Bad Teaching

Doctrine is important. Good teaching is important. Paul begins his first letter to Timothy by talking to him about the importance of good, sound teaching in the church Timothy is being commissioned to lead. He defines "sound doctrine" as that which is "in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (1 Tim 1:11).

Jesus told us that we could spot good and bad teachers by the fruit, or the characteristics, that play out in their lives. Paul agrees. What are some of the fruit by which you can spot bad teachers?

1.) Focus on Meaningless Talk and Controversies (1 Tim 1:3-4, 6) - Some in Ephesus tended to focus on "myths and genealogies." In chapter 4, Paul calls these "old wives' tales" (4:3-8). These are probably stories or add-ons to Scripture. Paul was worried about the bad doctrines that can result from speculative reasoning not based on the Bible. Today, we guard against this by making the Bible the focus of all our teaching. Beware churches and ministries that use the Bible merely as a jumping off point to some topic, or who rarely encourage people to read it for themselves.

When I was in campus ministry, students often asked me what criteria they should use in choosing a church. There's a lot to say there, but I led with the notion of consecutive expository preaching (preaching through large portions of Scripture). With this kind of preaching, you know that you're going to get to hear sermons on a wide range of topics, not just the pastor's hot buttons. And over time, the Bible will strike its own balance in terms of emphasis (i.e. predestination and free will, evangelism and social action). Topical preaching isn't wrong from time to time (especially to address certain issues with the congregation or in the culture). But the best way I know to teach the Bible is to actually work through texts in the Bible.

2.) Ambition without knowledge (v.7) - Paul pointed out that there are many who want to be teachers, though "they don't understand what they are saying." I take this to mean that they care more about their position and authority as a teacher than about the promotion of the gospel. Some things to watch out for in churches: pastors who seem more passionate about their position as a teacher than what they are teaching; guys who don't devote the time to really knowing their stuff; teachers who resent anyone questioning something they said; sparkle without substance.

Now some caution here on all of those things. There is authority that comes with a role of teaching elder, and members of any congregation should respect that. So you should support your pastors and, when you do raise questions, do so respectfully. Also, take into consideration that while you want your pastor to "know his stuff," you also don't want him studying 50 hours per week, lest he neglect the other duties of ministry. And sparkle is not bad - just make sure there is substance too. In trying to overcorrect, some pastors have made a virtue out of being boring. Let's just call that what it is - stupid.

3.) Lack of humility (v.7) - Paul says that while bad teachers often speak out of their rears, they  still made "confident assertions." So here's the balance. Good teachers know their stuff, but they also can admit there are things they don't know, or aren't as confident about. There should be a huge red flag if someone speaks on any and every topic with the same level of confidence. This is indicator of arrogant self-assurance - something dangerous in a church leader.

Another thing to watch out for is someone who has to win every argument. If you've never seen them admit a wrong, or admit some lack of expertise, or even simply say, "I don't agree with you, but you make some good points"...if you've never ever seen this in them, watch out.

What are some other things to watch out for? Any other hallmarks of bad teaching?