False Teachers: 2 Timothy 2:17-18

One of the topics of Paul’s second letter to Timothy is that of false teachers. In referring to false teachers, Paul is drawing a comparison between them and himself. Of such false teachers, Paul writes, “and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17-18 NASB). Two things are of interest in this passage. First, in the Greek, the word translated here as “talk” is the singular form of the word often translated as “word.” I believe that Paul uses the singular form of this word to indicate that, for these men, their entire body of teaching is in error. Paul is not saying that some of their teachings are in error, but that their entire doctrine is false. I suppose that, if we examined anyone’s teaching hard enough, we would find something that we disagree with. However, just because someone has some beliefs that are different than ours does not make them a false teacher. We ought not to be quick to pronounce those who disagree with us in some fine point of theology as a false teacher. The truth is that we all, like Apollos, have areas of our theology where we could stand to be taught “the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26 NASB). False teachers are not just wrong in their teaching; they are completely devoid of the truth of God in their teaching, their conduct, and their love. These are the false teachers that Paul is referring to.

Secondly, the word translated here as “spreading” is the Greek term that can also mean pasture. It is used only one other time in the New Testament when Jesus spoke of himself as being the door of the sheep. Jesus said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9 NASB). Jesus spoke this in contrast to the false teachers who came before him, saying, “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them” (John 10:8 NASB). False teaching does not inflict a wound that kills all at once. Instead, it slowly eats away at us as we continue to graze and pasture on its words. Paul’s words regarding false teachers ought to cause us to ask ourselves, “what are we feeding upon?” Are we grazing and pasturing on the word of God, or are we like those whom Paul speaks of who “will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB). What we choose to fill our lives with matters. If we choose to continually feed ourselves on the word of God, then we will continue to grow in our walk with God. However, if we turn away to false teachers, those teaching a Gospel other than that taught by Jesus and his apostles, then the very word we feed on will consume us little by little until we are completely consumed by death. The choice is ours! Choose wisely!

David Robison