Is Separatism Necessary?

Introduction

(read vv. 1–9) Twice a year, I teach Life Point 101. The 2nd lesson is on theological and philosophical distinctives. In other words, what distinguishes us from other evangelical churches in the HD? One of the distinctives I highlight is Separatism. We are committed to separation from worldliness and theological error. 
It’s biblical, but it makes people squeamish. Separation sounds negative, pessimistic, and judgmental. Our instinct is rightly for unity, not division. For example, suppose several churches in town decided to organize a night of Christian unity at Civic Center Park. They will have fun giveaways and great music. The mayor will share his testimony, and everyone will be there.  
And to illustrate our Christian brotherhood, leaders from every church will gather on stage and join hands as the body of Christ. We’re rightly drawn to that. We love our brothers in Christ, we love the gospel, and we want everyone in our town to get saved. 
But then we learn that a priest from Our Lady of the Desert will speak and so will a bishop from the LDS church. A couple theologically liberal mainline churches will participate and a handful of evangelical pastors have also committed. Should I stand up in front of AV and join hands with them as brothers and sisters in Christ? 
You might say, “Sure, we don’t agree on everything, but someone may get saved. And people are tired of negativity. We don’t want to appear divisive. Why can’t we all just get along?” Verse 5 ended last Sunday’s text with a sharp command about the church’s response to heretics, “Avoid such men as these.” That’s hard, especially when it’s someone you know. Paul knew you would be nervous, so vv. 6–9 give two reasons why we must be separatists. My central challenge is, love the truth and love people enough to beware of heresy and the corruption that drives it. I don’t want you to love a fight. I want you to love the truth and love people enough to fight for what is good. The first reason you must do so is because…

i.  False teachers prey on the vulnerable (vv. 6–7).

Verses 6–7 describe two characters—the predators (i.e., the false teachers) and the prey (i.e., “weak women” or anyone susceptible to their influence). First, let’s consider…
The Predator: I’m a nerd who enjoys nature documentaries, so I’ve watched many videos of lions and wolves hunting their prey. Do you know what’s always true? When a pack of wolves circles a herd of bison, they don’t target the biggest bull who would make the biggest meal. That’s because he might seriously mangle a couple wolves in the process. 
No, they target the most vulnerable members of the herd—young calves, new mothers, and the injured. The false teachers followed the same playbook. They didn’t target Timothy; they targeted ungodly, vulnerable women. 
And they didn’t announce their arrival with a howl; instead, they were devious. The NASB says they “enter into households,” but the CSB and the NIV capture Paul’s imagery by saying, “worm their way into households.” 
The most dangerous false teacher doesn’t pull up to your house in a creepy old van with a decal that says, “Satan’s Handyman Service.” No, Satan appears as an angel of light and so do his minions. They try to look like Christian and talk like Christians so that you lower your defenses. That way they can “worm their way into your house” and our church. 
Many voices on YouTube or even prowling around our desert look harmless. They’ll tell you how much they love Jesus. Maybe they have a sob story that grabs your sympathies or resonates with your pain and frustration. Maybe they offer a faith that lets you avoid a hard doctrine like the Trinity or a difficult command like “abstain from immorality.”
If you are not careful, they will seize on your weakness and pounce. And if the strong in the church are not watching, they will drag away our weakest members. So, we must love the truth and love each other enough to be sober because the predator is evil, shrewd, patient, and aggressive. Then notice what Paul says about the prey.
The Prey (vv. 6b–7): Many people have seized on “weak women” (CSB, NIV “gullible women”) and accused Paul of being an outdated misogynist, a sexist who despised women. Then they use that to dismiss his other statements about gender roles in the home and church. But it’s absurd. 
Paul’s not making a categorical statement about women. He’s talking about a specific type of woman. That’s obvious in the 3 descriptions that follow. No one claims Paul believed women are uniquely, “weighed down…” Paul is describing a specific group of women. 
It would be like if I mentioned the “thugs in Apple Valley.” You wouldn’t assume I thinks everyone in town is a thug, just a specific group. Finally, Paul just highly praised Timothy’s mother and grandmother in 1:5, and he honors women many other times. He wasn’t a misogynist.
Rather, Paul is simply giving an example of whom the false teachers targeted. They targeted “weak women.” Paul uses the diminutive form of the common word for woman, gunā. In the most basic sense, it means “little women.” But the KJV translates it as “silly women,” and the NIV as “gullible women” to capture the narrower sense Paul intended. 
He’s probably thinking of the young widows he mentioned in 1 Timothy 5. Notice his descriptions (vv. 5–6, 11–15). Apparently, the Ephesian church included several wealthy and young widows. They were free from normal obligations to a husband and children, and they had time and money to waste. It made them susceptible to gossip, laziness, and sexual promiscuity. That sounds exactly like the “weak women” in our text.” 
BTW, our culture romanticizes these young widows’ lifestyle. It says the good life is free from the restraints of marriage and parenting. So, “Make lots of money and give yourself freedom to explore, have fun, and waste your life on pleasure.” But God warns you will be easy prey for the devil. Family, work, and duty are sanctifying gifts of God that protect us from Satan’s attacks. Without these obligations, notice what happened to these ladies.
First, they were “weighed down with sins” and second, they were “led on by various impulses.” Think back to the wolf. Why would he wear himself out chasing the strongest and fastest when another bison is weighed down with a broken leg? 
Similarly, these women in the Ephesian church were spiritually ill. Their spiritual lives were overrun with disease in the form of sin and impulsive, undisciplined living. They were not walking in the Spirit, and their spiritual immune system was worthless. It made them easy prey. 
It’s a great reminder that the best defense against false doctrine and sin is strong spiritual health. I’ve never heard of someone with a robust faith and strong spiritual disciplines who suddenly apostatized or committed a grave sin. When you walk in the Spirit, practice good disciplines, and cultivate joy and contentment, your immune system will stand strong. 
But when you grow lazy and begin to tolerate small sins, you become susceptible to deadly attacks. So, cultivate good health and help others do the same. You can stand when you walk in grace.
Verse 7 gives the 3rd description (read). The Greeks loved philosophy and rhetoric. They often paid traveling teachers to visit their homes and tickle their ears with something new. And some of these women were probably wealthy enough to pay the heretics to teach them something new. 
They were “always learning,” but it wasn’t firmly rooted in orthodox theology. Rather, it was probably a mixture of Greek philosophy, Judaism, and just enough Christianity to make it palatable. The heretics probably mixed Christianity with Greek dualism to create new pathways to spirituality through either ascetism (which fit the Stoic impulse) or license (which fit the Epicurean impulse). It was stimulating, it sounded intelligent, and it fed people’s pride. 
But Paul laments, they were “never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The truth is fundamentally the gospel. Colossians 2:3 says “In (Christ) are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” There is no salvation outside the gospel, and there is no genuine godliness outside Jesus’ resurrection power. If you try to create your own path to godliness, you’ll never do better than cheap imitation plagued with pride and hypocrisy. 
Verse 7 is tragic statement! How awful would it be if Jesus said to you at the final judgment, “You were always learning but you never came to the knowledge of the truth. Depart from me you worker of iniquity.” How can you avoid that sentence? How can you guard yourself from becoming Satan’s prey? How can we protect each other? I’d like to pull everything I’ve said so far into 5 applications. 
Believe the gospel. The truth doesn’t begin with what you think, what some expert thinks, or what feels good. The truth is found in the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord, and you have sinned against him. You could never pay for your sins or make yourself acceptable to God, so Jesus paid your debt on the cross. The only way you can be saved is by confessing that Jesus is Lord and by faith receiving him as Savior. 
If you’ve never done that, the truth starts right there. Believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior. Humble yourself and receive him. He will forgive all your sin, he will adopt you into his family, and he will give you new life, real joy, and a living hope. Please receive Christ. It all starts there. 2nd…
Cultivate spiritual health. Don’t get “weighed down with sin,” or you will become easy prey. The best defense against Satan’s wolves is a vibrant living faith. Drive out every sinful thought and desire. Walk with Jesus, obey his will, and be satisfied in him. When you do those things, “the things of earth will grow strangely dim.” 3rd…
Practice self-control. The weak women were “led on by various impulses.” If you follow your heart, it will lead you into the wolf’s mouth. Proverbs constantly warns against undisciplined, impulsive living. But self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and it leads to life. Discipline doesn’t sound fun, but the fruits are always better. 4th…
Keep your intellectual curiosities rooted in the gospel and sound doctrine. Our culture is saturated with pathways to bettering yourself that cater to every personality. You can choose from the gentle psychologist on the couch, the highly intellectual scholar, or the tough former Navy SEAL. Whatever fits your personality. 
Due to common grace, they all have enough truth to grab you. But if it is not firmly gospel-centered, it will eventually lead you astray. The truth and real power are only in the Bible. There’s enough in this book and in an infinite God to satisfy your intellectual curiosities the rest of your life. Stay rooted in the Bible. 5th…
Stand together. As powerful as wolves are, they are no match for a united herd of bison with horns out. The can only win if they scatter the herd. A healthy church is a mixture of the spiritually mature and those who are working to get there. A healthy church doesn’t abandon the weak; it protects them and nurtures them. 
Many of you are spiritually strong. Praise God for his grace. Then ask, who are the “weak women (and men or children)” that God wants you to protect? Don’t leave them exposed. Defend them. 
And if you are weak, keeping up with the herd may seem too difficult. You’d rather relax and go at your own pace. Maybe you consider yourself a bother and hindrance to the herd. That’s nonsense. You need the church, and we want to protect you and help you grow healthy. We are all stronger together. 
The false teachers didn’t prey on these women in the assembly but in the privacy of their homes. Let’s stand together. So, the first reason why we must separate from false teachers is that they prey on the vulnerable. The 2nd reason is…

ii.  False teachers oppose the truth (v. 8–9).

You are probably wondering who Jannes and Jambres are because you don’t remember learning about them in Sunday School when you studied the life of Moses. That’s because the OT never uses these names. However, extrabiblical Jewish writings frequently use these names for the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses. 
God enabled Moses to perform a several miracles to prove God’s power. But when he turned his staff into a serpent, Pharoah’s magicians were able to replicate the miracle by demonic power. They were also able to replicate several of the plagues. Jewish tradition said Jannes and Jambres were these magicians. Now Paul compares the Ephesian heretics to them. He warns…
False teachers target God’s truth. Don’t miss the fact that Paul puts opposing the gospel on the same plane as opposing Moses. Moses was the most revered man in Judaism. God delivered the Law through Moses. But in Timothy’s day the church was comparatively small and untested. But the gospel is God’s full and final revelation. The gospel and the work of the church stand alongside Moses and the Law and, frankly, exceed them. 
That means that when a teacher opposes the gospel it is just as serious as when Jannes and Jambres challenged Moses. I know that many people who teach another gospel or form of spirituality seem like great people, and they genuinely want to help others. When a man has a smile on his face and his boy on his knee, you want to believe he’s your friend. “Surely, what he has to say can’t be that bad.”
But Paul said, “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed” (Gal 1:8–9)!
Once again, that false teacher is a person made in God’s image, and chapter 2 ended by saying God can bring him to repentance. Don’t forget that. But he is also an enemy of the cross. So, don’t let his smile and persuasive manner blind you to the gravity of preaching another gospel. 
And notice that underneath the ruse, Paul warns that the false teachers are “men of depraved…” “The faith” is the gospel. Paul is saying the false teachers have denied the faith, and they are unbelievers. They are heretics.
We’re not talking today about minor differences over dress or worship style. Paul is fighting for orthodox theology and practice. When someone opposes these, you must see it for what it is. We can’t know anyone’s heart perfectly, but they no longer have a credible profession of faith. 
And even though many lost people are truly kind and enjoyable people, they all have a “depraved mind.” The false teachers knew what they were doing when they went after the gullible women instead of Timothy. They knew what they taught was contrary to the apostolic gospel. 
So, does the psychologist who believes he understands the human person better than God and has a better path to health than biblical sanctification. The same goes for the highly intelligent philosopher who stands on his own thinking and only rarely sprinkles in a Bible verse. So does the prosperity preacher who couldn’t care less about the authorial intent of the text and would rather jam the text into his own agenda. Depravity can take many shapes and sizes beyond gangsters and thugs.
So, see the enemy for what he is. Don’t be fooled by the ruse. Love the gospel and love God’s people enough to beware of heresy and the corruption that drives it.
We’ve covered a lot of bad news the past two weeks. I imagine we would all like a little hope. Thankfully, Paul delivers in v. 9 when he assures us…
God will expose false teachers and false doctrine (v. 9). Jannes and Jambres imitated several of Moses’ signs, but God eventually exposed them. For example, “The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God’” (Ex 8:18–19a).
I’m sure Moses would have preferred it happened sooner, but in God’s time, and in God’s way he made it clear who was the true God and who was his prophet. And God will do the same with every false teacher. 
Every generation of the church has fought its own battles. New heresies emerge, and we don’t see it coming. The heretics win a couple battles. But godly men go to work exposing the lies and improving how they articulate the truth. And the Spirit enables the true church to see through the fog. 
For example, 100 years ago, the church was rocked by the Scopes Trials, and evolutionary theory seemed too overwhelming to fight. But God raised up Henry Morris, John Whitcomb, and other godly men. The church prevailed. The same happened in the 60s and 70s in the “Battle for the Bible” and many other times. We don’t know what the next threat will be, but God will keep his children and build his church.

Conclusion

So, today’s challenge is, love the truth and love people enough to beware of heresy and the corruption that drives it. We’d all rather talk about love and peace than about heresy and separatism. But there is a time for war, and we only fight war because the truth and people’s souls are worth the fight. “Be strong in grace” and “suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”