Charge them not to give heed, not to adhere their mind, to fables and endless genealogies.

Fables: These are very popular. "We don't need to share the gospel with people as long as we pray for them because so and so prayed every night for this certain town and as a result they had a huge revival." People are basing their doctrine on stories. Don't adhere your mind to fables. This is not what we base good doctrine on.

This not only applies to ourselves, but we can't allow others to base their view of God on stories. Christianity doesn't say "they believe that in their church so that's their problem". We are to be our brother's keeper.

Endless genealogies: The biggest manifestation of this back then was probably "he's of the tribe of so and so, and a descendant of so and so." They would give heed to that as important. But that's not what really matters.

I take it endless emphasizes that once you start down this road, there's no end. There is no end to comparing Who's Who lists. It's a wearisome, pointless task that puts the wrong emphasis on why we should give heed to someone. No matter how long someone's list is, it's not good enough to base our doctrine on. Don't give heed to it.

We still face the same thing today. A lot of people rely on what their ancestors believed. "My dad and his dad were both Catholics (or whatever) and they were good people. It was good enough for them and it's good enough for me." We can't base our doctrine on our parents, or on anyone else's person. (How about the famous "this church comes from the direct lineage of the Apostles (or Popes), going all the way back".)

It's hard to tell someone that their parents are messed up, but this is part of the gospel. Jeremiah, speaking for God, said; "your fathers… are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain" (2:5). We must come to grips with the lost world around us, including those closest to us. Unless we love Jesus more than our mom and dad, we can't be saved.

What I get out of this warning about endless genealogies is that we can't put our faith in a person's credentials. It doesn't matter what seminary they graduated from, or how many people they have in their church. Don't be blinded by public opinion. The only authority anyone has is how well they can minister the Word of God. Test everything by the Word! Do all things without partiality. It is easy to give heed to people's opinions that we respect. God please help us to put your Word first!

Most people believe in evolution because "everyone" else does. They are giving heed to what other people think, as when "everyone" thought the world was flat. Giving heed to these things ministers questions, warring against the faith of the unlearned. Looking at the scientific evidence, creationism is much more believable than evolution. This false religion (evolution) has people professing themselves to be wise, while they become fools. It is illogical to look at creation and deny the existence of a creator (which is what pure evolution tries to do). This universe couldn't have come from nothing. We can trust what God says about creation because He was there, and He created everything.

It seems like all bad doctrine can be boiled down to these two counterfeits. People are either giving heed to clever stories, or else they are following men. These are two main roots, if not the 2 roots, to all false doctrine. Can you think of an example that would not fall into one of these two categories?

These counterfeits minister questions rather than God's administration in faith. They have no substance to build us up. God's Word is definitive and absolute. We will not be left guessing when we base our doctrine on His Word. Faith comes by the Word of God. Questions arise from adhering to men's stories, and giving heed to men's credentials. We'll end up following the preacher who tells the best stories, rather than being planted in the reality of God's Word.

People pit the bible against stories, and they end up thinking an issue can't be resolved. For example, people use stories to support women pastors. "Sister so and so was a pastor and thousands of people were saved under her minsitry." They also follow the opinions of "important" individuals, because after all, "Dr. Humongous Church says . . .." They end up with questions because they don't start and stop with the Word of God. People are confused about this issue, but God is not the author of confusion. (See 2:9-15 for more on women's important role in the church.) People are confused because they esteem men and give heed to stories. Let God's Word be the authority, and let every man be a liar.

The word edifying pictures building a house. Good doctrine builds up our house in faith. Faith comes by correctly hearing the Word of God. When we understand His Word correctly, we are built up with God's administration. God's Word will thoroughly equip us. We can be mature, solid, and non-wavering if we base everything on His Word! Everything that doesn't line up with His Word will burn up one day. Let's build our house according to the Lord's blueprints, and not man's.

The word rather indicates that there is quite a contrast between these two methods of formulating doctrine. One builds us up God's way, with confidence in the truth, while the other leaves us wondering what is real. A little bad doctrine is NOT OK. This is not politically correct in the church world today, but we either stand against all false doctrine, or become part of the problem. We can't straddle the fence and be acceptable to God. A little sloppiness about what God says is not acceptable. He doesn't waste His breath giving us His Word. It is absolutely critical to adhere to it.