Faithfully Living in the Household of God: Combating Spiritual Foes

Introduction:

A danger of under water exploration and especially in under water caves is that navigating these areas kicks up sand and other debris. Causing the water to become clouded and impossible to find your way out.

A safety measure used by divers is to run a long tether from an anchor point outside the cave, that serves as a life line in the event that the water becomes too clouded to see.

Christianity has a build-in safety line, which serves as a means of ensure that we do not get lost as we live in the world. For the world is filled with all sorts of ideas, teachings, and even interpretations of the Bible derived from the heart of man, which clouds the water, making it very difficult to know which direction to go in.

In an effort to provide a tether to Christians, Paul gives clear direction on how we should navigate the world. He does this by using an issue of his own day as a template, specifically moralism.

Paul reveals the existence of a spiritual adversary at work in the world, intent on diverting people from their faith. This is executed through individuals who disseminate false teachings and ideas.

To combat the work of the spiritual enemies Paul provides two anchor points for us to tie our safety tethers too. First, setting our hearts on the pursuit of Godliness. Second, the gift of Good Doctrine, which was given to ensure we walk faithfully.

1 Timothy 4:1–5“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

The Heart of a Christian - The Pursuit of Godliness:

When God saves us, He works a miraculous transformation by granting us a new heart. This newly created heart introduces a transformative reality, as it inclines us toward loving God and seeks to prioritize honoring God above all other things.

Deuteronomy 30:6 “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

Jeremiah 24:7 “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”

Therefore, the new heart of the Christian is centered around godliness, which means seeking to live before the face of God in a manner that is honoring to him and worthy of the Gospel.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The Christian now seeks to lives out this life of godliness, because by the grace of God, they are new creations. Therefore, the mystery of godliness is the reality of Jesus Christ in us. Which produces new thoughts, passions and purpose.

Colossians 1:27 “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

The Christian then by the work of Christ is a new creation, unleashed upon the world to be a means of transformation by proclaiming the message of new life in Christ.

Thus, Paul can say in 1 Timothy 4:7 “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;” Because the Christian is on a new path, one that has left the old ways of the world behind.

Therefore, according to Paul, a primary means of battling with the spiritual forces, is to ensure the Christian mindset is focused on pursuing a life of godliness, which is a reflection of Christ in us and seeks to conform us to Christ.

For the Christian’s life is marked by two distinct realities. First, Christians express gratitude for God's provisions, as mentioned in verses 3 and 4. This gratitude stems from a heart thankful to God for His provision, cultivated through consistent participation in prayerful fellowship with God.

Second, Christians believe and know the truth of the mystery of godliness, namely that their only hope of glory is found in Christ Jesus. (see in v.5 & 3:16)

As opposed to the person who seeks to achieve the new life by means of their own works. Paul says they create man made laws; in his time, such as forbidding marriage, the rejection of certain foods as a means of gaining godliness, in v.2.

But Paul makes it clear that what they aimed at is not actually godliness according to Christ, but a man made religion which is godlessness. The false teachers whom Paul confronts placed their faith in moralism, which originates from deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.

This is where the water gets all clouded for people, as they seek to achieve a form of godliness of their own making, following the patterns of the world. And because their lives are not anchored in Christ, they are driven by every wind of doctrine and false teaching that tickles their ears.

But the Christian has their hope anchored in Christ. Hebrews 6:19-20 “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf”.

Understand although severity to the body and moralism may look good or have the appearance of godliness. Ultimately it is bankrupt and gives a false hope of salvation.

So, where have you placed your hope today? Is it in a sure and steadfast anchor, Jesus Christ? Or a moralism that you create trying simply to be good enough?

Good Doctrine - Ensuring We Walk Faithfully:

The second means by which Christians are able to combat our spiritual enemy is by embracing the gift of good doctrine. The unfortunate nature of fallen humanity is that we in our sin reject the true things of God, in favor of creating our own truths and laws. And within Christianity we have an anti-doctrine spirit, that seeks to untether us from godly principles and truths.

The result of this mindset has created popular phrases which have been weaponized to destroy the foundation of Christian belief. Such as “doctrine divides” or “you are about doctrine, but I am about Christ.”

But the term "doctrine" refers to a set of beliefs or teachings. It encompasses a systematic body of principles or instructions that form the foundation of a particular system of thought, belief, or practice.

Therefore, doctrine is a part of the tether that anchors us in Christ. Because it ensures that, if we base our beliefs upon doctrines developed from a faithful reading of the word of God, then we will not drift away from our God. We will not be caught up in the winds of doctrines created by men, and used as a means of leading us away from the faith. Providing us with great confidence that we are walking faithfully.

The purpose of the false teachers was to lead people away from the faith. Paul in our passage combats these false teachers with good doctrine by tethering Christians to Christ.

The mindset of the false teachers in Pauls day, centered around the idea that the material world was evil. This is why they forbid marriage and most likely all sexual activity, because it was in the flesh, and why they rejected certain foods. They taught that the only way to be godly was to reject the material world, creating a severity to the body because it has an appearance of godliness.

In our flesh we admire people who are extreme examples of self-discipline. But Paul says that those who reject the material world like these false teachers are really rejecting the good creation that God has given to humanity for stewardship and enjoyment.

1 Timothy 4:4 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,”

Paul’s attack upon the false teachings is based on two realities, the doctrine of creation and the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That God created the world and then that Jesus Christ became man undermines the belief that the material world is evil and Christians should reject it.

“The doctrine of creation is one of the distinctives of the Bible. It teaches that God is not part of creation, but that he created it for his good purposes—and so the physical world is good, and humans are responsible for its use and care. Ascetics say the world is evil and materialists say the world is accidental—neither sees it as good nor gives humans spiritual responsibility for it.” Phillip D. Jensen, 1 & 2 Timothy for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2019), 91.

The doctrine of the incarnation shows that although sin has ravaged the material world, and man through his sinfulness has brought about great suffering, God the Father redeems the material world through the Son becoming flesh.

Therefore, believing the truth that God’s creation is good means that all that God has created is good and should not be rejected but recieved with thankful and joyful hearts. The one who understands and knows the word of God is the one who will rightly walk in God’s creation and will not fall for the lies of the false teachers.

Conclusion - Holding the Faithful Doctrine:

As divers use a tether to guide them through murky underwater caves, believers have a built-in safeguard, ensuring we stay anchored in Christ.

Paul, recognizing the imminent danger of spiritual adversaries working through false teachers, provides anchor points in 1 Timothy 4. These anchors serve as guiding principles, safeguarding us against false doctrines.

Firstly, Paul underscores the significance of a transformed heart, emphasizing the pursuit of godliness as a mark of the new creation in Christ. The Christians heart, molded by God's grace, is oriented toward honoring and glorifying God, paving the path for a life guided by godly principles and grace.

Secondly, Paul emphasizes the gift of good doctrine as a crucial means to ensure faithful navigation. Doctrine acts as a tether, preventing Christians from drifting away from the truth revealed in God's Word.

Therefore, Christians we must uphold the faithful doctrines that anchor us in the truth. And embrace the pursuit of godliness, clinging to the sure anchor of good doctrine, being safeguard in faith.

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