Bullies and the 10 Pound Bible

“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1Tim 1:8).

Fire can help and it can hurt. It can be helpful and it can be hurtful. The same flickering flames in the fireplace that warm you up on a frosty night can also burn your house to the ground and kill your family. When we use fire properly, it’s wonderful. But it’s deadly when mishandled. Timothy is dealing with a similar situation in Ephesus. No, the middle school kids aren’t playing with matches at a lock in. (On the other hand, if your middle schoolers are spending the night at the church, you probably need to make sure none of them brought a lighter.) 

A team of false teachers have infiltrated the Ephesian church and their counterfeit gospel is damaging believers (1Tim 1:3-6). Paul already kicked two of these bad teachers to the curb (1Tim 1:21). Clearly, a few more of these spiritual snake oil salesmen are still around. They think they’re hot stuff when it comes to teaching God’s Word but don’t have a clue what they’re talking about (1Tim 1:7). They are totally misusing Scripture and abusing the followers of Jesus. The apostle contrasts their way of teaching and tells Tim, “Now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). When the law of God is used correctly, it’s constructive, not destructive. It’s helpful, not hurtful. These bad teachers are simply playing with fire and somebody’s going to get burned.

Paul begins by reminding Tim, “Now we know that the law is good” (v8). By “we,” he’s drawing a distinction between themselves and the false teachers. Let’s be clear on the teams involved. You’ve got the good guys who are good teachers teaching the Good News. That would be the “we.” That would be Paul and Tim. On the other side of the field are the bad teachers teaching bad news. The reason the apostle has left his protege in Ephesus is because he’s a teammate. Paul trusts Tim. It’s important to remember that we’re not alone. Following the Lord isn’t a long, lonely ride like your some mysterious High Plains Drifter for Jesus. We do it together. We do it as a team. So who are your teammates you can count on? Who is your “we?” 

As partners in grace, this dynamic duo knows “that the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (v8). A quality carpenter always uses the right tool for the right job. Paul and Tim know when, where, and how to use the law of God. The apostle makes it clear that it’s “good” (v8). This is the Greek adjective kalos, which can mean beautiful but can also describe something as useful and practical. Paul goes out of his way to tell the church in Rome about how incredibly awesome God’s law really is. “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). God’s law is a handy dandy tool when used in the right way. It’s helpful, not hurtful. It’s constructive, not destructive. 

You can be sure that’s NOT how bad teachers are using the law. They misuse God’s commandments to crush and cripple Christ followers. Let’s be honest, you’ve seen it for yourself. Maybe you’ve personally been on the business end of a 10 pound Bible. This is when some bully appoints themselves as a religious law enforcement officer. They are more than happy to call you out and condemn you every time you get out of line. Think of them as biker gangs. Jesus dealt with thugs called the Pharisees during His earthly ministry. Now Paul and Tim are ready to rumble with similar hoods in Ephesus. These jerks are carelessly throwing the law around, trying to make folks believe it’s up to us to maintain our place in God’s kingdom. According to their twisted teaching, if we want to stay saved we need to follow every single rule and regulation. Jesus may have gotten us in, but it’s up to us to work to stay in. 

If you’re wondering, THAT’S A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL!!!! We place our trust in what Jesus has done on our behalf. He does the work that we could never do for ourselves. Christ perfectly obeyed every single commandment in the Old Testament so that we aren’t held accountable for it. I’ll be the first one to admit that reading through OT books like Leviticus and Numbers makes my head spin. It’s just rule after law after commandment. Let’s read them differently. Read them with the revelation that Jesus did all of that. Every single one of them. For you. For me. We trust in Jesus’ perfect life of obedience, His death for our sin, and His spectacular resurrection on our behalf. If you’re wondering what else you need to do in order to maintain your place in God’s family, Jesus shouted the answer from the cross. “IT IS FINISHED!!!” (Jn 19:30 emphasis added with pleasure!).

Meanwhile Paul reassures his boy Tim that God’s law is awesome “if one uses it lawfully” (v8). The original language here describes God’s good law as legitimate and correct according to proper use. A few years after this letter, the apostle will write Timothy a second time and use this same word (Gr. nomimos). “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules (Gr. nomimos)” (2Tim 2:5). So it also pictures an athlete who follows the rules of athletic competition. They don’t cheat. There’s no Deflategate scandal. No Spygate controversy. No suspicion of steroids or PEDs. This isn’t NASCAR where if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. Good teachers and pastors use God’s law as it is supposed to be used. There’s no cheating. No fudging the truth. 

So what does it mean to use the law of God “lawfully” (v8)? The best illustration is one from medicine. Think of the law like a diagnostic device like a CT scan, MRI, or x-ray. What incredible tools they are to health care professionals. These machines allow doctors to look inside our bodies and diagnose the disease. Once they’ve figured out what’s wrong, they know exactly what sort of treatment plan to pursue. No matter how many times you get a CT scan, it doesn’t treat the disease. The law is a diagnostic tool. God gives us His law in order to see our desperate need for a Savior. It points out just how much we need the Gospel. 

Look at it this way. The law is the diagnostic. The Gospel is the treatment. Without God’s good law, we wouldn’t know how bad our condition is. Going back to the law over and over again doesn’t provide the treatment for our sin. Only the grace of Jesus does that! Or in the words of Paul, “For by the works of the law no human begin will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). When used correctly in combination with the Gospel, God’s commandments have incredible healing power. King David had a hit song all about it’s rejuvenating ability. “The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul” (Ps 19:7). The law can’t save. But it can tell us how badly we need to be saved. The law is used for our diagnosis, not the cure.

When God’s commandments are used as intended, they’re awesome. When they’re used a weapon, they’re awful. Knowing when, where, and how to use His wonderful Word is incredibly important. Or in the Message paraphrase of verse 8, “It’s true that moral guidance and counsel need to be given, but the way you say it and to whom you say it are as important as what you say” (v8 The Message). Use God’s rules and regulations carefully and graciously. He gives them to us for our own good. Just like a loving dad tells his kids to not play with matches, He gives them to us for our own protection. It’s NOT to be used to hammer and hurt people. Stop bullying people with your 10 pound Bible. 

Bad Teacher

“desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1Tim 1:7)

My wife loves movies about great teachers. I don’t mean she likes them a lot. LOVES them. There’s something about these stories that suck her in. Every. Single. Time. If “Mr. Holland’s Opus” is on, she’s in. Same with “Dead Poets Society.” Sidney Portier in “To Sir with Love”? Are you kidding me?!? These are stories of dedicated educators pouring themselves into the lives of young people in the hopes of making a difference. 

That is NOT the story we read about in Paul’s letter to Timothy in Ephesus. Oh, there are teachers there in the church. Teachers exercising their influence. There’s just one hitch. These are bad teachers. Now I don’t mean the kind you see Jack Black play in “School of Rock.” No, these aren’t misguided people who suddenly have a change of heart and use their abilities for good and not for evil. These are spiritual snake oil salesmen who’ve weaseled their way into the church who are doing everything they can to sidetrack people away from Jesus and His spectacular grace. These are bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul writes to his protege about certain people in the Ephesian church who are “desiring to be teachers of the law” (v7). The phrase “teachers of the law” is actually one compound Greek word: nomodidaskalos. It means someone skilled in the teaching and interpretation of Old Testament. It literally means “law (nomo-) teachers (-didaskolos).” This is someone who knows more than just the words on the page. They understand the bigger context. They know how different passages relate to one another. They know that Scripture interprets Scripture. They can give perspective to the bigger story of the Bible and how it relates to God’s great story of rescue and redemption.

That’s awesome! We desperately need more people willing to teach and explain God’s Word. In his second note to Tim, the apostle encourages the young pastor to continually hone his skills as a teacher and preacher. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). Teachers need to know how to handling and teach all of the different books of the Bible. But just because you think you can teach, doesn’t mean you should teach. Jesus’ kid brother James warns folks who are thinking about becoming Bible teachers to think twice before doing so. “We who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). If you’re going to instruct people about Scripture, your principal and superintendent won’t be the one ultimately doing your review. God holds teachers and preachers accountable for how they perform their job.

The writers of the New Testament don’t exactly put these dudes on a pedestal. Dr. Luke tells how the “Pharisees and teachers of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos)” would arrogantly watch Jesus like a hawk and just wait for Him to slip up (Lk 5:17). As you might imagine, He never once bobbled or stumbled in His instruction. As a matter of fact, our Savior regularly put the smack down on bad teachers. He accuses them of going out of their way to make it impossible to know God (Mt 23:15). They were more worried about tithing out of their spice rack and not showing compassion (Mt 23:23). They only care about their image and not their integrity (Mt 23:25-26). Bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul’s own mentor Gamaliel is an interesting example. On one hand, he was both a one of those infamous Pharisees as well as holding a seat among the religious bullies known as the Sanhedrin. Yeah, the same Sanhedrin that murdered Jesus. In Acts, Luke describes Gamaliel as “a teacher of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos) held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34). Yet he’s wise enough to tell the council to pump its brakes when it comes to Jesus’ followers. If God is behind this movement, nothing’s gonna stop them (Acts 5:40). That’s someone who understands the scope and story of the Old Testament. Gamaliel had a strong grasp of God’s promises of a coming Hero. That’s what a teacher of the law is supposed to do.

The bad teachers in Ephesus don’t come anywhere close to Gamaliel. As a matter of fact, they don’t anywhere near the Gospel. They speak to believers “without understanding what they are saying” (v7). These troublemakers don’t have a clue what they are talking about. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem. Later in this same letter, Paul says anyone trying to push a counterfeit message “is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing” (1Tim 6:2-4). There’s a pretty good chance hucksters had peddled similar garbage just down the road in Colossae. The apostle tells Colossian believers not to let any religious thugs intimidate them into any belief other than the Gospel because these bullies are “puffed up without reason” (Col 2:18). Arrogant people are full of hot air and just like to hear themselves talk. Bad teachers are moving their lips but nothing’s coming out. Good teachers build up others. Bad teachers puff themselves up. Good teachers make Jesus famous. Bad teachers make themselves the star.

That doesn’t stop these incompetent instructors from talking about “things about which they make confident assertions” (v7). Once again, it takes an entire phrase in English to translate one compound Greek verb. Diabebaioomai means to strongly insist or state with extreme confidence. It’s not bad to give certain things special emphasis…when it’s the truth! Paul instructs Titus, “I insist (Gr. diabebaioomai) on these things, that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:8). But the bad teachers in the Ephesian church stomp their feet and insist on crap that’s simply not legit. 

There are issues in God’s Word on which we need to stand strong. Who Jesus is. What He has done. His life. His death. His burial. His resurrection. Our sin. Our need to be rescued. Salvation by grace through faith. Inerrancy of Scripture. That’s all worth fighting for. There’s a lot of other stuff that the Bible talks about but doesn’t give us 100% clarity. Things like how to baptize believers, how often to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, worship style, preaching style, and church government. The list goes on and on and on and on. And there are people who will step into the octagon over every one of them too. Be careful when you stomp your feet and demand that certain things are true.

So if this is what a bad teacher looks like, how about a good one? If you’re looking for the ultimate Teacher, look no further than Jesus. He made it clear He’s not using anyone else’s teaching materials or curriculum. His teaching comes straight from His Heavenly Dad (Jn 7:16). Some of His biggest enemies even said, “No one ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:46). Christ taught creatively by using parables and examples of contemporary culture. But Jesus didn’t just teach the Law of Moses, He fulfilled it (Mt 5:17). In other words, our Savior obeyed every single rule and command in the Old Testament on our behalf. He lived the perfect life that I failed to live. He died the death on the cross in my place that I should have died. He rose to new life that I don’t deserve. Jesus goes so far as to say He’s the Hero of the entire Bible (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46). 

Christ is so much more than a great Teacher. He’s the whole point of the lesson! And that’s the message quality instructors should always be teaching. Don’t get me wrong. Flicks about selfless educators are awesome. They’re stories of men and women who make tremendous sacrifices for underprivileged kids the rest of society has turned its back on. But then again, that’s the story of the ultimate Teacher. He left the comforts of the heavenly palace to move into the slums of our sinful world. He’s the greatest Teacher with the greatest message and the greatest intentions.