THE SHIPWRECK AND CANCER OF CHRISTIAN HERESY
By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
What is Christian heresy?
This is a teaching or set of teachings or doctrines that materially contradict the fundamental truths of the word of God in Scripture. Some of the areas of contradiction may include the denial or rejection of Christ as Lord and Savior or the efficacy of His works of the cross. A heretic may also deny the universal impact of Adam's fall on humanity. Some even deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit and reject the trinitarian revelation of God in Scripture.
The burden of dealing with Christian heresy is an onerous one. Unfortunately few believers have the guts for confronting heresy. Most Christians seek to avoid "controversy" in circumstances that their Biblical opinion would count. Scripture contemplates that Christian leaders ought to protect their congregations from the scourge of heresy by not only pointing out heresy but by consistently and faithfully instructing believers in the truths of God's word.
Paul warned the elders at the Church of Ephesus that heretics and apostates would infiltrate the church upon his departure. He cautioned them, saying, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears." (Acts 20:28-29, NKJV).
This article seeks to examine Christian heresy within the context of two illustrations of New Testament Scripture. It will attempt to outline practical approaches that Paul employed in both contexts in addressing Christian heresy. Two sets of heretics are mentioned in the Epistles of First Timothy and Second Timothy. One of the most compelling lessons that emerges from the two incidents is that Paul decisively confronted heretics without blinking an eye and proceeded to suspend them from the fellowship of the church of Ephesus. Heretics can only be restored to Christian fellowship if and when they repent and publicly recant their heresy.
THE SHIPWRECK OF HERESY: HYMENAEUS AND ALEXANDER
1 Timothy 1:18-20 says "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme" (NKJV).
Paul considered the Christian error in the above passage to be equivalent to blasphemy. He excommunicated the two heretics under a firm expectation that they would learn from their error and change their ways. Little is known about the precise nature of the heresy but the reader can pick up some hints from the study of the passage. Paul stated that the two men had suffered shipwreck, a metaphorical reference to a catastrophe in the context of their appropriation of Christian doctrine. We can infer from the above passage that the two men were perhaps prominent Christian teachers whose doctrines were not founded on genuine apostolic instruction. Their convictions were therefore radically misplaced from the pivotal truths that inform the convictions of a standing believer in Christ.
The word "shipwreck" was deliberately chosen by Paul in order to demonstrate the devastation and catastrophe that heretics would visit upon the children of God through their polluted teachings that not only contradict God's word but had the potential of destroying the Christian faith. Adam Clarke makes a startling observation of the catastrophic impact of Christian heresy by equating it with the reckless acts of a soldier in the battlefield, saying "Having thrust away; as a fool-hardy soldier might his shield and his breastplate or a made sailor pilot, helm, and compass." [1]
Newport J. D. White however cautions that we should not construe Paul's shipwreck metaphor as evidence that a believer who is steeped in heresy is lost beyond hope of recovery. [2]. Paul employed the shipwreck term to express the severity and impact that heresy occasions on the Christian community. The fact that Paul mentions the two heretics by name is instructive of his honesty and truthfulness in identifying the source of heresy. Paul must have reliably established the facts before naming the culprits. Warren Wiersbe observes that Paul was not in violation of Jesus' command in Matthew 7:1-5 regarding judging others. [3]
A shipwreck is catastrophic sea peril that results in the loss of many lives. It is also associated with extensive damage to the vessel and loss of property arising from violent tempests of the sea. Timothy was serving in Ephesus, an ancient port city lying near the confluence of the Cayster River and Mediterranean Sea. The people of Ephesus therefore understood the impact of a shipwreck on sailors since this was the common mode of travel across ancient cities. A marine damage of this scale cannot be restored or reinstated even with the seasoned skill and diligence of expert seamen.
In insurance terms, such a perilous loss is referred to as a constructive total loss within the meaning of the liability section of a Marine insurance policy. This is because the possibility of retrieving any salvage is remote and uneconomical. The ship is eventually abandoned if the cost of retrieval of salvage exceeds the maximum limit of insurance liability under the policy.
Now back to our illustration of context...
The two heretics appeared to be emboldened in their error, having lost their convictions concerning the truth. They had strayed into false doctrine and were in danger of crossing into Christian apostasy if left unchecked. Paul uses a second adjective to describe the impact of the heresy. He speaks of their departure from the fundamental truths of God's word as blasphemy. This is a cardinal sin that a covenant Jew would not commit. We learn from the words of Jesus in the Gospels that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). His statement was in response to the false claims by the Pharisees against Him. In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees had attributed the divine miracles of Jesus to Beelzebub, the chief of the demons (Satan).
Jesus had healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, a day that the Pharisees regarded as hallowed. In the minds of the Pharisees, Jesus had broken the Sabbath law. Jesus however denied braking the Sabbath and went on to affirm His preeminence as "Lord also of the Sabbath" (Mathew 12:8). It is instructive that the Pharisees rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ as Messiah, the Son of God. By their obstinacy and arrogance they committed high blasphemy!
THE CANCER OF HERESY: HYMENAEUS AND PHILETUS
The second set of heretics is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:16-19 where we learn that the two, Hymenaeus and Philetus, taught that the resurrection of saints had already taken place. This was a false teaching that contradicted the truths of Scripture. It implied that those who were "left behind" were not members of the true Church! Paul elsewhere taught that that resurrection of believers was a future event that awaited the living and the dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Bible scholars say that the Letter of 2 Timothy was Paul final epistle which was written shortly before he was martyred in circa 67 AD (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7-8).This heresy is identified with some heretical sects that reject the doctrine of Christian resurrection.
The other word that Paul employs in 2 Timothy 2:17 is cancer (NKJV). Paul describes the two heretics, Hymenaeus and Philetus, as a dangerous lot whose spiritual damage was fast spreading and was cantankerous. Medically speaking, an amputation of the affected part of the body was the only way to stop the spread of cancer in the human body. The two heretics deserved to be isolated from the fellowship of right standing believers in order to protect the congregation and to warn those who associate with them.
By their heresy, the two men overthrew the faith of many well meaning believers who mistakenly held them in esteem. This is the very harm that false teachers bring into a Christian community. If left unchecked, their heresy will eventually destroy the ministry of the church by removing the cross from its pivotal position. False teachers must be named and shamed at the earliest opportunity by those who remain standing on their spiritual feet within the congregation.
How a Christian community deals with error exposes its spiritual prudence and fabric and its grasp of the truths of Scripture.
Heretics are now unsettling millions of Christians worldwide. They must be condemned and shunned if they refuse to change their ways. If we watch as God's word is reduced to trashcan stuff, God will not requite us of guilt concerning those who stumble under our watch (Ezekiel 33:1-11).
The battle against Christian heresy continues to confront the church, 2000 years later and must be fought in every generation of believers even as Christ shall tarry. It is a tragic thing for Christians to overlook heresy. It is better to be called names than to shy away from our godly duty of defending Biblical truth. Jesus suffered the mockery and insults of the religious class. We are not any special.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020
The two heretics appeared to be emboldened in their error, having lost their convictions concerning the truth. They had strayed into false doctrine and were in danger of crossing into Christian apostasy if left unchecked. Paul uses a second adjective to describe the impact of the heresy. He speaks of their departure from the fundamental truths of God's word as blasphemy. This is a cardinal sin that a covenant Jew would not commit. We learn from the words of Jesus in the Gospels that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). His statement was in response to the false claims by the Pharisees against Him. In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees had attributed the divine miracles of Jesus to Beelzebub, the chief of the demons (Satan).
Jesus had healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, a day that the Pharisees regarded as hallowed. In the minds of the Pharisees, Jesus had broken the Sabbath law. Jesus however denied braking the Sabbath and went on to affirm His preeminence as "Lord also of the Sabbath" (Mathew 12:8). It is instructive that the Pharisees rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ as Messiah, the Son of God. By their obstinacy and arrogance they committed high blasphemy!
THE CANCER OF HERESY: HYMENAEUS AND PHILETUS
The second set of heretics is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:16-19 where we learn that the two, Hymenaeus and Philetus, taught that the resurrection of saints had already taken place. This was a false teaching that contradicted the truths of Scripture. It implied that those who were "left behind" were not members of the true Church! Paul elsewhere taught that that resurrection of believers was a future event that awaited the living and the dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Bible scholars say that the Letter of 2 Timothy was Paul final epistle which was written shortly before he was martyred in circa 67 AD (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7-8).This heresy is identified with some heretical sects that reject the doctrine of Christian resurrection.
The other word that Paul employs in 2 Timothy 2:17 is cancer (NKJV). Paul describes the two heretics, Hymenaeus and Philetus, as a dangerous lot whose spiritual damage was fast spreading and was cantankerous. Medically speaking, an amputation of the affected part of the body was the only way to stop the spread of cancer in the human body. The two heretics deserved to be isolated from the fellowship of right standing believers in order to protect the congregation and to warn those who associate with them.
By their heresy, the two men overthrew the faith of many well meaning believers who mistakenly held them in esteem. This is the very harm that false teachers bring into a Christian community. If left unchecked, their heresy will eventually destroy the ministry of the church by removing the cross from its pivotal position. False teachers must be named and shamed at the earliest opportunity by those who remain standing on their spiritual feet within the congregation.
How a Christian community deals with error exposes its spiritual prudence and fabric and its grasp of the truths of Scripture.
Heretics are now unsettling millions of Christians worldwide. They must be condemned and shunned if they refuse to change their ways. If we watch as God's word is reduced to trashcan stuff, God will not requite us of guilt concerning those who stumble under our watch (Ezekiel 33:1-11).
The battle against Christian heresy continues to confront the church, 2000 years later and must be fought in every generation of believers even as Christ shall tarry. It is a tragic thing for Christians to overlook heresy. It is better to be called names than to shy away from our godly duty of defending Biblical truth. Jesus suffered the mockery and insults of the religious class. We are not any special.
Shalom
REFERENCE
[1] Clarke, Adam "Clarke's Commentary: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes" Volume 6 (Romans-Revelation) (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1832).
[2] White, Newport J.D. "The First and Second Epistles to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus: The Expositor's Greek Testament" Volume 4, Section 2 (1 Thessalonians-James) (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897).
[3] Wiersbe, Warren W. "Be Faithful (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon): It's Always Too Soon to Quit!" (The BE Series Commentary) (Colarado Springs, Colorado: Victor, 1981).
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment