‘Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned.’
(Titus 2:7–8)
It is important that believers share the same faith, and that what they believe is the truth as taught in the Bible. This makes for harmony in worshipping and praising God, building up the community, and preaching the gospel of salvation.
This demands a firm belief and faithful practice of the principles. In the Bible’s New Testament the words ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ are interchangeable, as they both derive from the same Greek word ‘pistis’.
In Romans 6, when writing about the relevance and meaning of baptism, Paul thanks God that the believers ‘have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed’ (v. 17). The Roman brothers and sisters in Christ had embraced in faith the true gospel taught by the apostles, and had maintained that obedience to the doctrine despite difficulties and persecution. It ensured that the Roman congregation was able to continue its worship and witness, and the members stayed together.
Difficulties
Within a few years after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven, errors of belief crept in which destroyed the unity. These ‘other’ teachings disturbed the faith of some, and members were instructed, ‘Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world’ (1 John 4:1). In other words, they were to test the new ideas by the sound and fundamental teachings which had been established by Jesus and the early apostles. The apostle Paul had to be extremely strict with the members in Galatia, when he told them they should reject any gospel which had not been preached or taught by the apostles. The alternative version which had taken hold, seemed like the one which the apostles had taught, but it was not the same, and Paul said its supporters were perverting the true gospel (Galatians 1:6–7). So it was serious; the harmony and unity within the brotherhood had been undermined, and believers were troubled.
Sadly, some members did not hold to the unity of the faith, and ‘wandered away into vain discussion’
(1 Timothy 1:6), to the point of doubt and disbelief of the true teaching. The apostle Paul was deeply concerned about this undermining of truth, and instructed Timothy in Ephesus to take action. He wrote, ‘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). These are strong and forceful words, but the unity of the believers was extremely important, as was their relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, not forgetting the grace of salvation. They were better off without the troublemakers who disturbed the faith and hope of some.
Encouragement
The same problem had surfaced in many new Christian congregations, and there are many similar words of encouragement to hold fast. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he writes, ‘Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you’ (2 Timothy 1:13–14). Whether or not Paul considered the alternative false teaching as a personal rejection of himself and what he stood for is irrelevant, the important feature is that the erroneous teaching undermined the faith of some and hazarded their eternal salvation. Furthermore, it slandered God, as well as setting aside the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for God had carefully and precisely provided the true Gospel to be preached, believed, and faithfully lived. God had called out from the Jewish and Gentile worlds, a people for His Name (Acts 15:14). That others should obstruct and impede God’s word and work was arrogant and inexcusable.
Blessings
We have referred to the trouble caused by the ‘wrong’ teachers, which was clearly deplorable and destructive of faith, to see the reasons why Paul found it necessary to write about holding fast to the faithful word. His positive exhortations would refresh the believers and help them to maintain their unity in faith and practice. There is a comfort and consolation in the true Gospel. This desired unity and harmony was in operation in most congregations, and was a wonderful example of working together and being concerned and caring for each other. It is recorded of the Jerusalem members that ‘all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people’ (Acts 2:44–47). After all, they were all together ‘heirs… of the grace of life’ (1 Peter 3:7).
VIC AUCOTT
(to be continued)