³As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, ⁴nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Urgency was Paul’s speed of ministry—at times. While he did preach about the importance of patience (2 Cor. 6:6, Gal 5:22, etc.), some things cannot wait. False teaching demands a time-conditioned response; there is no time to waste. The Ephesians had enjoyed many years of apostolic teaching, but at the end of his personal ministry with them, Paul warned:

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock . . . I know that after my departure [from Ephesus] savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert . . . (Acts 20:28–31).

The best defense against false teaching is to provide right doctrinal teaching. The movement today in popular Christianity seems to downplay doctrine and focus on “following Jesus.” But, as someone has asked, “Which Jesus are you following? The Jesus of your own making?” To be a follower of Jesus is not a matter of personal speculation that merely gives lip service to the Jesus of the Bible. Faith is built not on a nebulous idea of a Jesus concept but is built on rock solid facts of truth. Truth is found in God’s revelation, the Bible. Anyone who teaches things that are not consistent with the God-breathed Word (see 2 Tim. 3:16) is a false teacher.

Paul was adamant; the response must be immediate. He conveys to Timothy this sense of urgency. Timothy is to engage in the spiritual battle for the truth. To be sure, this means publicly teaching the truth, but it also means confronting the purveyors of falsehoods directly. This is not a task for the faint of heart or those who avoid confrontation. Paul doesn’t say to do it gently, as he does when approaching a brother who has fallen into sin (Gal. 6:1), but one gets the impression that stern admonishment is required.

The strange doctrines were literally “other doctrines,” that is, contrary to what Paul had taught them. They involved legends that had no basis in historical facts and involved arguments about people’s ancient lineages. These things may tickle the imaginative mind, but they hinder the advancement of God’s purposes.

Lord, help me to focus on the truth as You have revealed it, and not on theological speculation or baseless assertions.