Pastoral Epistles: 1 Timothy 6:3 - The Antidote to Doctrinal Error

The primary function of a spiritual leader is to feed his people the Word. They will then avoid the poisonous weeds of false doctrine and grow to maturity.We have been discussing that false teachers can be recognized by what they affirm if what they affirm is contrary to Scripture. But the flip side of that is that false teachers can also be recognized by what they deny. Paul described that by noting that they do “not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verb is in the present tense, indicating that false teachers are in a continuous state of not agreeing with sound doctrine. “Sound” is from the Greek word, hugiaino, from which we derive our word “hygiene.” False teachers are not spiritually or doctrinally pure. They suffer from a lack of doctrinal hygiene. Titus 1:9: “. . . holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”