false knowledge

O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Grace be with you.

1 Timothy 6:20-21

There is always some competition for the gospel even in the church. This is why leaders must guard the simplicity and truth of the gospel from false doctrine. Paul’s warning to Timothy is to bolster him to be on the lookout for this stuff. And one code word seems to be the key: “knowledge”.

False doctrine always seems to offer some enticing tidbit of previously unknown knowledge. That is because the devil has not changed his tactics since he first tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. There Satan offered additional knowledge to change the content of what God had said. It was false, but sounded deeply spiritual, and Adam and Eve really wanted what the devil served up instead. And so false doctrine began to be a problem that we still fall for if we don’t guard the truth that God has entrusted to us in His Word.

I’m extremely leery of books or sermons that use language offering to unlock “secrets” for us. That’s a clear indicator to me that the “new knowledge” game is being played again. I am suspicious when a televangelist looks at the camera and confidently says, “Let me tell you something you’ve never heard before.” There is reason it has never been said in doctrinally sound environments before! 

Although there are always personally profound personal applications of scriptural truth to be made daily, there really is no new doctrine to be found in God’s revealed Word! It is firmly established. It is settled. We must believe it, preach it, live it, and defend it against those who would preach a false gospel with their false “knowledge”. Let’s be sure to never add to the gospel (Jesus + politics; Jesus + good works; Jesus + social action; Jesus + Christian subculture) or subtract from it (Jesus - atonement; Jesus - sinfulness of humanity; Jesus - the satisfied wrath of God; Jesus - the exclusivity of the gospel)!