2. The Doctrine of Devils
Christ is diminished, doctrine has ceased to be according to godliness.
Wherever Christ is exalted, the Spirit bears witness that the teaching is sound. The doctrine according to godliness therefore begins and ends with Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
2. The Doctrine of Devils In sharp contrast to the doctrine according to godliness stands what Paul terms the "doctrine of devils." This sobering designation appears in his first letter to Timothy:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 1 Timothy 4:1
The phrase is not hyperbole. It is a technical description of origin. There exists teaching in the world that does not originate from human speculation alone, but from spiritual beings opposed to God. These seducing spirits labor to produce a body of instruction that mimics truth, yet ultimately serves to draw men away from the faith. The danger is not that such doctrine is obviously satanic in its presentation. Its danger lies in its subtlety. Seducing spirits do not announce themselves with blasphemy.
They often come clothed in religious language, moral earnestness, and apparent wisdom.
The Apostle Paul describes the character of this doctrine in the verses that follow. It manifests in forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving. This is instructive. The doctrine of devils often presents itself as a higher holiness, a stricter asceticism, a more rigorous standard than God Himself has given.
It adds burdens where Christ has given liberty. It makes sin what God has
called clean. In doing so, it accuses the Creator and denies the goodness of His gifts. What appears to be pious is, in fact, demonic, for it is rooted in a rejection of God's design.
The broader characteristics of the doctrine of devils may be discerned throughout the New Testament. In 2 Timothy 3:5, Paul describes men who have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." This is a hallmark of demonic doctrine: it preserves external religion while evacuating it of supernatural life. It speaks of God but denies His power to transform. It uses biblical vocabulary but empties it of biblical meaning. It can recite creeds while rejecting the conversion of heart that those creeds presuppose.
The Apostle John provides another test. He writes, "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."
The doctrine of Christ is the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus as Lord. Any teaching that diminishes His deity, denies
His humanity, or rejects His atoning work is not merely error. It is demonic.