"I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." - 1 Tim. 3:14b-15

Last week we saw that one of the main reasons Paul writes this letter to Timothy is that there are false teachers who have crept in among the various home churches - often claiming to come in the name of the Lord - and have introduced things that are NOT scriptural.

It's clear that this wasn't an isolated event in Ephesus. Read the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation and you'll see MANY churches having to guard against, or having fallen to, the error of false teaching, heresies, that do not provide the solid foundation of the truth of the Gospel.

What I want to propose today is that heresy and false teaching aren't always wrapped up in an obvious package. In fact, the best way to deceive people with false teaching is to start with something that is true, and then begin to veer away from that truth little by little, until finally the teaching isn't just unorthodox - it's downright opposing what God has revealed to us in Scripture.

You could argue that the most dangerous false teachings isn't in blatant lies that anyone could catch, but in the misuse of Scripture. And I would bet that these false teachings we deal with today were begun by well-meaning folks who just didn't understand how to deal with Scripture the correct way.

This morning I am approaching the idea of fighting against false teaching in a unique way. Today I want to give you five ways to misuse the Word of God. If you can keep these five things in mind, then perhaps you can guard your mind and your heart from following a false gospel that doesn't have the power of God to save and to purify us from all unrighteousness.