1 Timothy 4
- Confronting False Teaching
: Paul instructing Timothy on dealing with false teachings.
: Apostasy in the final days.
1 The Holy Spirit expressly states in a prophecy, possibly that of Ac 20:28–31, which Sha’ul specifically directed to the believers in Ephesus, where Timothy was.
In the acharit-hayamim. The End Times are already here (1C 10:11N). So we need not say that people will apostatize from the faith only in the future (as at 2 Th 2:3)—they are doing it already.
What kinds of deceiving spirits and things taught by demons are they paying attention to? (On the reality of demons, see Mt 4:24N.) For the moment, confining ourselves only to religions, we may note:
(1) Eastern religions (and Western adaptations thereof), with their sub-biblical, impersonal concept of God and their tendency to depreciate the importance of human history and thus of human life.
(2) The older sub-Christian cults, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Christian Science and Unitarianism, all of which present an inadequate picture of Yeshua the Messiah.
(3) Non-Messianic Judaism, insofar as it denies the divine origin of the New Covenant and the Messiahship of Yeshua and stands in the way of Jews who affirm them.
(4) Secularism, humanism, atheism and agnosticism.
(5) Liberal Christianity, which, though using the Bible, denies fundamental biblical truths, and, most insidiously of all,
(6) Religion which passes itself off as affirming the Bible but in practice proves itself otherwise by its deeds.
Outside the realm of what should be called religion we see people turning to:
(7) Drugs, drink, illicit sex, pursuit of riches (see 6:7) and other self-centered activities.
(8) Various ideological movements without overt religious content that can capture a person as religion does; politics and environmentalism can function in this way, though they need not do so.
(9) The occult, including astrology, parapsychology, kabbalah (the occult tradition within Judaism).
Why do people turn to these substitutes for the truth and fail to see the Good News as good? Here are some of the most common reasons, along with the remedies:
(1) Having a false conception of God, of Yeshua and of what the Bible says. Often people who have never read the Bible as adults or have never read the New Testament have very strong opinions anyway. The solution is to read the Bible openmindedly, praying that God will reveal what is true.
(2) Being engaged in sin which one refuses to give up. The solution is to get one’s priorities straight. Is it more important to continue the sin and go to eternal destruction, or to turn to God for forgiveness and receive assurance of everlasting life?
(3) Fear, for example, of being rejected by one’s friends and community if one professes faith in Yeshua, or of poverty, or of having to live a “life that isn’t fun.” The remedy is to trust that God is in control and will open a life more fulfilling than one could ever have dreamed of, even if aspects of these fears prove well-grounded. Everything works for the good of those who trust God (Ro 8:28).
: Hypocrisy of Liars
These false teachers are referred to at Ac 20:28–31; 2 Th 2:6; 2 Ke 3:1–3a&N; 1 Yn 2:18–23, 4:1–6; 2 Yn 7.
Consciences, like every other component of human nature, can be ruined. Kleptomaniacs and pathological liars are examples of people whose consciences don’t function properly. Do those who habitually cheat on their taxes, or make under-the-table payments for favors, have seared consciences? Yes, if they have no awareness of the wrongness of what they are doing, or if they are convinced that they are an exception to the rule. But “let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” We must examine the sensitivity of our own consciences, so that we may “go and sin no more” (Yn 8:8, 11, KJV).
: Marriage, Food and Bubbe-Meises
3a They forbid marriage and require abstinence from various foods. Sha’ul favors self-discipline for the sake of the Kingdom of God (1C 9:24–27), but not asceticism. His own attitude toward marriage (1C 7:1–40) and eating (Ro 14:5–6, 14–17, 20; 1C 8:8, 13; 10:23–11:1; Co 2:16–23) is eminently sensible, avoiding both self-indulgence and self-denial. He evaluates these behaviors in terms of how they affect others and how they express commitment to Yeshua the Messiah.
Abstinence from foods does not mean observing kashrut, although the false teachers probably did incorporate elements of the Jewish dietary laws into their ascetic practices. See Ro 14:1N. Also compare Genesis 9:3–4.
In Jewish tradition there are blessings said at a wedding ceremony, and grace is both before and after meals. The b˒rakhah before meals (Mt 14:19N) is short; afterwards, on a full stomach, one can be thankful at greater length for what one has just eaten. The first b˒rakhah after the meal is:
“Blessed are you, Adonai our God, king of the universe, who feeds the whole world with your goodness, grace, loving-kindness and mercy. You give food to everything that lives, because your lovingkindness endures forever. In your great goodness, we have never lacked food. For your great name’s sake, may we never lack it ever, since you nourish, sustain and do good to all and provide food for all the creatures you created. Blessed are you, Adonai, giver of food to all.”
The second b˒rakhot includes thanks for the productive Land of Israel, the covenant and the Torah, and quotes the Scriptural basis for these blessings, “And you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your God for the good land which he has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:10). Subsequent b˒rakhot include prayers for the restoration of Jerusalem, the return of the Jewish people to the Land, and the coming of the Messiah.
Abstinence from foods does not mean observing kashrut, although the false teachers probably did incorporate elements of the Jewish dietary laws into their ascetic practices. See Ro 14:1N. Also compare Genesis 9:3–4.
Everything created by God is good, but not everything created by God is food. Therefore, this verse does not abolish the Jewish dietary laws; see Ac 10:11–19&NN, Ga 2:12b&N).
The word of God and prayer make it holy. The means of sanctification are various, both in Judaism and in the New Testament. The blessing recited in connection with doing a mitzvah contains the phrase, “our God … , who has sanctified us with your commandments”; the commandments, a subspecies of the word of God, sanctify. See the article, “Kedushah” (“holiness,” “sanctification”), in Encyclopedia Judaica, 10:866–875.
Bubbe-meises, Yiddish for “grandmother’s stories,” fables (1:4) told or believed only by silly, superstitious old women. It renders the Greek phrase, “graô deis muthous” (“old-womanish tales”; “muthous” underlies the English word “myths).”
: Godliness lived and taught.
: Physical Exercise and Spiritual Exercise
Physical exercise, or “physical self-discipline” (compare v. 3) does have some value for the body (relevant for Timothy; see 5:23). Some make a religion of physical fitness, through health foods, jogging, sunbathing, saunas, bodybuilding, sports, massage. Care for one’s body has an honorable place in Scripture: the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are to honor God with our bodies. So we should take normal precautions but avoid neglecting, overindulging or idolizing our bodies. This parallels Jewish teaching on the role of the body.
: The Hope
God is the deliverer (1:1&N) of all humanity (2:4–7, Yn 3:16), especially of those who trust. The word “especially” reminds us that Ro 2:14–15 seems to allow the possibility that some who do not profess faith in Yeshua, perhaps because they do not have cognitive knowledge of the Gospel, may nevertheless be saved; but see the note there for the necessary cautions against using this concept to excuse not accepting Yeshua as the Messiah.