“different” doctrine is false doctrine.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 1 Timothy 6:3-5

Christian leadership MUST take false doctrine seriously… whether it is prosperity theology, outright denial of the deity of Christ, or a false gospel that emphasizes either the extreme of legalism or the excess of lawlessness. Those drunk on false teaching will exhibit these characteristics according to Paul’s warning to Timothy:

1. They are conceited (1 Timothy 6:4). They are full of themselves. They are proud. They judge others by a false standard and condemn all the rest of Christianity, reviling the truth in their disdain of scriptural orthodoxy. They are full of conceit, and well… full of… other stuff.
2. They understand nothing (1 Timothy 6:4). Yep… Paul says false doctrine advocates are… well… dumb. His words. Inspired by the Spirit of God. They. Are. Stupid.
3. They are contentious (1 Timothy 6:4-5). They see themselves as the only ones who get it right. Everyone else is wrong. They live in constant friction (again those are Paul’s words) with other Christians… a sure sign of doctrinal division and unorthodoxy and frankly, rejection of the gospel. Why? The Apostle John says true Christians “love the brothers”.
4. They give into depraved (sinful) minds because they refuse the truth (1 Timothy 6:5). Again, this is Paul speaking with strong words. They relabel sins that they struggle with. Sins become “mistakes”, or “misunderstandings”, or “difficulties”, or “poor decisions”. They fail to confess their daily need of the sustaining gospel because… well… see point 1! Conceit keeps them depraved. They try to live under their own power, deprived of the eternal power of the truth of the Word of God, the grace of forgiveness over confessed sin, and the Spirit of God’s fruit born out in their redemption.

Sadly, these kinds of Christian defectors are increasingly given cyber-influence and social media platforms that only harden their conceit as they pontificate their loathsome brand of bull.

I have seen two types of regular responses to my call as a church leader to point out false doctrine. One response: looking at the Word, reading it for what it says, coming to the conclusion that the point of view once imbibed was unbiblical and wrong. Praise God, the Spirit of God and the Word of God bring repentance from sinful false doctrine and love for the truth!

The second response is not so good. Scriptural examination is refused. This saddens me, because the false doctrine espoused is tied so often to deep personal misery. In real life, heresy looks a lot like the four things Paul says here. And these four things DO NOT bring joy. Heterodoxy creates a living hell that despairs of life in this world and loses out on loving God and loving people well. And so I pray that the Spirit of God will do work to break through the refusal of truth and that in His mercy He will call to repentance all who have strayed from the truth.