6:3,4a
“These are the things you are to teach and insist on” at the end of v2 is linked with v3 onwards in NIV and ESV. There are times when we need to “insist” or “urge” (ESV) on the things we teach, we are not just offering opinions, or a point of view, we are presenting God’s word. Then we get a very clear condemnation of false teachers. “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing.” Oh if only some of our churches would adopt this approach from time to time, instead of always “listening”. There is no virtue nor value in “listening” to teaching that advocates ignoring the “instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ.
6:4b,5
The description of false teachers is now expanded upon. False teaching comes in all sorts of shapes and forms. In the situation Paul was writing to here it seemed to be people who were stirring up dissensions. They used pointless arguments about words, malicious talk, effectively gossip. They wanted to create divisions between people. Moreover, they saw “godliness” as a means to financial gain. Paul will now proceed to expand on the seriousness and the errors of seeing the gospel as a means of getting rich, but just note for now that such people have “been robbed of the truth”. They are no longer (if they ever were) speaking with the mind of Christ.
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