In 1 Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9, Paul advises us to ignore "fables and endless genealogies."?

Question

What was he referring to?

Answer 1

He's telling you to eat your vegetables and to behave.

Answer 2

Read 1 Timothy 1:3-11 in context, than you will understand why Paul said what he said regarding to false teachings, myths, endless genealogies.

The reason why Paul (through the wisdom of God) says that people should not devote themselves to myths, endless genealogies, and false teachings is because such things only promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work which is by faith according to verse 1 Timothy 1:4.

The goal that God has us to obey is the commands (Romans 13:9-10 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”a and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.) which is love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk (which doesn't produce good fruit a.k.a. righteousness/good deeds). They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm according to verse 1 Timothy 1:5-7.

According to verse 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Paul says, "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."

There are other verses that can be cross referenced to verse 1 Timothy 1:3-11 such as verse Titus 3:1-11 which is about "Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers" and 2 Timothy 2:14-26 which is about "Saved in Order to Do Good."

IF YOU READ THE WHOLE ENTIRE VERSES IN CONTEXT, THEN YOU WOULDN'T BE CONFUSED AND WON'T HAVE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.

Answer 3

There's no way to be 100% sure but we can get a pretty good idea from knowing a little bit about the culture of the people at that time. For instance in the book of Matthew there is a genealogy that shows that Jesus was descended from Abraham through King David. This was given to show the Jewish readers that Jesus had a legitimate Scriptural claim to being the Messiah. Many scholars liked nothing better than to examine various aspects of the Scriptures and other writings and come to conclusions about what they "really" meant in a prophetic sense.

In addition to the "official" Jewish Scriptures there were also many books of "wisdom" that had fantastic stories in them that were either entirely made up or were distortions of historical accounts that the author had embellished for reasons unknown.

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth he said "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
1 Corinthians 2:1-2

There were many itinerant preachers who would go around trying to impress their listeners with their vast store of "knowledge" and their skill at constructing fine sounding arguments. Paul was warning Timothy and Titus not to fall into the trap of getting into debates with people like that and thereby confuse the simplicity of the gospel message and leave those who were listening in a state of confusion about who might really be correct about what was said.

Answer 4

From Halley's Bible Handbook:

When Paul left Ephesus he had warned that savage wolves would ravage the Ephesian church (Acts 20:29-30). Now they had appeared in full force and constituted Timothy's main problem. They appear to have been the same brand of false teachers as those whom Titus had to deal with in Crete, who based strange teachings on apocryphal Jewish legends connected with Old Testament genealogies.

Answer 5

The single greatest source of both fables and genealogies that I've ever encountered would have to be the Old Testament. I doubt Paul was referring to Aesop, and the LDS genealogical archive wasn't invented yet; so I'd have to say that the same would be true for Paul. He must be telling us to ignore the whole bloody thing.

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wait, just changed my mind to above answer. i'm fickle like that.

Answer 6

Titus 1:4 he calls them Jewish fables and was probably referring to the error that later developed into gnosticism, assigning to Christ a place superior to the Godhood He clearly claimed.

I strongly recommend the Scofield note for Colossians 2:18

2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

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2:18 GNOSTICISM

The error against which Paul warned the Colossians later developed into the heresy called Gnosticism (from Greek gnosis, meaning knowledge). This false teaching assigned to Christ a place subordinate to the true Godhead, and undervalued the uniqueness and completeness of His redemptive work. It insisted that between a holy God and this eartha host of beings, angels, etc., formed a bridge, of which host Christ was a member. This system included the worship of angels (v.18) and a false ascetism (vv.20-22).
For all these errors, the apostle had one remedy, a knowledge (epignosis, that is, full knowledge, 1:9-10; 3:10) of the fullness of God in Jesus Christ. Paul is not afraid of wisdom, or knowledge, and refers to them frequently, but he does insist that the knowledge be according to divine revelation. His devastating answer to this false teaching is in 1:19 and 2:9, in which the Lord is revealed as the one in whom dwells "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The word "fullness" (Greek pleroma) is the very word Gnosticism used for the entire host of intermediary beings between God and humanity. The incarnate Lord, crucified, risen, and ascended is the only Mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim. 2:5).
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Answer 7

Fables like The DaVinci Code most likely

Answer 8

He is referring to the teachings which were circulating, those which would later find their way into the so-called New Testament. Genealogies which somehow make Jesus king of the Jews, and fables such as dead men rising from graves, virgin births, god-men, etc.

Answer 9

You have to understand that back in Paul's time, the Jews were extremely careful to follow their families history and genealogy. Why? Because they (the Jews) thought that if someone in their family had a close relationship with God they would be able to claim that relationship in their family and count themselves as blessed and acceptable to God. However, as you know, the only way to be acceptable to God is through acceptance of His Son Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord.

Answer 10

Fables and endless geneaologies such as the 1st two chapters of Matthew.

Answer 11

Being a teacher that has studied and not one that proclaims to know something but gets carried away with the law and who people are.That God is love andWhat is to be taught about God.We become heirs in Christ by his blood not because we have done anything to earn it.Turning away from our evil ways and become a new creature in Christ.