Enjoying What God Has Given

1 Timothy 4:1-5

Some of you may have had the experience of buying gifts for very young children. They are too young to really appreciate the gift you gave them, so they unwrap their present, finding inside a wonderful treasure you carefully selected for them…then ignore your gift and play with the wrapping paper! It is sad when you see this happen, because you know that while the child is having fun with the paper, the gift you have for them is so much better.

In our passage this morning, Paul tells us that Satan wants us to play with the wrapping paper rather than enjoy the gifts God has given us. Many Christians have fallen into this trap. Paul’s goal is to protect us from such ploys.

Paul once again directs Timothy to beware of false teachers. He also did this at the beginning of the book, when he told Timothy to guard against those who distract people from the truth by getting them to get caught up in “myths and spiritual pedigrees”. These people were going beyond the Bible and distracting people from the gospel with all sorts of other, meaningless things. Now Paul tells Timothy to guard against another form of false teaching. These false teachers were forbidding certain practices, and in the process appeared very pious. The problem with such teaching, however was that it led to a reliance on good works rather than the gospel of grace, and caused people to miss out on the blessings God has for us.

The False Teachers

Listen to what Paul says about these false teachers,

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. (1 Timothy 4:1-2, NLT)

Paul says that in the “last days” there will be many false teachers. Because we are obsessed with figuring out the details of the time of Jesus’ return, some conclude that Paul was saying that the existence of false teachers was a sign of the second coming of Jesus. But that’s not what Paul was saying.

Often the phrase the last days or the last times refers to the final stage of history. This is the time between when Jesus rose from the grave and when he returns again in glory. It is not usually a reference to the time immediately preceding Christ’s return (though that time period would also be included). We are living in the last days, and so were Paul and Timothy. When Paul describes these false teachers as being present in the last times, he is telling us that these people will always be present in the church until Christ returns. They were present in Ephesus and are still present today.

Now that we understand the timeframe Paul was talking about, let’s look at what he says about these false teachers. He says they will turn away from the true faith and will instead follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These are strong words, but they are important. There are demonic forces at work all around us, and they are seeking to lead us astray.

In his masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis imagines what conversations between demons might be like as they try to lead Christians astray. It is an eye-opening reminder of how we can be distracted from the gospel and slowly led away from the truth by all sorts of other things, even things that seem to be religious and good. As such, we must guard against the demonic forces who seek to lead us astray.

One of the ways they do this is by getting people to teach falsely in the name of Christ. These false teachers have abandoned the truth, and instead fallen prey to demonic lies. Paul describes these people as hypocrites, liars, and having dead consciences.

These false teachers are hypocrites because they claim to believe one thing, but actually believe another. In many orthodox churches (churches with proper biblical beliefs), a pastor who admits to no longer holding to essential Christian beliefs would (rightly!) be fired. What happened in Paul’s day, and is happening in our own, is that people pretend to hold to orthodox beliefs even though they don’t. This eventually manifests in their teaching, but by that time it is too late—they have already influenced many others around them.

This is what happened in many of the mainline denominations in America. Pastors continued to serve in leadership roles even though they no longer affirmed the beliefs of that denomination. Rather than resign, they simply played the game and pretended they still believed in the truth, all the while teaching something different. The result has been churches and entire denominations abandoning the truth. Many of these denominations have split because of false teachers who pretended to affirm the beliefs of the denomination even though they had actually renounced them.

I saw this firsthand with a pastor I knew. He had abandoned his belief in the authority and truthfulness of the scriptures, yet he continued to preach in a church that had that belief as one of their core doctrines. He continued to lead and teach in this church for several years before the leadership realized he no longer believed in the Bible. Such false teachers are hypocrites, because they claim to believe something they do not.

This is not the same thing as a teacher who proclaims the truth but then stumbles as they seek to apply it in their own life. Certainly, this is also a form of hypocrisy, as we should all practice what we preach. But this is not the type of hypocrisy Paul condemns as false teaching. This type of hypocrisy is present to some degree in all Bible teachers (and all believers), because we are all sinful, and do not perfectly practice what we preach. Paul even placed himself in this category. So Paul is not saying that this kind of hypocrisy makes someone a false teacher. What we need to guard against is those who pretend to affirm essential Christian doctrine, even though they no longer believe it themselves and thus lead others astray.

Paul also describes such teachers as liars. This is not hard to understand, given our description of their hypocrisy. In order to maintain their positions of leadership and influence, they must lie about their beliefs. But false teaching necessitates lying because you are teaching something that isn’t true! When you contradict scripture, you are holding forth falsehood as truth. In short, you are lying to those you teach.

Their consciences are dead. The New Living Translation has made an interpretive choice in their rendering of this phrase. In Greek, it literally reads, “their consciences are seared”. There is some debate on what exactly this phrase means. Basically, there are two ideas. First is that as a result of the false teachers suppressing the truth in their lives, they deadened their consciences to the point that they no longer even recognized their sin or false teaching. They burned their hearts so badly that they could no longer hear the voice of God. This is the understanding the New Living Translation assumes.

The other possibility is that this phrase refers to a branding iron, like one would use on cattle to show who the cattle belonged to. The idea is that their consciences have been seared by a branding iron from Satan. In other words, Satan has declared them to be his, and they now (sometimes unwittingly) serve him rather than the Lord.

Regardless of which meaning is correct, it is not a good place to be. We must be on guard against those who have bought into Satan’s lies and end up faking their way through things, either intentionally or unintentionally. When we find such people in positions of leadership, we must remove them immediately, lest their influence lead others down the path of Satan. The longer they rebel against God, the harder and more seared their consciences become. Drastic action is needed before it is too late.

Their Teachings

Now Paul talks specifically about some of the ways these teachers might try to lead people astray.

They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. 4Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 5For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:3-5, NLT)

There were likely some in the Ephesian church who were proclaiming exactly such things, and Paul condemns them. Most likely, these teachings stemmed from a belief that the material things of this world were evil, and only spiritual things were good. As a result, these people condemned anything that might bring joy in this world, including marriage or eating certain foods.

This same mentality has arisen at many times throughout church history. It is a belief known as asceticism. Ascetics teach that the way to become closer to God is by abandoning some (or all) of our earthly pleasures so that we can focus on God.

In church history there are many examples of ascetic monks. Some would go away from people and live in absolute poverty. Most would never marry. Some would choose to subsist on the most basic of diets instead of enjoying the variety of foods available to them. On the surface, such people appear to have tremendous devotion to God, for they claim that by eschewing the things of this world, they are better able to focus on God. But often the opposite is true. Listen to what Paul said in the book of Colossians,

Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. (Colossians 2:22-23, NLT)

This is why asceticism is so dangerous. It causes us to rely not on the God who cares for us and who has redeemed us, but on the choices we make. When we obey our own made up system of laws, we feel good about ourselves. And the harder the system of laws, the more pious we feel. We may even begin to look down at others who are not nearly as devoted as we are! People who do this have abandoned the gospel and instead place their confidence in their ability to follow their made-up rules. It makes people hard instead of gracious.

Now there are certainly times where it is good to deny ourselves. Paul talks about the virtues of remaining single rather than getting married. Paul was unmarried, and he saw a blessing in being able to minister in a way he could not if he had a family. But Paul never condemned marriage or told people not to marry. He recognized there were some blessings only married people could experience. But marriage isn’t for everyone. Some people choose to remain single because they believe they can better serve God that way. That is perfectly acceptable, and in some cases it is the right choice.

Similarly, you may choose to not eat certain foods. You may even choose to forgo all food for a while (fasting) in order to focus more closely on the Lord. These are not bad things. Jesus fasted on many occasions. Some believers had convictions about the types of food they should eat, and Paul told them that even though the food itself didn’t matter, they were welcome to follow their convictions as an act of devotion to the Lord. Such choices to abstain from something good that God has created can be valid and helpful options for believers.

What Paul is condemning is when we take a personal conviction and tell others they must do the same thing. The single person who condemns those who are married as weak is sinning. The person who has decided not to eat certain foods is sinning when they look down on those who do eat them. When we elevate our convictions to the same level as God’s Word, we have become false teachers. When we begin to forbid things that God has created for our enjoyment, we are in trouble.

Instead, Paul reminds us that everything God created was good, so we should enjoy it and receive it with thanks. In other words, we should enjoy the things God has created, and as we do, we should praise and thank Him for doing so.

Have you ever thought about the fact that God gave us a gift by allowing us to enjoy food? I love the variety of tastes that exist in the many different foods we have available to us. But God didn’t have to make it that way. He could have had us transform sunlight into energy like plants. He could have had us subsist on manna, like he did for the Israelites in the wilderness; but instead he gave us the ability to taste and enjoy food, even as we meet a physical need.

Similarly, God has blessed us in many ways with marriage. Even the process of reproducing is a blessing from God. Many other creatures reproduce by simply having one part of their body break off and grow into a new offspring. But God designed our reproductive process in a way that is enjoyable, and that draws a husband and wife closer together.

God has given us friendship and companionship, but He has also given us marriage to help us understand the nature of true love. It isn’t easy, and is often messy, but true self-sacrificing love allows us to experience a depth of joy not possible in any other human relationship. God didn’t have to make things this way—but He chose to make things we would enjoy and that would benefit us, so that we would see His love for us and praise Him.

Paul tells us that we should praise God for the blessings He has given us. He is not saying that if we pray and thank God for something that it somehow makes it good. Rather He is saying these things are good, and we should stop to give thanks for them. This is the reason Christians pray before meals. It is not to somehow make the food holy or healthy (praying over your cheesecake doesn’t make it any less fattening), but to remind us that God has given us these things as a blessing. We are to stop and thank God for providing for us in this way.

We must be careful not to take this too far in the other direction. Some people look to these verses as justification for drug use, overeating, or sexual indulgence. They claim that Paul is saying that if God made it, that makes it good, so I can use it however I want. That’s not what this passage is saying. God has given us instructions on how to use the things he has created, and boundaries to keep us from being harmed by them. It is possible to abuse even the good things God has created. To use these verses to indulge sinful behaviors is false teaching in itself, and evidence of the fact that demons will try to twist any scripture (even one on false teaching) to lead people astray. So we should enjoy what God has given us in the way He intended us to use it. If we do, we’ll experience the joy He intended for us.

Conclusions

Paul warns Timothy to be on guard against false teachers, but these verses also give us some very practical lessons to apply in our own lives.

First, we must carefully examine our beliefs. What you believe matters. The process of being led astray rarely happens overnight. It is usually a process of believing one small lie, then another and then another until one day we wake up and realize we are so far from the truth we cannot even see it any longer. This is why we have to take time to study the scriptures, sit under good teaching, and talk with other believers about our faith, our struggles, and our beliefs. The Church is intended to help us guard the truth in our hearts. When we separate ourselves from it, when we choose not to use the weapons at our disposal, we put ourselves in danger.

Second, we must guard against self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is insidious. Choosing to abstain from something God has created in order to more closely focus on Him can be a good thing. But we must not allow ourselves to feel superior to others because of our own personal conviction. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day did exactly that. They would fast and try to make it obvious to everyone around them that they were doing so. In this way, they looked pious and holy to others. Jesus condemned that attitude. There is nothing wrong with fasting (from food or anything else) as long as it is simply between the Lord and you. The same is true in living out any personal conviction. Don’t worry about whether others see you, or try to make others share your conviction. And don’t allow your acts of devotion to distract you from the fact that the only thing that makes you holy is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Finally, we should enjoy the blessings of God. Let me challenge you this week to slow down and take some time to thank God for the blessings you enjoy in this life. It may seem weird, but take time to thank God for the juicy hamburger you’re about to eat, recognizing that God created it for you to enjoy. When you enjoy intimate time with your spouse, thank God for creating such a powerful and enjoyable bond. When you see beauty in the world around you thank God for allowing you to be able to see and for making things that take your breath away. When you get a good night’s rest, thank God for creating you with the capacity to work hard and bounce back. You get the idea. Stop what you are doing and thank God for the blessings He has given you.

Christians should be the most joyful people ever, because we understand that God loves us and has given us myriad ways of experiencing joy in this life, even as we are serving Him. When the world looks at us, they should not see drudgery, they should see people who are living life the way it was meant to be! They should see us approaching life differently than the world around us and loving it. Celebrate and enjoy the gifts God has given you—because that’s what He intended.

Remember that there are spiritual forces who want nothing more than to draw you away from the Lord. The best way we can combat their lies is to fill ourselves with Him. Study His Word, enjoy His blessings, and do your best to honor the One who loves you in spite of your sin. Don’t allow attitudes of self-righteousness to creep in. Remember that everything you have, everything you enjoy, including each and every breath you take and your eternal destiny is a gift from God. Use the blessings you experience each day to drive you closer and closer to Him.

Enjoying What God Has Given - 1 Timothy 4:1-5