Paul has been addressing the need to keep to the Bible and to come away from meaningless messages which just stir up arguments. It is possible to be an influential speaker and yet all you that you influence is an infection. It is possible to be a Christian preacher and lead people astray from the truth and actually do more harm than if you had not opened your mouth. This is what Paul was saying:-
“Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” (2 Timothy 2 v 17-18)
Just as gangrene starts in one area and spreads to healthy tissue, false teaching begins with individuals but can quickly contaminate entire communities of believers. The reason being is that false teaching is a spiritual disease.
The resurrection heresy wasn’t a complete denial of resurrection but a distortion of its timing and nature. But it was “destroying the faith of some.” Spiritual gangrene doesn’t merely confuse; it can completely destroy a person’s faith, leaving them spiritually shipwrecked.
In these two short verses we learn the following:
- What we believe about core Christian truths shapes our relationship with God.
- False teaching spreads.
- Often the most dangerous false teachings contain elements of truth mixed with error, making them harder to detect and more likely to be accepted.
- The need for discernment and commitment to biblical truth has never been greater.
May we heed Paul’s warning and guard against anything that would spread like gangrene through the body of Christ. .
Missions Paul 