13) Faith, Truth, Conduct, Conscience
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude 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 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
Last week we went over what many call the overall theme of these letter to Timothy.
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
God’s household, the church of the living God is exalted as the pillar and foundation of the truth. The truth is the holy word of God, his scriptures that were spoken by himself through men in different times.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The church is to be the stronghold fighting for the truth to be proclaimed. As demonstrated in Josh’s sermon last week that when the truth is compromised then conduct goes with it.
We are now starting the 2nd half of this letter and If we pause here and step back and survey the letter as a whole there is a consistent set of interrelated themes that Paul is weaving in his instruction to Timothy. As he moves from topic to topic it can look and feel as if Paul is a little scatter minded as he goes from one topic to the next, but if you look closely the entire letter from start to finish has a constant current of Faith, Truth, Conduct, and Conscience.
Of the 113 verses in this letter he speaks of faith and belief in 34 of them. He speaks of truth, knowledge, teaching in 32 of them. He instructs on conduct in 43 of them. And he speaks of a person’s conscience in 5 of them.
When I surveyed the entire book I could only find 16 verses that don’t contain teaching on these 4 things.
Though out the book he is painting this picture of the relationship between them.
What a person believes is true is the foundation of their faith. What they put their hope and trust in will effect their conduct. Then the conscience of a person will either affirm or condemn them when their behavior is out of line with what they believe to be true.
Paul speaks today of those that will depart from the faith by paying attention to the lies of the enemy.
Depart From the Faith
Depart From the Faith
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
The Holy Spirit has said. He asserts that what he is about to write is from God himself. This is a surety that there will be those that will depart from the faith. It is something that no one in the church should ever be ok with. We should never be happy or unconcerned with people we know depart from the faith.
But Paul tells Timothy that you shouldn’t be surprised when it happens.
Paul will speak of those who will wander away from the faith, shipwreck their faith, deny the faith and here depart from it. The word he choose to use here is the strongest word that he uses.
It has the meaning of abandoning, departing from, to distance one’s self. It points to a person completely removing themselves from a previous position.
This is the same word used in Luke
13 And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.
Jesus said there will be people that hear the word scattered, and when the hear they are excited. They can be saved by Jesus by believing in him, by putting their hope and trust in him. They have great joy that this is possible but there is something missing. There is no root. It is all on the surface.
There is no depth to the work of the word. They are more than happy to follow while they agree with it but when a different teaching comes along with a different promise or an easier process they turn from the truth and depart from it. They are not sad about is or even conflicted by it they just remove themselves from it.
These are not people who have a saving faith. These are not people with a weak faith or those that are struggling with their faith. These are those who have departed from it.
Saving faith is a gift from God.
8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
This faith comes from hearing the good news of Jesus
14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
And they confess that this is to be true, not just intellectually but with the belief deep down in the heart.
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The bible speaks of those with weak faith and strong faith. But even in its weakest moment. Saving faith is a victorious faith.
3 For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden, 4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 5 Who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
God’s approved ones are those that have this saving faith.
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
And multiple times God says that his righteous ones will live by faith.
4 Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.
38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
The author of Hebrews says that we are those who do not depart from the faith but those who have faith and are saved. Because
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
These that are departing are showing that they never had saving faith.
18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
There will be those that will be in the church, they may have an outward appearance and a convincing confession but they were never saved. John will continue with a connection to the truth for those that are saved.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth.
Depart From the Truth
Depart From the Truth
Those that are not saved will reveal themselves by turning from the truth to false doctrines and towards false teachers.
1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
Paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.
Paying attention is a translation of a word the is better translated as devoted to or serving. They have commited their lives to these teachings. They are not on the sidelines watching, they have but their full life into them. We find this common today with false teachers. They don’t dabble in false teaching, they commit fully. They devote themselves to it they serve the teaching.
They devote themselves to the deceiving spirits. supernatural beings that are cunning and devious. Like the moment in the garden with the serpent.
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Paul acknowledges that there are already those that have already departed to follow the spirits and Satan.
15 For some have already turned away to follow Satan.
The battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spirits.
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.
The devil and his schemes are constantly attacking the people of this world. Both believers and unbelievers. As you read through the bible you will find references to the battle that is being fought in a way that we cannot see but you will also find from start to finish the one of the primary methods of the enemy.
He has a simple method, to lie. They are deceitful. If God is truth and only truth than everything we know that is not aligned with that truth must come from somewhere.
44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out 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 tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil, the spirits, the demons all have a nature that can do nothing but lie. There is not truth in them and those that are not saved by grace through faith are of the devil and they carry out the desires of the spirit working in the disobedient.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.
Paul tells Timothy that those that will abandon the faith will be devoted to these spirits teachings but they will convey those teachings through men and women.
1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
The teachings come through the hypocrisy of liars. They will will act contrary to what they believe. They will have an agenda but will present themselves as righteous, or special, or having hidden knowledge, of special revelation, or new interpretation, or they hear directly from God. They will lead sheep to the slaughter for their own personal gain.
Why does Paul warn against greed and gain multiple times, false teachers are wolves in the pen making money off of the backs of the sheep.
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
They can do this because their conscience. That God created part of us that corrects or affirms our behavior against what we know to be true. Those that are leading people astray do not feel bad about it because their consciences have been seared. The Greek word is the same word we get cauterized from. There consciences have been seared and do not convict them of their wrong doing.
7 The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so.
To them there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. Their minds justify it. They must have their hearts washed by the word and sprinkled clean from an evil conscience by the work of the cross.
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
Those who have come to saving faith have the truth written on their hearts which is then standard of a believers conscience.
16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds, 17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.
True believers recognize that God’s words are authoritative in their lives. They are believed to be true and excellent in all ways. They proclaim God’s attributes, and reveal the nature and offices of Christ and his finished work on the cross and his continuing work as mediator and high priest. They teach of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit in all areas of a believers life lived out for God.
The word is to be held to and obeyed, for it is good and how love for God is demonstrated in a believer’s life. It was simply stated by Jesus
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands.
Those that follow the teachings of these hypocrites and the spirits and demons will create new ideas that are contrary to the word of God. They will lead people into conduct that is not good but evil.
Depart From Good Conduct
Depart From Good Conduct
3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude 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 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
The false teachings have produced all sorts of false religions, new ideas, and false churches. Paul has already spoken of some of the false teachings and will continue to do so in the remainder of the letter but here he speaks to a false teaching that was affecting the church at Ephesus as an example.
There are those that will add to what God has provided like the Pharisees who added rule after rule to what God had given them. There are others that will just throw out sections of scripture as unimportant or not necessary.
Here there were those that were forbidding marriage and demanding that certain food be abstained from. They sat and contradicted the word’d of God when he himself instituted marriage
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body. 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
Marriage was to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. It was not something to be forbidden. This marriage the false teachers were teaching people to abstain from certain foods. This practice of strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline or devotion to abstention from self-indulgence would be called asceticism today.
To remove what God has called good from a person’s life for some spiritual pride or gain. But these were to be recieved with gratitude
3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth.
The truth comes from the word. This they have turned from and turned to this false teaching.
Paul will then give a rebuttal against this practice of self denial.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
When we turn to the word an see what he has made we are to call it good because it is. What we must be careful of is what man has profaned of God’s that was good. What God made good man has corrupted in many ways. So we must be discerning on what is of God and what man has created with it.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
What every we do we do it for the Glory of God.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
In second Timothy Paul warns that the teachings of these false believers will spread like a damaging inflection and the church must remove them quickly.
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to fight about words. This is useless and leads to the ruin of those who listen. 15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. 16 Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness, 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. 18 They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are ruining the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness. 20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable use and some for dishonorable. 21 So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, because you know that they breed quarrels. 24 The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
And he will warn later.
If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.
Connection between disputes, quarrels, fights, disagreements.
He will tell Timothy to guard the truth that has been given to him as the final command of this letter.
Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge. By professing it, some people have departed from the faith.
Grace be with you all.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Paul starts and ends his letter to Timothy dealing will false teachings and faith. The issues that were causing problems in the church in Ephesus are still issues in the church today. There are many things taught from pulpits that are touted as truth but they do not align with the word.
Some only teach parts of scripture that is true but without the whole council of God it leads people to false conclusions and false ideas.
In their time, they would have to go and literally sit under the teaching of someone. There would have been a limit to access to false teachings. They would have come in by foot and would have taken time to spread.
But today we have access to any teaching we want. You can find teachers anywhere. But how many of them align with God’s word. With the truth. All media has an agenda, it is all intended to temp you or teach you. Every show we watch, every movie we go to, every pod cast we listen too. They are all teaching what they believe to be true.
And all teachers have an agenda as well, collage professors, school teachers, whether public or private, and even home school parents. There is a motive behind being a teacher and molding a student to their beliefs. So we must be careful to seek out to evaluate those motives. Because their motives influence what is taught, for either good or bad.
It seems like more and more, it is difficult to know who to read or listen too. Everything from pastors to recommend, to place to buy books, to devotions and others. the teachers are changing their positions and their teaching doesn’t align with the word or they are using money to support organizations that are aggressive towards the word.
False teaching comes from what a person believes. What they have faith in.
Saving Faith in Christ is expressed in many ways:
Faith believes the Word of God
Faith believes God
Faith embraces the person and work of Jesus
Faith leads to obedience
Faith trembles at the warnings in scripture
Faith accepts Christ as the only savior and the only way to be reconciled to God
Faith relies on Christ for our justification, sanctification, and eternal life.
A Christian’s faith may be weak or strong at times in their lives. There may be times of rebellion and denial. There may be times of pride and complacency. But those that have been given the gift of faith will find that they will be drawn back eventually. Their pride only wins out over their conscience for a season.
We are to be a people grounded in truth and growing in faith. This is why we do what we do here. Its why we sing what we sing and we teach verse by verse. Its why we do communion and baptism in biblical God honoring ways. It is why we gather to worship him and glorify him.
And when we are doing this our hearts will align to God’s will for us and our conduct will align more and more to the word of God.
Where are you at today? What has God shown you in his word today?
Do you have saving faith? Not just intellectual buy in, but have you confessed that Jesus is Lord and believed in your heart that he was raised from the death. Then I plead with you do so today. Grab someone sitting next to you after church and lets have a talk about it.
Have you been following the wrong teachers? Have you puts man’s thoughts in a higher place then God’s words. Do you spend as much time in the word as you do listening to others speak about the word. Are you careful who you listen too.
What does your conduct reveal about where you are at.
12 Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Communion
Warning
Children, Lost, Sin
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Prayer
Song
Closing
Blessing/Benediction
5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.
