1 Timothy 1

"7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm."

This is scary. I really hope none of us will become like this. I feel that this does not only apply to actual teachers of the law, but everyone who is in the position to teach. This includes all who gives sermons, leads Bible studies, teaches Religious Education, and any other position that would put a person in a situation to teach. Perhaps in the beginning, we do not actually 'desire' to teach, we may have even been 'forced' to be in that position to teach. However, as time goes by, and we feel like we are improving and getting better, we may start to be more confident in what we teach. If we do not be alert during this time and continue to follow in the truth, we may give way to false teachings and continue to teach with the same confidence. This way, we become the same as those teaching false doctrines that Paul is warning Timothy about. Make sure we KNOW that we are teaching the doctrine of love from God, and that is the only doctrine that we will confidently affirm. If we ever doubt whether we are teaching the correct teachings or not, then it may be better to refrain from teaching to prevent others from being influenced by false teachings. It is better to take this time to cultivate ourselves spiritually, so that we can once again be filled with the wisdom of God in teaching His correct doctrine.

As Paul urged Timothy in verse 3 to COMMAND these men not to teach false doctrines. I think we should also help each other by pointing out problems with teaching the correct doctrines. We should help to recognize those who could influence the members in the wrong direction. Because the matter of letting the whole church be influenced negatively is greater than the matter of embarrassing the person presenting false teachings. It is better to embarrass one person than to cause the whole congregation to fall spiritually. It is not a light matter to be taken, because it regards the spiritual life of many. Many times, we may feel uncomfortable making someone feel uncomfortable and end up compromising with God instead. Perhaps we feel that we are showing love to the person by not embarrassing him/her, but in verse 5 we learn that love has to come from a sincere faith also. Therefore, without sincere faith, the love we show is not truly love. It could actually be a harm to the person to let them continue to teach the wrong doctrines. It is definitely harmful in causing other members to fall or believe wrongly because those who know the right teachings did not choose to correct the mistake. May we continue to ask for the wisdom from God, so that we will be able to teach His complete truth when we are placed in the position to teach.