False teaching is deadly. The apostle Paul is so concerned about it that the first thing he tells Timothy to do is to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3). False teaching must not be tolerated in the church. What is false teaching? It is anything which is different from what has been written down in holy Scripture. If someone is teaching something different from what the Scriptures say then it is false teaching. If they are teaching something different to how the Scriptures have been interpreted for hundreds of years then it is also likely to be false teaching.
Why would people move away from what the life giving Scripture says? It might be because they find a particular doctrine unbelievable, such as the virgin birth, or the resurrection from the dead. Or it might be that they find it offensive, such as the only means of salvation being faith in a crucified messiah, or the Bible’s teaching that God’s good gift of sex is only for marriage between man and woman.
Paul instructs Timothy that false teaching must not be tolerated in the church and that ministers of the gospel have a duty to ensure that such teaching is opposed.
Does this sound unloving? Some might think so, but the apostle Paul tells us that the aim of the charge is actually love (v5). Why is it loving to charge ministers not to teach any false doctrine? One writer tells us one of the problems with false doctrine is that “it disturbs the life and love of the church.”
But not only does false teaching tear churches apart, but the same writer tells us it is “murderous to the soul. Teaching heterodoxy [things different to orthodox teaching] is perhaps the most unloving thing a person can do. Is any sin greater than the murder of a soul?”
How is false teaching murderous to the soul? The gospel brings life through commanding people to turn away from sin and to follow Jesus. If any minister moves away from this teaching, they are not being loving, since they are moving from what brings life to that which brings eternal death.
If you are a minister, I urge you to heed the apostle Paul’s warning not to teach any different doctrine. Stick with the gospel of Jesus Christ, stick with His teaching even when it’s unpopular. If you are a member of a church, encourage your minister to stick with sound doctrine, thank him when he does especially when it’s unpopular. If they are teaching a different doctrine and they will not listen, it may be time to find a church that teaches sound doctrine, your soul is too important for compromise.
Whatever stage you’re at, be encouraged by Paul’s words later in the chapter “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v15). All those who turn to Christ can be saved, even someone like the apostle Paul who was so hostile to the gospel that he was even putting Christians to death. As Fanny Crosby reminds us “the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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