spirit for lasting and eternal change. We reject speculations and reflect the glories of Jesus to a world that desperately still needs a Savior that God has provided.