Hold fast the form of sound words,
which thou hast heard of me,
in faith and love which is in
Christ Jesus. That good thing which
was committed unto thee keep
by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth
in us. This thou knowest, that all
they which are in Asia be turned away
from me; of whom are Phygellus
and Hermogenes. The Lord give
mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus;
for he oft refreshed me, and was not
ashamed of my chains: but when he
was in Rome, he sought me out very
diligently, and found me. The Lord
grant unto him that he may find
mercy of the Lord in that day; and
in how many things he ministered
unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest
very well.
2Timothy 1:13-18
It would be good before we continue to get an understanding of Hermogenes, Phygellus, and Onesiphorus and why they were pointed out by Paul as those who turned away from Paul. Also, it would be good to refresh our understanding of the word "heresy:" αίρεσις, does not primarily convey an unfavorable idea. What the Greek hearer heard when this word was spoken was: a denoting of a choice, or preference. This word was often used to indicate an adoption of a certain idea, pr philosophical sentiment, and came to signify a sect or a denomination. Paul in Acts 24:14 uses this Greek word for heresy and is translated heresy: that prior to his conversion,says, that, "after the strictest heresy" of his religion he lives as a Pharisee. The early Christians were known as "the heresy of the Nazarenes." In the book of Galatians we learned that heresies were enumerated among the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:20) and the Bible teaches us in regards to erroneous theology as sinful, and traces every deviation from "the one faith" of the Gospel to a darkened and corrupt intellect. Therefore, the Bible, and other ecclesiastical writers, describe all classes of unbelievers, sceptics, and innovators under the general name heretics.
So what about the men mentioned in the opening Scripture? First, it may mean that those men took place in Asia itself following the Neronic persecution and by this they became fearful and forsook the Christian name. In addition to this temptation was also to deny Christ's name and go back to heathenism or to Judaism, and also it is possible to deny and repudiate the authority of Paul. In the Apocryphal works: Acts of Paul and Thecla, chapter 1: "When Paul went up unto Iconium after he fled from Antioch, there journeyed with him Demas and Hermogenes the coppersmith, which were full of hypocrisy, and and flattered Paul as though they loved him." We shall see that others are mentioned as holding onto and teacher error. Many did not like the teachings of Paul, especially his view of marriage and held Paul up to ridicule and disdain. Paul reminds us that we are to hold fast to the form of sound words, those words he taught which are the words of Jesus Christ.
When heresy is used today with reference to Christianity, it denotes the formal denial or doubt of a core doctrine of the Christian faith as defined by one or more of the Christian Churches. It should be distinguished from both apostasy and schism, apostasy being nearly always total abandonment of the Christian faith after it has been freely accepted, and schism being a formal and deliberate breach of Christian unity and
an offense against charity without being based essentially on doctrine.
Many preachers today, and many denominations have turned away from sound doctrine of the Christian Faith and are teaching heresy duping people to believe that what they say is truth when in fact it has no warrant in Scripture. Practices that are not Scriptural, have no basis in Scripture are being done so that those who are seeking will see them as good, causing sentimentality to rule, rather that a study of Scripture, sound study, examination, thinking, not just accepting because it sounds good. It is often said that to hold control of people it is necessary to give them something to do so that they feel that they are partners with the teaching. This feeling, relying on feelings outside of the feeling one should have in regards to the truth, their feelings are being manipulated, they are being manipulated. Facts: The words of Jesus are harsh: "deny yourself, even you family, friends, etc., and put Him first, to stop using excuses for reasons to do that which is not Scriptural. Paul wrote: "Thou therefore, my son, be strong n the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2Timothy 1:12-2). Not strong in what a man has speculated, or taught, be strong in Jesus Christ, and this is only possible if one develops a Biblical relationship with Him.
The pride of thine heart hath
deceived thee, thou that
dwellest in the clefts of the rock,
whose habitation is high; that
saith in his heart, Who shall bring
me down to the ground? Though
thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and
though thou set they nest among
the stars, thence will I bring thee
down, saith the LORD.
Obadiah 1:4-5
Hold fast to the received truth
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