1 Timothy 4:1-5
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Open with Prayer:
Read the Text:
1 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, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
As we began chapter one of 1 Timothy we saw how Paul wants young Timothy to be aware of some of the false teaching that was beginning to creep into the churches and especially there in Ephesus. We have also dealt with the instructions to the church on how they were to operate especially in concern to church leadership. But now we come to the fact that Paul is actually going to call out these false teachers and address the specific false teachings that were being presented.
Here in the first five verses of chapter 4 Paul once again is going to give some instructions. He does this in several ways. First, there are specific instructions for Timothy, but then there are also instructions that are important to all the members of the church concerning what we need to do in these later times as verse one mentions.
Let me draw your attention to this phrase, “later times.” You may wonder what time is this talking about? What does this mean? Later times is basically the New Testament’s description of the period of time when Christ ascended back to heaven after his death and resurrection and His second coming from heaven where He will come to get His bride. With this is mind the important thought here is that we as believers are ready and vigilant or prepared in these later days as we await the Lord’s return. Are you ready? Is your life currently being lived in such a way that you are ready to stand before the Lord. If not, what needs to change?
One of the first things that we can do as believers in being prepared for the Lord’s return is to have a spirit of discernment so that we know the truth for the deceiving lies of the devil. We must be able to detect or understand errors that could come up within the church. Here in verse 1 we see that there were apparently people in Ephesus who were questioning the true teaching of God’s Word and spreading false teaching that did not come from God’s Word. How do we know this??? We know because some were leaving or departing the faith because of this false teaching. Paul wanted Timothy to be aware of this and the church so that they could watch out for these people. It is important for us today to look at what was happening here in 1 Timothy and for us to consider these errors as well. Why? Because they are happening in our culture today.
Paul now goes on record to say that these teachings are demonic teachings.
-The false teachers have devoted themselves to deceitful spirits.
-They have devoted themselves to teachings of demons.
What I see here from verse 1 is that Paul not only wants Timothy and the leaders of the church but the church as well to not be fooled or lured in by this false and demonic teaching. It may sound really good, and look good and feel good but the teaching is straight from hell. It is straight from the devil himself.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
So, what exactly do we know about these false teachers???
Look with me at verse 2. This teaching comes to life through the deceptive false teachers. These types of teachers are:
1. First, Insincere.
2. Second, Liars.
3. Third, their consciences are seared.
All of these things point to how deceptive and demonic these teachers truly are. These heretics are hypocritical liars.
-Insincere = This means that they may claim to know God but by their actions deny Christ. These type of people may seem spiritual but they lead immoral lives. They may have forgotten that everyone who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord turn away or repents of sinful things and turns toward Christ.
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
-They are liars = These teachers are liars whose consciences are seared as verse 2 tells us. They are men and women who have become numb to the truth and are even spreading not just lies but also irreverent and silly myths. Look over at verse 7 with me.
7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
I want you to see this tonight because often times false teachers are hard to recognize. Why because everyone is following them. Their message sounds good and it attracts large crowds. This is what makes false teaching so deceptive. It comes from people who are claiming to spread the truth. Listen to Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders in Acts.
30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
False teaching was rampant in the first century and this is why Paul is making such a big deal of this. However, it is rampant in our day and age. The world and the church are full of false and unbiblical teaching. Here are just a few false teachings or lies that we must be on guard against.
Prosperity Theology = This teaching says that if you trust Jesus, that He will bless you and give you health and wealth. However when people get sick and die or lose their finances that the individual did not have enough faith.
There is also Cult Theology = This type of false teaching proclaims that Jesus is not who you thought He was. An alternative view is proclaimed which always turns out to be an unbiblical picture of the Son of God. People in this camp would say that Jesus was not God but that he was just a good person or that Christ was God but he was not human because no human could be without sin or came back from the dead.
And finally another lie is that of Popular Theology = I would say that this is more about being culturally relevant and how to appease mankind than anything else. This theology consists of ideas about life and possessions and heaven and the afterlife. We see this theology in a lot of self-help or leadership books that have taken the place of God’s Word. Let me just say this, be on the guard against such demonic errors.
-Finally, Paul says that these type of teachers have their consciences seared. = This means that these false teachers have been branded or cauterized by Satan. This results in a loss of sensitivity. In this culture this would have been a powerful image because sometimes people were branded as a punishment for certain crimes. In contrast to all of this Paul repeatedly encourages us to have a good conscience.
5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
In light of Paul’s instructions and warnings about the false teachers, I think that it is so important not to be surprised or caught off guard. When you hear about a church member or even a pastor who has departed from the faith we realize just how much Satan is working. I want to encourage you not to let their decision to walk away affect your faith. Pray for them and ask God to help them see the error of their ways.
But, how are we able to detect error in the church? How do we know when error is being taught? These are questions that many want to know as we are growing in our faith. In order to discern when error is being taught on a podcast or social media site or even in church you need to be familiar with God’s Word. Every believer should be reading, studying, and hiding God’s Word in their hearts. We should also consider the substance of what is being said. That is why Paul here now addresses the very specifics of false teaching that apply to this church and the church in all ages, including our own. Notice in verse 3 two specific errors.
-First Paul mentions that these false teachers forbid people from Marriage.
-Second, Paul says these false teachers required abstinence from certain foods.
It is important to mention here that it is true that at times Paul emphasized the advantages of being single and even encouraged sexual abstinence. (1 Corinthians 7) He also at times encouraged people fast for religious reasons. But he never forbade people to marry which would have been considered odd by most people in the Jewish or Greco-Roman world. Paul would not of told them to refrain from eating certain foods out of an aversion to the material world.
At the very root of all of this false teaching is two major errors. The first error is to deny the goodness of God. And the second error is to distort the truth of God’s Word. When we think about both of these errors we are reminded of how sin entered our world. The serpent tempted Eve in the Garden to doubt that God had her best interests in mind. Satan asked, “Did God really say to you that you cannot eat from any tree in the garden???” What Satan was doing here was leading Eve to question God’s goodness and to distort His Word. All of this led Eve to buying in to Satan’s lies and sin entered into this world.
What we see here is that something similar was happening in Ephesus during Pauls day. If we move forward from Genesis all the way to 1 Timothy we see that some of the false teachers were teaching that certain foods should not be eaten and that people should not get married. They were making these rules and guidelines prerequisites for salvation.
Paul is able to discern these lies and cut of these false claims by saying that marriage and food are both gifts from God’s hand, gifts to be received with gratitude to God in prayer.
As we come to these final verses we need to keep in mind that was is so often though to be inferior, outdated, irrelevant, or even thought to be evil originated from God, who pronounced good all that He had made.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Also, what we see throughout the New Testament was the often debated question if certain foods were ok to eat. Jesus himself had declared all foods clean.
18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
What we see here is that in verse 5 both God’s Word and the customary prayer of thanksgiving at the beginning of meals commended the enjoyment of the Lord’s good gifts to us as believers.
Application: We as God’s people need to watch out for teachers who deny the goodness of God and distort the Word of God. Many distort God’s word by either adding to it their own opinions or views or they take away from it the hard things such as sinful behaviors. We in the church need to be able to detect these kinds of serious and demonic errors. Be careful who you listen to on-line and who you follow. Compare Scripture with scripture and always pray that God will help you to discern the truth from any lies that are being taught.
Closing Questions:
What kind of false doctrine are you hearing on T.V. social media or any other outlets?
Have you ever seen any one refuting or speaking out against those errors?
From where do we as Christians get the authority to teach or correct people?
(Close in Prayer)