With my being what some might call a “knowledge worker” (computer programming, engineering, system design, decision-making, problem-solving, etc.), I admit that there are times when I’d like to turn my brain off for a while and just let it coast. A comfortable video game or something on the TV offers that, but there’s a risk involved: Letting my guard down and trusting whatever I see (or treating the principles that I’m being shown as correct) risks allowing incorrect and harmful ideas to get into my mind.
As a result, it’s important for each of us to not let our guard down, even in environments where we might be inclined to just trust everything we hear without question. Even listening to or reading from Christian teachers and preachers (including this site!) without a mental “validation filter” creates a risk that something untrue or in opposition to God’s direction will enter our minds and take root.
The following passage might not seem to follow directly from the passage (i.e., 2 Timothy 2:3-10) considered in earlier articles. This one is 2 chapters later, after all. However, I see this as an example of the suffering that Paul experienced.
Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
2 Timothy 4:14-15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.4.14-15.NIV
Apparently, there was this guy named Alexander who really hurt Paul. (Remember how a silversmith named Demetrius caused problems for Paul in Ephesus, as described in Acts 19:23-20:1? Seems like metalworkers and Paul didn’t always get along!)
I don’t know if Alexander did anything else, but at least one of the things he did was to oppose Paul’s message. As we read through Paul’s words about the importance of the truth of the the gospel of Jesus Christ to him, to the point where Paul was willing to suffer for the truth, I think that we can get some idea of just how much it would hurt Paul to have the truth opposed, contradicted, added to, or diluted. After all, the truth that Paul shared wasn’t just “his truth” or “a truth”, but the unchangeable, divinely-revealed, eternally important truth of the God of the universe, who loved the world.
Maybe Alexander also punched Paul in the nose, but I suspect that someone actively trying to block the good news about Jesus Christ from getting out to a lost world was one of the worst things that they could do to Paul.
Even in that situation, though, it wasn’t Paul’s job to get revenge. Paul didn’t ask Timothy to vindicate him, either. (Vengeance is God’s role to fulfill. See Deuteronomy 32:25 and Romans 12:17-21, for instance.) However, Paul did tell Timothy to watch out for this opponent of the word of God.
So, on the one hand, because the church is made up of imperfect human beings, and false teachers can sneak in, sources of suffering can sometimes come from inside the church, and not just from outside. On the other hand, those in the church have an obligation to ensure that false teachers are not given a platform, and that those who oppose the truth are not allowed to sway others. Said another way, there’s a difference between accidents and mistakes happening, and intentionally letting dangerous people continue to inflict harmful ideas on others in the church.
We must be on our guard against false teachers and other opponents of the truth, and I think that this principle applies both, 1) to us as individuals, guarding our heart against embracing lies and corruptions of the truth (which, I guess, are just more lies), and 2) to us as members of a church community, ensuring that what is being presented as truth is actually the truth: from God, who is Truth.
This applies to what we hear in sermons, in Sunday School, Bible Studies, or anywhere else. Now, if someone makes a mistake, like mis-pronouncing “Mephibosheth”, or giving the wrong verse number from their notes, that might not be a big deal.
However, we cannot allow messages from mere human beings to pass through our ears and into our hearts and minds without some sort of filter. We must pass anything presented to us through the lens of God’s Word, especially anything impacting our spiritual perspective.
In particular, if we have been alerted to false teaching, we should be especially on the lookout for it, like when we’re around a person, college, or faith tradition that promotes something we have found to be untrue based on what Scripture teaches.
And, if someone – anyone, even a pastor or a teacher – is presenting something as doctrine that doesn’t align with God’s Word (i.e., the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit), we need to identify it as false teaching, and sometimes we may need to call it out, especially if others are being deluded by it.
In extreme cases, false teachers (especially those who are aggressive about it, like Alexander seems to have been here) may need to be removed from the church, whether taking away their platform from which they spread lies, or even removing them from fellowship with other believers.
So, don’t exact revenge, but watch out! Don’t let your guard down against any person or idea that doesn’t pass the test of aligning with the truth, as revealed by the author of truth, God Himself.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 23, 2025
References:
- 1717 Bible Studies, 2 Timothy, © 2025 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1, 2 Timothy & Titus, by C. Michael Moss. © 1994 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 