A DEADLY DISEASE
by Mark Grant
When the words AIDS, SARS, or West Nile
Virus are mentioned in the news today, they strike fear in some people because
they can cause us to die. While these diseases can cause death, there are
usually a very limited number of people who die from these diseases in the
United States. There was a time, though, when a deadly disease could wipe out
numerous people. In 1520, a Spaniard stepped off a Spanish galleon in Mexico and
caused the deaths of thousands of people. The man was a soldier under the
leadership of Panfilo de Narvaez, and he had smallpox. Although the soldier was
unaware he had it, wherever he went the Mexican people were being exposed to a
new disease. As a result, a smallpox epidemic ensued, causing many thousands of
Mexican citizens to die.
One man is all it took to wreak havoc among the
people. His contact with the unsuspecting Mexican people led to a horrific,
agonizing scourge. The destructive effects of that disease spread from one
person to another, infecting a large segment of the population.
It was the apostle Paul who compared the spread
of a deadly disease to the spread of a spiritual sickness that sometimes strikes
a congregation. It is the disease of false doctrine. “Avoid godless
chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has
already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” (2 Tim.
2:16-18;NIV). Note the way in which the spread of evil teachings is compared to
“gangrene.” The word “gangrene” comes from the Greek
word gaggraina, which Thayer defines as “a gangrene, a disease by
which any part of the body suffering from inflammation becomes so corrupted
that, unless a remedy be seasonably applied, the evil continually spreads,
attacks other parts, and at last eats away the bones” (Thayer’s Greek
English Lexicon; pg. 107). When a person is diagnosed with gangrene the
immediate remedy is to cut away the affected area, or the patient’s very life
will be in danger because of the rapid spread of this deadly disease. So, too,
with false teaching and heresies that come into the church. The infecting of one
often leads to the infecting of many. False teachers not only contaminate and
destroy their own souls, they also affect others. Their evil teachings and
consequently corrupt practices spread like a gangrene, whose hidden roots spread
throughout the body and produce horrible results.
The infection often starts so innocently with
those who wish to engage in godless chatter. Godless chatter is characterized by
trying to make strong arguments, frequently using God’s name, but without any
basis of truth. Opinions and arguments that divert from the word of God are
confusing, useless, and will cause strife and division. These empty words will
only go from bad to worse and “become more and more ungodly.”
These discussions of non-biblical views will develop into more powerful and more
dangerous errors and worse courses of conduct. False teachers love to cause
strife and division by their meaningless quibbling over unimportant details and
by spouting lies. Some distort the truth, some dilute it, some add to it, and
some simply ignore it by saying that God’s truth no longer applies.
Having described the chatter of Hymenaeus and
Philetus as gangrene, Paul specifically identifies one of the main points in
their profane and false teaching saying, “that the resurrection is passed
already, and overthrow the faith of some.” Paul had turned Hymenaeus over to
Satan (1 Tim. 1:20), because his false teaching concerning the resurrection was
destroying some people’s faith. No judgment concerning the eternal salvation of
Hymenaeus was involved. He was merely excluded from the fellowship of the church
(1 Tim 6:3-5).
It’s not unusual for a happy and well-adjusted
congregation of Christians to be infected after just one person introduces
godless chatter. Soon dissension is running rampant among people who had been
eagerly working together, and the church finds itself spending more time on
damage control than on ministry. Let us be on our guard brethren! Let us rightly
divide (to cut straight) the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Good teaching never
promotes quarrels or foolish arguments (2 Tim. 2:16,23). Let us commit to
teaching sound doctrine that accords with the glorious gospel, instead of
indulging in vain argumentations that ruin rather than save the hearers (2 Tim.
2:14). Else, you may see your own congregation deteriorate and mortify before
your very eyes from a deadly disease.