6In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 7But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women …
All that Paul has been writing to Timothy, he is to convey to the believers in Ephesus, and by extension, it all applies to us as well. We should believe these things and teach them to others. Remember we need to be “the faithful men” that Paul later writes to Timothy about in 2 Timothy 2:2, who will continue the chain of successive teaching. The writer to the Hebrews says, “[B]y this time you ought to be teachers” of the “elementary principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5:12). All believers, not just the gifted teachers and the local church elders and leaders, should be involved in conveying the truth of God. Thus, we all should understand this letter to Timothy and teach it in our spheres of influence, thereby being “good servant[s] of Christ Jesus.”
In Timothy’s case, he had a history of being influenced by the faithful teachings and the sound doctrine. Yes, doctrine is important, not just how to live our faith. The two go hand in hand. Wrong doctrine leads an otherwise faithful person into a form of legalism or wrong ways of living.
In particular, Paul points out to Timothy to avoid “worldly fables” fit for old women. Paul is not disparaging aged women, for he highly praises Timothy’s mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5), and he calls in the next chapter for financially supporting godly older women. Here he speaks of older women who are not worthy of the description “godly” but are characterized by the cackle of gossip. That puts them in the same league as the philosophers on Mars Hill, who “used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21) and worshipping what they did not really know anything about (Acts 17:23). Paul encourages Timothy not to get his knowledge and wisdom from any other source than the Word of truth and the sound doctrine he already had. In other words, anything that does not agree with the sound doctrine Timothy already has should be ignored.
The application for us today is clear. So-called “Christian teaching” populates the internet, social media, books, and articles, and popular preachers command massive audiences. How do we sort through the cacophony of voices? The only way is to become people of faith and sound doctrine as revealed in Scripture. We must become students of the Bible, studying to show ourselves approved (2 Tim. 2:15). We must read and know our Bibles!
Lord, I commit to making my Bible reading and studying a daily priority!
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