7/8/10

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions." [1Tim 1:5-7]

Paul immediately defines what success looks like. When he is teaching he cares about three things in his audience: love, righteousness, and faith. This can be used to differentiate good teachers of God's word from bad ones. In the previous verse he spoke of "certain men," and he paints very clearly a line between what should and should not be listened to.
Hallmarks of what should be disregarded or rebuked in the teaching and discussion of God's word (and faiths / sects which have gone astray by way of these errors)
Strange doctrines (Christian Science, LDS, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholicism)
Myths (Catholicism, Christian Identity / White Power)
Genealogies (Judaism)
Speculation (Episcopalianism, new-age spirituality)
Fruitless discussion (Agnosticism, Unitarianism)

Everyone likes to feel good about themselves. There's a self-important belief that since God cannot be known, everyone's opinion is therefore equal. That is like saying "since we cannot visit other stars, my opinions about them are just as valid as an astronomer's." The astronomer spends her life studying the star, making observations and comparing them to the observations of others, taking notes, searching for new information and reading scientific journals. Her conclusions are not to be accepted on the same level as those of a person who watches a lot of Star Trek.
If we do not approach God's word with a reverent humility, however, we are likely to fall into the same trap. How often do we think that our opinion of the sermon is just as important as that of the pastor who preached it? Both information about God and a relationship with God are freely available to all, but to take advantage of this grace demands a regular and focussed effort. We wants the results without the investment, like a child who covets the skill of a guitar player but is uninterested in the work it would take to achieve it. If this sin is not addressed in our heart, it is much more likely that we will give others a pass who also have it; we cannot condemn them without condemning ourselves, so we silently decide that neither of us is sinning.

- J