Guard Yourself from Demonic False Teaching, by Training for Godliness
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Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
If a neighbour or unbelieving friend from work or school, was to live with you,, really shadow you for a whole week, I mean your pirvate time, imagine they could read your thoughts, they watched your interactions with people, they saw how you worked, what you watched on tv, looked up , what you tweeted. And if they were especially looking for what your Christianity, your religion, your realtionship with God was all about. What do you think they would right?
For some it may be all about “moralism” - always thinking do right thing, judging others, for others might be about Xn school, or politics, others homeschooling. Other’s doctrinal correctness - theologize every minor point umpteenth degree. Others about seeking a spiritual high - being inspired. But le3t’s shapren this a little lets’’s say you were to give us tonight - what godliness is - what is it you would say in your life that makes you godly? I hope not any of those aspects, those are periphary mionr copared to the grezt centre of godliness!
And as Paul tranistion from the more general teaching of this his third to last lettter, this pastoral letter before he dies, he is no addressing the partiuclar problems that Timothy must address to fan this church back into raoring flmae of light and heat for Christ and his gospel inthe world. He’s already identitfied the problem of false-teachers from within the church in chapter 1. Round 1 in the boxing match was about the law and gospel, and there Paul identified that these false teachers don’t think they are sinners, they think because they have Jesus don’t need thte law. And remeber that was when Paul introdues the first of the trustworthy sayings:
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Remember he says this is the gospel at the Centre of Christianity and it is what each of us has been entrusted - as we steward it - v.16 Jesus Christ will display his perfect patience as an example to those who are going to believe - and receive presious eternal life now even before they die.! Paul then went on to explain how cetnral prayer and God’s Word, the proper listening to God’s word preoperly proclaimed is, then how this household of faith is to be led -2nd trustowrhty saying - to have real elders and deacons lead us. The chracter of of elders and deacons, and deacon’s wives or deaconesses. And he point we let the seam of the letter before the partiucarl and practical applications was
if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
And then the summary of what the truth is - life-transoforming gospel of Jesus. Look at it again:
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
And do you remember how this not only expalins the gospel in terms of what Jesus did 200 years ago, about in this age we live now - what’s going on down here on earth with the gospel, and what’s going on in heaven? Down here, after seen by angels in glory, he is proclaimed among the NATIONS, down here he must be believed on - furtherst palces from heaven in the world - then will come the final day of glory! And now Paul says, let’s tackle the problems that are killing the church in this age! And he starts off with something like our little quiz - what defines the false teachers versionof Christianity and is increasingly defining those, even those Chrstiains who are starting be influenced by their apporach? If we could watch them for a week - what would stick out is this - version of Christiainity - that is all about eating the write diet, a regiment of rituals and , spiritual practice - even spiritual discipleines - so much so that believeing that because they had Jesus they not only didn’t need the law, they thought with thgnostics that there superspirituality meant earthly life didn’t really matter, and so the other thing that woudl stick out is they - required celibacy. They said, deny earhtly life, because hey Christ rose to new life, we have that new life, so all the earthly laws and realities don’t matter, so Jesus said in habven bye like Angels - n o marriage. . Now we ‘re going to have to tackle these problems, but Paul doesn’t spend too much time here, and no where else on this, but his big concern is not there little emphsais but on what is now completely missing. There is no reliance on Christ of the gospel, no digging in to his word, with prayer and a resulting transformation of life in godliness. It’s just human effort now, based on flawed human myths, with no promise of life from above, life from Jesus! And don’t you think the same could be said, of Christains in every age when they have given up living with thte gospel, and settle instead for the traidtions, ritual, the spitirtiual discplines. That’s why you’ve got to see the the major dynamic of the Christian life, the big actigivity in your life and mine that the world is to see and report - is this TRUTH unto GODLINESS!
Key Truth: Believers must guard themselves from demonic false-teaching by exercising faith in Christ, unto godliness.
That’s God’s gymn and what goes on it - taking the promsies of eternal life, applying them and being transformed so that etneral life is what begins now!
But the first reason you here this is because of the shocking truth that Satan wants to decdive not only unbelivers from hereing the gospel, but to trap belivers from not living by it!
A. False-teaching will come to you through ordinary people, but coordinated by demons
Now
Paul, like Jesus, speak of the age between the coming of the Messiah and His return in glory - as the last age, the later times. And like the OT prophets said, this time before the fulness of the Messianic kingdom comes would be one marked with false-teaching. But even more to Paul’s point this age of the last days, between Christ’s Ascension and His Return, will be marked through out with not only false-teaching, but an apostasy. Satan is at work here below during this age when he has been defeated onthe Cross, and expelled out of heaven, how - deceivig unbelievers to live without God and hi gospel. THis is what Paul teaches in
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
All poeople who substitute created tihngs and dieas of God for the living God, are engaged in idolartry because Satan has blinded them.
What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
The Apostle John summarizes what’s going on spiritualy in this age in
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
But listen to what else is goingin on in this last age, not in the world only, but in the very church. John says, antichrists have gone out , and some of them where among us. Paul says in
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
That word bewitched, reveals the demonic blinding. Demons seek to cast an evil spell not only the false teachers of the church, but on people who have come to belivee, but influenced by the teaching that distorts the gospel, their Christian life and service and evotoin is derailed. And that is the background that you must understand of our current age, there are two activities going on in Christ’s church until he comes again: one is truth unto godliness, one is Chrsitians who exercise and work out daily in God’s gymn unto godliness. But the other is this deadly APOSTACY. Do you know that word - it means to defect, rebel, to commit treason. In the OT used when someone would disavow the Coveant LORD and begin to worhsip like and to pagans aorund them - worhsip Baal. They commited apostacy. That’s the word Paul uses saying some will DEPART in
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,
They haven’t departed from the visible church, still in it wreaking havoc, shipwrecking faith and Christain living, but they have left the Gospel and the Living God! symbolically describes the birht of Christ this gospel age, and then REv 13 describes two beasts that come out of the sea to make war against the people of Christ. One beast is at work in the world, the other through apostacy in the church. And that is Paul’s concern here! This is the heart of the problem in Ephesus and 8 of 15 times he uses theis wrod “false teaches is here in 1 Tmiothy!
But before we get to the specfics, notice in v.2 how this happens. The specfics will change int terms of what the false teachers distort and distract us from the gospel with. But the method by which they do it is universal.
through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
These false-teachers, not holding to eh Words of Christ, apostolic teaching, the writingi of the OT, they tewist them intto their own myths, spiritualized teaching of geanologies, and so caught up in new spirituality, claimign to be surpieor than the old simple trust and obey; they sear their conscience. Like what they do in de-horning acow. ALl those raw nerve endings, so instead of sawing away. clip type thing with hot iron, hurst at first better have good grip, but then as burn and clip - no longer even feels it. Cauterize. Have a suregery what do you do aanesthized - Well, if you’re not in God’s Word, not in prayer, not using your konwledge to grow in godliness, but instead - making up own rules, instead, living free from Gods’s way, if you get caught up in these false spiritualities - sin no longer bothers you as much, you become less sensitive to the Spirit’s work of covniction, you becomong spiriutally unfeeling twoward God. And this organ God’s given us as part of his image, the consicence, it become s hardened, and no longer can what - disceren truth from the lie.
All of a sudden the mystery of godlienss that is the Person Christ - his work, his character, incarnation, his justification onthe Corss, gift of the Spirit to sanctify you - that double cleansing work - that power of the gospel in the world, that godliness doness’t register. And Jesus is made so small, and His work and promises not trusted and rlied upon.
This is why Paul calls these teachers, insincere - hypocrites. There followers may be true Christains who will be handicapped, but those who are teaching this stuff, and not holding to Christ, they pretend that there new spiritual ways - are the real deal and will lead to peace and joy and God, but they know it’s all emptiness.
and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
At the root when one replaces the center with anything ut the curcified resurrected, now exalted Christ, - they will distort everything.
B. Guard yourself against Gnostic Legalism that Denies your Freedom in Christ
The partiuclar expressions of this replacing Christ, are in regarde to food and to marriage.
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
The gnostics of which this seems to be an eraly iteration. Basically said, material stuff is bad, and spiritual stuff is good. Just get in touch with the spiritual stuff and you’ll get nrivanan and fulness through these spiritual exercise, and Christ is just a teacher of that way. In the Ephesian market place - all meats devoted to idols in some way, so they said even though apostles arleady showed meat intiself not to be avoided for religious reasons, they said the way to be spiritual is to avboid all meat. Similarly, they thought sex som any problems, evil, and may as well denial it all, resurrection happened to us, we’re now spiritualized being, like the angels with no need. Over realized view of salvation we now have, think heaven is here. And as a result they denied the reality of sin and the need for God’s good order for this present world! So miportant to have a strong view of creation, God’s grace doesn’t replace creation, it restores, and redeems it. Including the roles, unity of husband and wife and the institution for this life of marriage and the family.
Sure in the OT as teaching tools for cleanness, for deovtion to God and his ways. Certain foods forbidden, starting with the fruit of the tree of knwoledge of good and evil. But that fruit itself wasn’t bad, but God used it as a test of devotoin So too the -un-kosher foods of the OT, and meat in pagan Ephesus. They as part of God’s creation aren’t bad in themselves, and for a time wre used in aritual way to teach God’s purpose. And as Christ has fufilled those ritual meanings, Paul give the antidote to the false teaching saying:
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
Here he combines the intial blessing of God on every created thing as good, with the gift after theflood to Noah - in
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
And Paul is saying, how do we approach every created area of life, every created thing in the world? The structure of the whole creation is good, the directino we take it can eithe be good or evil. So here is his rule:
for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Do set aapart God’s good gifts in this world, - your spouse, your work whatever it is, your food, your recreations, your tv, and phone and computer, do you set them apart for holy use by the Word of God and prayer? Here is the antedote to false teaching regarding spirtualities and lifestyple choices. The Wor o hrist is suficient, the Holy Scirptures gioves us te proper direction, and then taking those tools, in your hands, those peope in your hearts, you devote them for God’s glory and yotheir upbuilding, and your upbuilding through prayer. But in the next section, in a postiive way Paul shows what we should be busy with in God’s household the church, as true bleievers. Here is how to guard yourself from false teaching, and teh false practices that result from it.
C. Train yourself together in the Word for Active Godliness
I’ll never forget as I began reading the Puritans, this phrase from Robert Murray McCheyene: My peole greatest need is my godliness. COuldn’t understand that at first. Your a minister shouldn’t your teaching, or doing more evangliems - incredible evangelists., but his personal godliness - exercise in the life of Christ in his life. Why? How important is it you that godliness, revereencing God, Christlikeness in day to day life? Paul says this is the third trustworhty syingm, you need for life in God’s household. First salvation of sinners like you and me, then in this comjunity we have leaders. The third saying is receiving the salvation, built into a householf of God through these leaders, now the activity at the heart of the church should be going on - and that is you and I gymnaticizing, execrecising our selves, tranihgn ourselves for Godliness.!
Here is the thrid AMEN< AMEN sayiing, from jesus who is trustworthy and true: Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
This is the goal of the Christain life, we are to become the perfect man in Christ copetle - not by maotlistic effort or ritual spirituality outward behaviour. But by Godliness. Calvin said “Godliess is the beginning, the middle and teh end of the Christian life. We are not to indulge in lyuxaries, or outward , but good things, comes through you and I taking hold of God’s pomsies and God will wrok all happiness in this life and the one to come through this exercise of godlienss!
Paul is taking an image that would be so common to the Ephesians. The Greek gymnasium - not like Planet Fitness in our culture, a little side interest among many side interests. The Gymnasium, was more like the cultural centre of the community. It was the civic centre of any Hellenized town. , it epitomized what it meant to be a greek. Not just fitness and competions, but education. recteation, and lietary education. Had homes and work, but third place of community - ike community cetnre, coffee shop, church. That’s the gymnasuim rolled up into one. It’s the SOURCE - producing a greek. And now Paul says here is the source of producing a Christain - God’s gymn - this traning together in Godliness! I
The image of the athele training was used for their training in morality, intellectual acumen, and spitiual discipline. And Pual takes up that image - regular strectching good diet, arrive mnths befor the copettion, and special traningin period. 10,000 hour rule of Malcom Gladwell. Think of one young man - hated reading, test for disability - pretty sure just not doing this, won’t grow. Go to univirsity sure enogh - capacity grows.
Well Paul is not knocking pyhsical fitness, but saying only limited value. But trainig to be like Jesus, trianign in spiriutal matters of God’s word, discipline in prayer - active pursuit of life of service, itis not going to be less rigourous than those Gnostic Aesthetic with all their rules. The Christina life, the basic and cetnral activity of the Christian in Christ’s church will be even more rigours but not in legalism, but in knowing, and reflecting Christ accorsdingt to God’s Word.
Just listen to Jesus words before he left:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Jesus says, in abiding in Him, in trusting on His works and promises,. Those proinmses are real life for us. They are fellowshi pwith God in Christ. They are the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, by the Spirit. They are Life in the Spirit, They are how we participate in teh divine nature.
by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
So this kind of knowing God through the promsies rewsult in not only your forgivenss, but your transformation. Je says:
So this kind of knowing God through the promsies rewsult in not only your forgivenss, but your transformation. Je says:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Do you believe in this Jesus, his work in his incarnation becoming like us so we can be united to hIm, do you bleieve in his atoning work on the Corss, so God can be for you, do you bleive in His reigning work sending His Spirit to shed the life and the lve of God abroad in your heart. Then that knwoing Jesus and His teaching, it results in godliness. This is exactly the urgent message Paul gives to Timtohy at the same time for the island of Crete:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
The knowledge of this truth we proclaim and apply to one another, it acocrds, it produces it results in godliness. Paul had just contrasted the false teachers in v.7 as giving their time and attention to that which is IRREVERENT, than means distant from God. For them it was silly myths - for us it could hours upon hours not of down time by wasted time in IRREVERENT< distant from God activiities or entertainments. But the godliness the reverence for God that is to mark God’s people, how does that come about? Paul says there are promises that Jesus Christ has for your present life and those that are for our future life in godliness. And how do we get these? Well look at Paul’s command to Timothy here:
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
Now listen to me over the holidays, I put on 10 pounds of extra winter reserves. Don’t really need them, so you know what I need to do? Hit cross country ski trail, go for that walk, read my books on the treadmill need to esxercise. Watch my diet get back into the shape. Well, do you notice any God-forgetting distance in your life, slide into sin, any bondage to habits that hurting you and others, notivce any coldness of heart, and disengagemen with need of oepl aroudn you. In the same way got to toil and strive, like an Lympoic athelete how? paul tells us doens’t he. Trained inthese words of the faith, good doctrine. What you believe, your doctrine, your leanign into that dotrine is what govern your life! And Paul says, TImothy - in this househod of god - if this is goig to be God’s gymn, inand our homes little mini home gymsn, you and you in your homes - have got PUT THESE THINGS BEFORE THE FMAILY THE BRETHERN. Tehy sare saved, but not enough to be saved, being saved incolves growting and beign transfored. And that word put before, unique little word, put these words, UNDER THEIR FEET. The idea is these words, become stepping stones over the treachoursou waters of the antichrist’s teaching in this world, and the false teachers teaching and ppractice in the church.
Remember in Pilgrims Progress - Christain ends up in teh slough of despond. Submerged a little way under where little steppihng stone,s good have crossed. but fell in and a man neamed had to bponit them out. Instead of a life of irreverence, distant from God, every part of oourlives, we seek to live by His proimse, and godlienss is that active working of your religious conviction inChrist into every area of life. Paul says Timtohy you’ve got to be trained, nourished inthese Words, John Bunyan in writing Pilgrims’s Progress a bit of autobiogrphay and he says of this atage of his life: God provides the stepping-stones of his Promises, but many fail to see them. Bunyan blamed his long years of despair partly on his inability to simply believe God's promises to save all who come to Christ.
What pronises of God are being appied to your life your struggle and toil - in Christ’s work in your life today. That is the main buisiness of the church, not merely human effort in rules and rituals , beased on light and fairy like made up spiritual myths.
And Paul closes this faithful saying, refering back to this toial and striving this gymantizing ourselves with the ord and Spirit in ogdlienss- with a solid word of hope:
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Do you have any hope in your life for godliness, in this life, in the next? Hope for Paul is not a wish, wishufl thinking. Going ice-fishing - hope so, hope. No hope for Paul is certain anticipation of God’s saving action! Two years ago - Carson DeRuiter welcomed into Walters home. Invited me to go to paly squash, but first time only one rauet, so needed to rebuild this ankle -so hit the work out machines. You seee all thee super fit peole, but the other thing is they don’t have gymn closethes and shoes from the 1980s anyt more. And I don’t know about you, but I feel a little out of place in the contemroary gymn. And you wonder is ther hope for me - in beomcing fit?
Well, do you ever feel that in living a devoted life godly life unto the Lord. Here is our hope. The false-teachers and the religions of the world, may have a fdew truths about the true God - but not saving truths that brings them into fellowship and sharing of lfie from God. So Paul says in Lystra.
“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
Paul says, what’s your hope in godliness? It’s not in vain things of false spiritualityies or your human effort, it is in the LIVING GOD. And what about the living God? He is Saviour of all a people. What does Paul mean not all will be saved? Not every indivdual But God doesn’t delight in the dath of the wicked, desires all will be saved. All doesn’t mean every single indivudal each time we use it. Speaking of God’s desire to saved all peoples, this whole world, savlation available and well intentionoffered of the gospel given to ridh and poor, Jew and Gentile, the adminstration of the gosopel is to send it to all. Not pryin into God’s secret will eof election who gets saved, but the stewardship f the gosel in the world, God bneelovent to all. And then Paul says, if God is lvoing to all, if he brings temporal deliverance s to all Poele, if he has even sent the gospel to all, then how much more can you know that He in fullest ay, saves any who believe. That He the living God, works a full salvation not only saving us from sin, but saving us for godliness, transforming us into the image of Christ in every part of our lives.
So here you are in God’s gymn, we have these stepping stone before us, we have the prcecious promises of the gospel, we have the teaching the atresults in godliness before us, and you look around the gymn and think little old me, with my muscles that need so much development, my diet needs a bit of tweeking - can I do this? All the rules and spiritualities of the falseteachers won’t enable you to doiit. That kind of unbelief and neglect of Christ gets you kicked out gods gymn and shuts the door to godliness. But this is a faihtful saying, and faith inChrist, active, growing rleyin on Him opens the door to Gods gymn and fills you iwtht eh grace of God - even through suffering to walk with the living God in that gymn Wihtout this all the toil and striving in your life will be in vain. You wil be miserable in affliction, and inconvienced and annoyed with with struggle. But with faith and the living God, and those stepping dotone sof the word and promise - find salvation and growth and trasformation.
CONCLUSION:
Dear Congregation, I had a problem with my used Kijiji bouth Ipohne. Older model, camera stopped working. But you know what I did - Googled fix to it. Someone discovered, indtead of pay get new camera, just put a little earth magnet right beside it. Guess what I can scan Bible refrences and take picture so fbooks Im reading. Now if you found that diy fix would you post it, Make a youtube video of it. What is you discovered, whole world is endanger becase natural gas, some new foreign substance going to kill us all. Bigger deal, -probably put out that warning - ave alot of people. Well, congregation until Christ comes again, Satan is at work not only deceivinging the nation, but within Christ’s church falseteaching to get you to stop relying on Christ fro transformation. To distract you from promsies and instruction and cofort of God’s wrod and especially living by His promises and prayer - to follow fruitless little nvoelities and side atttractions. And Paul says I’ve got the fix - here. Goign to require some toiling and striving, together, holding out the porse sof jesus applying it, doing work unto godliness in God’s gymn - And next week we’ll see how he tells Tintohy to do that personally.