Falling from Truth

(1 Timothy 4:1-5)

As we come to chapter 4, the inspired author redirects his audience’s attention back to the issue of false teachers who were destructively influencing the church at Ephesus. As we have seen in this study, these wayward teachers were corrupting the truth by twisting the law and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think we can argue with ease that little has changed since the apostle pinned this letter. Our world is full of bad theology. Turn on your tv, listen to your radio, scroll through your social media accounts and I am sure you will easily find countless examples of twisted doctrine. Now, you may be wondering “what’s the big deal? Every church and pastor are unique, and perhaps we have more in common with these ministers and churches than we have differences. Maybe we need to be more inclusive and more acceptable of different theologies as long as we are claiming to be Christian.” If you identify with such thoughts, I’m praying that today you will hopefully see things more clearly from a biblical perspective. Listen closely, church family, truth matters. It matters greatly. We must never treat the biblical doctrines of the faith lightly, belittle them, or compromise them in any way. Our text today reminds us of the devastation that accompanies distorted doctrine, for it causes people, as Paul describes, to fall away from the faith. If you have Bibles with you, I invite you to read along with me, as I read 1 Timothy 4:1-5. Notice with me 3 ways we must respond to our text this morning:

1) We must be saddened but not surprised when worshippers abandon the truth (4:1a).

After Paul explained the mystery of godliness in the prior passage of scripture, he now aims to describe the mystery of ungodliness. He writes simply, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith.” What a heart breaking and gut-wrenching fact the apostle gives us in these opening words to chapter 4. If our lives are right with God, and we are established and grounded in the truth, then our hearts will rightfully become troubled when a loved one embraces any form of false doctrine. Notice, the Bible said the Spirit Himself has revealed this truth explicitly, meaning clearly and precisely. Now, we have no idea how the Spirit made this reality known to the inspired author. Perhaps, as he was in the process of writing this letter and the Spirit simply revealed it to him, or maybe Paul was refereeing to something that was disclosed to another prophet of old. There were indeed similar prophecies made in the New Testament. Even Christ Himself boldly proclaimed this fact. He said in Matthew 24:10-11… “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.” You see, we must not be surprised when fellow worshipers led away from Biblical truth, for the Bible speaks with certainty that it will occur in these last days.

For the authors of the New Testament, those were, and these are, the quote “later times” or as we often call them the “last days.” This final chapter of time was inaugurated by the incarnation of Christ, characterized by the power and immediate presence of the Holy Spirit among God’s chosen people, and will be completed when the Messiah gloriously returns. Therefore, we can say like the apostles withgreat confidence that we are living in the last days. Paul was utterly convinced of that truth. In fact, in 2 Timothy 3, he wrote these words, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come, For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious, gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).Did you notice those last words, Paul counsels Timothy to avoid such men as if they already present in his time, thus the last days had already begun. But also, what a description of our modern world, is it not! It’s almost as if, Paul was allowed to look into the future, into this current year of 2022, and he sums it up perfectly! Now sadly, according to scripture, some will fall from the truth during this season because false doctrine will continue to rock both the culture and the church. Understand that just as we shouldn’t be surprised that many will leave the church, we also shouldn’t be surprised by the absurd and various new forms of warped doctrine that arise over time. These two things are intrinsically connected to each other.

Now we must also carefully consider the meaning of what Paul implies when he said, “some will fall away from the faith.” The Greek verb used in this phrase gives us the English word “apostasy” which means to “depart from” or “go away.” This is a much stronger word than what the apostle used earlier chapter 1:6, when he said that some men were “straying” from a sincere faith, or the phrase he used in 19 of the first chapter to say that some had “suffered shipwreck” in their faith. Instead, this word in 4:1 implies a purposeful or deliberate departure from a former position. Therefore, in a spiritual sense, and in the context of this verse, the phrase “falling away” refers to those who come close to saving truth, only to leave. You see, apostasy does not mean that believers who have saving faith can lose it. This would be an impossibility, since every sinner who receives the gift of saving faith, is kept in the faith, or preserved in the faith by the Holy Spirit. Scripture testifies that just as God began a good work in you, He will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. That’s the glorious promise of Philippians 1:6 and numerous other passages that ensure the perseverance of the saints. Theologian and author JI Packer explained that inspired doctrinal belief when he said, “Your faith will not fail while God sustains it; you are not strong enough to fall away while God is resolved to hold you.” It simply an impossibility, for who can pry themselves out of God’s strong grip of their lives. Therefore, those who are truly saved can never abandon the faith. What Paul is saying here in 1 Timothy is same truth that Jesus taught, for Christ used this same GK verb for falling away in his parable of the Sower. He said in Luke 8:13… “Those (seed that fell) on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away.” There’s those two words again… fall away. But what do they mean? Well we must consider the context of Paul’s letter to Timothy, and when we do we get some clarity for when the apostle wrote some will fall away from the faith, he simply meant they had deliberately turned away from the truth, from the central and biblical doctrines of the faith which are necessary for a salvation: doctrines like the sovereignty of God, the deity of Christ, the reality of the Holy Spirit, and redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus, received by the gift of faith (if you remember our sermon last week on the previous passage, it was all about the doctrine of Jesus, the crown jewel of all doctrine). Listen, the reality is, that because of all the noise in our world, all the distractions that keep us from being grounded in truth, and because of the constant bombardment of false doctrine, some professing Christians will deny the central doctrines of the faith and walk away from churches that are grounded in the Word of God. This should sadden us, outrage us, but it should never surprise us.

We must understand that a mere profession of saving faith fails to guarantee the actual possession of eternal life.Scripture assures us that there will always be those who make a temporary response to the gospel, but ultimately, time will prove that they have no faith in God. We would be wise to remember the words of John, the beloved disciple, who wrote, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us” (1 John 2:19). Listen my brothers and sisters, as much as I love theology and enjoy thinking through doctrines like the perseverance of the saints and even debating them, we must come to this verse with great humility. We must acknowledge that salvation is completely of the Lord, for we are complex and depraved in our sinful nature. Oh, how we must trust in His Word, cling to the truth of Christ and guard our hearts from false teaching, for our ears, they long to be tickled, our minds do they not desire to be entertained, and not our heart so proud? You see, rarely if ever does someone set out to become an apostate. No professing Christian just decides one morning to simply walk away from the Lord. Instead, do they not most often drift away over time because they have established a pattern of spiritual compromises that have hardened and gradually steered their heart away from the truth of Scripture. That’s how it most commonly happens, and therefore, we must humbly and constantly stand watch over our hearts, our faith, as well as each others.

2) We must remember the evil nature and source of all forms of bad theology (4:1b-2).

We are candidly told in this first verse that apostacy occurs when professing Christians “pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.”The two words “paying attention” in this verse mean much more than simply “listening to” or “entertaining a thought.” Instead, it literally means “to devote oneself to” or “to cling to” something, and in this case, that something is teaching that is diabolically opposes the gospel truths of Scripture. See that Paul specifically mentions two evil sources of bad theology. The first source he mentions are deceitful spirits. The word deceitful in the Greek language is the word “Planos” from which we interestingly get the English word “planet” from. It cares the idea of wandering, and like planets that seem to wander back and forth in the sky above, these spirits wander; and then they cause man to wander, by seducing them and leading them astray, causing them to leave the orbit of God’s truth. Contrary to the Holy Spirit who leads people into saving truth, these unholy spirits lead souls to hell with their lies.

Listen church family, apostates are not actually the victims of some liberal, well-educated, and sophisticated university professors, false teachers who often serve as pastors, or even clever and celebrated authors or speakers. No, we must remember that they are victims of demonic spirits, who simply spread damning lies through those human agents. Listen, if Satan’s favorite strategy is deception, does it not make complete sense that we are in real danger of being fooled by the false doctrine of his deceitful spirits.

But also notice the second origin of bad theology, which Paul calls the “doctrine of demons.” Now, it’s important for us to remember exactly what the apostle said in his original letter to the church in Ephesus. He wrote this to the same congregation in Ephesians 6:12… “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” You see, apostacy is always generated by demonic beings, who along with Satan, have devised lying theologies which aim to confuse, deceive, divide, and lure. Church family, you need to understand and be warned that to sit under false teaching that is contrary to the truth of God’s Word, is to be taught by demons. But, let’s be honest, we don’t tend to think of that way, do we? When someone leaves Heritage to join another church that practices some poor theology that is clearly contrary to the Word of God, do we not often conclude, “well, at least they are still going to church somewhere.” Let’s be honest, that is often ho we respond! Now, please understand, I’m not here saying we are the only good church in Central Massachusetts and that all other churches have it completely wrong. That’s not what I’m saying and praise God there are some other churches in our area who stand upon the truth, and we should surely be praying for them. But there are many so-called churches in New England and across America that proclaim a sour mixture of God’s truth mixed with what Paul calls the doctrine of demons, and that impure blend of half-truths and half-lies is devastating to the life and eternal wellbeing of the professing Christian. So, listen, when we hear of such activity, when someone leaves our church for another church that is not like minded, we must not standby, but let us engage in a loving rescue mission to help them to discover a place of worship that will hold to the truth and sufficiency of Scripture.

Yet also, note how this demonic doctrine is spread among the masses, which is noted in verse 2, Paul writes, “by the means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” Though bad theology originates from the gates of hell, it comes to our attention through deceived human agents. The apostle vividly paints us a picture of these false teachers with the words of this second verse. He initially describes them as “the hypocrisy of liars.” This phrase translates two nouns in the original Greek text and could be rendered “hypocritical speakers of that which is false.” That, my friends is who they are, they are hypocrites, a word that comes from the Greek theater. It means to assume a role in a dramatic production, to simply play a part. Hypocrisy, does that word not give clarity to why false teaching is so attractive and yet deceptive! False teachers are merely great actors. They know how to play the part of a Christian; they look the part, just like a leader in the ministry field. This is surely part of Satan’s master plan. Remember, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15… “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” Listen church family, false teachers seem sincere and righteous, and they often have an elite talent. They know how to draw a crowd and put them at ease. They are very gifted at what they do. They are convinced their teaching is the truth and passionate about spreading their message. They message will often emotionally inspire you, and will make you feel good with all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings. But it’s all a lie, for they deny the Scripture, and simply blaspheme the LORD. Again, sitting under their distorted and false teaching has no redemptive value, it may feel good, inspire you, and even give the impression of being powerful, but if it’s not 100% biblical it’s from hell.

Now, essentially, liars start to live their own lies, and become completely unable to recognize the false nature of their beliefs. Notice how Paul vividly described this fact, he wrote that they are, “seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” These words really explain why they can do what they do, for their conscience has been destroyed. The conscience of man is the God-given part of the inner man that affirms or condemns an action. It is the sensitivity of the heart to what is right and what is wrong that controls behavior. Paul says these men and women who spread evil doctrine have had their conscience seared, in other words, they have been burned to the point that these spiritual nerves act like scar tissue, they have been deadened and are no longer able to feel the pain the wrong caused by such teaching. The Bible warns us that if we neglect our conscience, it will surely stop being effective. You see the more we sin, the less painful sin seems, until finally the conscience becomes dead to feeling and is no longer capable to warn the soul against sin.

You know you can think of the conscience, like my teenage son’s alarm clock. At one time it was very effective. It would go off and I would hear him turn it off and sure enough I would hear him stat moving in the morning, oh how I miss those glorious days. But then he, like many of you, discovered the glorious snooze button, that he could quickly push it and get 5 more mins of sleep, and a little later he even noticed he could set numerous alarms. Because surely, if the snooze button is no longer effective, then that must work! But eventually, the alarm clock all but lost its ability to wake him up. And, so guess what that means for me? Frustration, stress, and hardship. Yeah, that’s often how it works when someone you love has lost that ability to wake up and respond to that which is there to get their attention.

Listen, this danger is why Paul repeatedly reminded Timothy to keep his conscience clear. His goal was for Timothy, according to 1 Tim. 1:5, was for him to have love which came from a “pure heart and good conscience and a sincere faith.” He further urged him in verse 19 of chapter 1 to “fight the good fight by keeping faith and clean conscience.” Oh, how important it is that we keep our conscience clear and effective. That we listen to it, test by the scriptures, and quickly obey it, as it leads us into a lifestyle of Christlikeness.

Church family, we must realize that Satan, as the father of lies, will relentlessly continue to attack the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and even truth in general. He will faithfully spread the doctrine of demons through hypocritical liars who no longer have the ability to decern the truth. And sadly countless “so-called churches” that are extremely popular across this land and this world are actually being held captive by the evil one. That is one of many reasons why our knowledge of the Word of God is vital. You see when we embrace teachings that are not completely aligned to scripture, when we pay attention to these passionate yet misdirected teachers and begin to accept their impure and evil doctrine, our hearts and our consciences become hardened and seared as we slap that snooze button to our heart and continue to ignore the Spirit of Truth. Oh how we must understand, that By entertaining their corrupt and demonic thoughts, people unknowingly expose themselves to spiritual decay and gangrene. That’s the vivid example that Paul shares with Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:17. Listen, some of you here are looking for a new church home, I realize this church isn’t for everyone, as much as I love Heritage and am biased, and it personally pains me to know there may be a better fit for some of you somewhere else. But please, find a church that preaches the Word, who treasures the Word as it sole source of authority, and who exalts Christ and His gospel! There are countless churches that will wow you with their energy, programs, music, emotion, and personalities. But there are few here in New England that are satisfied with preaching Christ crucified and honoring the Word above all. Oh, search those churches out, and find a home to grow in your faith.

3) We must understand the great jeopardy that accompanies such twisted doctrine (4:3-5).

Anything contrary to Scripture may serve as an entry point for demonic doctrine. Anything! And as Paul now begins to shed light on the specifics of the false teaching that plagued the church at Ephesus, we might have expected him to point us in a different direction. Perhaps we are inclined to think that demons would be most interested in corrupting the foundational doctrines like doctrine of the Trinity, the Incarnation of Christ, or salvation by grace through faith. But Satan and his demons are too sly and subtle for that. They simply tend to gain a foothold on doctrines and teachings that are easily yielded and twist them slightly. Early American pastor, Henry Ward Beecher said this, “Whatever is only almost true is quite false, and among the most dangerous of errors, because being so near truth, it is the more likely to lead astray.” Oh, how the evil in this world knows this to be true, and so this is where they place attention. Notice in verses 3-5, that Paul introduces us to the evil bent to false teaching at hand. And it’s seemingly two minor teachings. The false teachers simply insisted that spirituality and salvation demanded avoiding marriage and abstaining certain foods. Now, we should acknowledge that there is really nothing wrong with singleness or fasting. Right? Paul even argues that singleness is a gift that frees a person to live for Christ alone, and fasting is surely beneficial to our souls. However, when we grab onto certain extra-biblical practices and demand that everyone must embrace them to be saved, and then judge others based on their ability to practice them, we’ve simply crossed the line, are guilty of legalism. Now legalism along with antinomianism are two of the most common forms of false teaching. Antinomianism is big and fancy word that simply means “against the law.” So called Christians who hold to that demonic doctrine believe they are completely free from the moral law and commands found in scripture. They have been saved, set free, and therefore, can live however they desire as a forgiven child of God. That’s not biblical at all, but neither is the opposite, which is legalism. Legalism adds to the word of God, especially in regard to the doctrine of salvation. That was the evil doctrine infecting the church in Ephesus. It was legalistic in nature. And Satan and his demons continue to spread this dangerous theology throughout the modern church. Let me briefly give you three reasons why this legalistic spirit is so dangerous to our faith.

a. A legalistic spirit distorts and defames the gospel of grace.

Scripture is abundantly clear that salvation, from beginning to end is a gift of grace. It’s never earned, it’s only given. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes this clear…“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”Our salvation is not based upon our works. No, it is completely a gift of grace and faith that only God can give. Now, these verses make it clear that we are, in fact, saved in Christ to do good works. We cannot ignore the moral laws we have been given by God to uphold, but we are not saved by our works. That is a key difference. Instead, we are saved the works of another. We are saved by Christ’s work on the cross. Where he was punished for our sin and fully experienced the wrath of God, the just punishment for our iniquities. Proverbs 11:19… “He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.” What a humbling and even tragic verse, what a gut-wrenching statement because Christ alone is steadfast in righteousness. He is the only one who has never once pursed evil, and neither will he ever sin! Therefore, Jesus alone deserves not to die and experience the hell that sin demands. Yet, He, our Christ, the Messiah, died on the cross so those who simply believe and follow Him may be forgiven and gifted His perfect righteousness. That’s the gospel of grace that declares salvation is of the LORD! A legalistic spirit distorts and defames that very truth by adding works to the equation for salvation. To them, its “yes, and amen… but.” It’s Jesus’s work on the cross, plus something else… Listen my friends and family. There is nothing else to be added to the equation. You don’t have to get your life cleaned up to the point of earning God’s salvation. Nor can you ever earn it. You simply must accept the gift of Christ, that He is presenting to you today. For some of you hearing this message, right now you feel the Holy Spirit agreeing within you and urging you to make changes to your life. The conscience that God has placed in you is going off like an alarm clock, can you hear it? It’s calling on you to do something different, because everything you have tried up to this point in your life has failed to satisfy your heart. If that’s you this morning, I want to encourage you to wake up and come and talk to me, one of our elders, or a ministry leader this morning. If you would like to have someone encourage you, and pray for you, after this service, simply go to the welcome center, some of us will be there waiting, or look for someone with a purple lanyard on and ask them to introduce you to someone who can give you some spiritual guidance. Please, respond in faith and act on the Word of God this morning. Yet there is a second reason why a legalistic spirit is dangerous to our faith…

b. It enslaves you to joyless labor and fosters a heart of ingratitude.

It’s basic human nature to desire to add to the simple equation of salvation. We naturally feel obligated to earn things of value and so we conclude that salvation must include works. Therefore, every satanic false religion demands good works, outward rituals, and self-denial. The gospel of grace stands alone in complete contrast. All other religions, and even twisted Christianity, demand joyless labor like celibacy and strict diets. Our text today reminds us that marriage and all food were created by God and had been proclaimed good by the Creator. Listen, all false teaching is ultimately a denial of God’s Word. How can it be right to deny that which God had clearly proclaimed good? He made both marriage and food for the exact same reason He made everything else, which is to bring joy to man and bring Himself glory. Theologian Geerhardus Vos said it powerfully, “Legalism lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys but it does not adore.” Listen, a legalistic spirit will rob you of adoration in your praise and worship. It simply keeps your focus on what you must do and keeps your eyes off the glorious Christ who already did everything for you. Ultimately, demanding celibacy and abstinence from certain foods denies the goodness of God’s creation, and they rob Him of the glory and praise that He is surely due for such goodness.

But notice the emphases in verse 3 and 4 on gratitude. Thanksgiving is so important that he mentions it twice in these two verses. We are to receive these gifts of God with gratitude, but there is an important qualification that we need to understand. It is derived from the doctrine of redemption. Christians are defined in verse 3 as “those who believe and know the truth.” To believe is to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God and Savior of the world. It is to trust in His sacrificial death on a cross and glorious resurrection from the grave for salvation. Therefore, true gratitude is always a response to saving grace for those who know the truth. That is those who know the truth of Scripture. Those Bible believing Christians who know God said in Genesis 2:18 that it was not good for man to be alone, so He made a helpmate suitable for him, and thus He created marriage. These Christians know that Jesus in Mark 7:19 declared all foods clean and good. You see there was a time when Israel was to abstain from certain foods. They were to be noticeably different and set apart from the world. But when Christ came and ushered in His kingdom, things were changed as He perfectly fulfilled the law, and He thus proclaimed all food clean to be enjoyed by all men. But notice, the apostle does not declare everything as good in verse 4, but only “everything that is created by God is good.” Listen, there is always the danger of corrupting what God has made. Obviously, sex outside of marriage and gluttony are examples of such dangers. God gave us sex, marriage, and food to enjoy, but only as He instructs us to use them for His glory according to Scripture!

One way we can test our stewardship of the gifts that God has blessed us with is to ask ourselves this question: “Can I thank God and praise Him for what I am doing right now without being ashamed of my actions?” That is a wonderful question to ponder. If you can ask that questions often and answer it honestly, that question will assist you in living a life that is pleasing to the Lord. In verse 5, Paul says that these good gifts that are to be gratefully received from God are “sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” To be sanctified is to be set apart for holy use, and how that is accomplished are the word of God and prayer. Prayer, obviously, refers to the thanksgiving that expresses our gratitude. And the word of God which is our guide to living a life of godliness. If we are going to steward His gifts properly, we must be men and women who prayerfully abide in His instruction found in the Word of God. Both prayer and scripture will serve as the safeguards that guard our hearts from legalistic tendencies. Tendencies that enslave us, rob of us joy, and ultimately make us ungrateful. Lastly,

c. A legalistic spirit neglects authentic heart transformation (Col. 2:23).

This one is bonus, in that it doesn’t appear in our immediate text, but I think it is imperative to add it to this outline as it speaks so clearly to the dangers of a legalistic spirit. In Colossians 2:23 in another context dealing with dealing with legalism, the apostle Paul wrote, “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” Oh, how legalistic tendencies sound like wisdom and look spiritual in nature, but it is not the wisdom of God, nor do they originate from the Holy Spirit for such practices are contrary to the Bible.

And please notice how Paul concludes His thought in this verse. Such legalistic tendencies deriving from the demonic doctrine are of “no value against fleshly indulgence.” Although behavior has changed, and their lives seemingly look spiritual, there is no value to be gained, because their heart has been left unattended and thus they have not been transformed by the gospel of grace. You see its only when we rest in Christ’s work on the cross, that we can find rest for our weary souls. It’s only then that we can joyfully and freely obey the commands of Scripture as true worship. Instead of laboriously obeying them in attempt to earn God’s favor and blessing. Oh, too often we desire to be our own savior, rather than to trust in the Savior. Such a posture will never generate true heart change. Instead, it only leads to outward behavior modification that fails to truly satisfy the inner man and bring lasting joy, peace, and contentment. Only God can transform the heart and bring it life. Only He can give such gifts of grace. But you can surely put yourself in a position for God to do such wonderful things. Paul has already mentioned several actions you can take in our text today: We can guard our hearts from false teaching by wisely choosing our teachers, we can practice thanksgiving, grow in knowledge of the truth through scripture memory and study, and we can be sanctified through joyfully obeying the Word and spending time in prayer. Now, I know that sounds like a lot, but here is some encouraging news, this was never meant to be a solo journey. God has given us the gift of one another, to help guard our hearts, to encourage us, and point us in the right direction. And so, if you want to experience the grace of God, it happens most naturally in community. In small groups that meet regularly to study, fellowship, and pray together, and it happens in close relationships with mature believers who can encourage and mentor you while holding you accountable to the truth. That’s where real transformation occurs, it happens in the church, the church that exalts Christ, and holds tightly to the Word of God. Satan knows this, and that is why he does everything to stop it’s advancement.

Listen, my friends, false teaching is everywhere. Satan is working overtime to pull churches apart and separate believers from the truth. Legalistic and various demonic doctrines are flourishing and it is causing some to fall away from Bible believing communities. Church family, we must recognize the spiritual warfare around us and understand that time is of the essence. May we guard our hearts, feed our souls the truth, live for His glory, grow in grace, and experience His blessings together in community. For we must understand how risky the Christian life is apart from the grace of Christ found in God’s family. Will you pray with me.