1 Timothy 4:1-16
The Great Apostasy
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
A Good Servant of Jesus Christ
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. 7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. 9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. 10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11 These things command and teach.
Take Heed to Your Ministry
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
The warning to young Timothy is just as valid for all who are in Christ today. We are to watch out for false teachings that follow those who walk away from sound doctrine established by the word of God and agreed with by many in Christ since those words were given to us. Some actually do decide to disagree and disregard the biblical truth that our confessions have encapsulated though times of examining the scriptures to see if these truths are so (Acts 17:11). These will who stray from sound teaching (2 Timothy 4:3) say that doctrine is unimportant or even bad for us as they themselves wander off away from God’s word into the teachings of the world under the sway of the wicked one (John 8:44, 2 Timothy 3:13, 1 John 5:19-20) who is their chosen leader. We see this more and more often as people wander from the truths delivered to us in search of lies to support their hypocritical stand against the truth with cauterized consciences that stop feeling the conviction of sinful error. Two signs of these people are given here: one is that these forbid marriage (as Rome has done for centuries now), and the other is prohibition of certain foods. We know that the Lord God created us as man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, and both the examples of scripture and our own good reason based on the word of God tell us that to mandate celibacy hinders the work of the gospel to raise godly children to carry on the work to reach the world with our testimony witnessing His work. Likewise, those who demand we cannot eat certain foods as the devout Jews, Roman Catholics, and even fringe cults, these are subtly making us unthankful for God’s gracious provision of everything except (Acts 15:29, 21:25) eating blood and animals ritually strangled with their blood still inside to offer to idols of false gods. The life is in the blood as we are told (Genesis 9:3-5) so corrupt life only corrupts us, just as diseases pass to us from blood and we are to consume the life God gives and not given to another. Aside from these two stipulations, we are to thankfully accept all foods provided for us according tot the word of God with prayer, including animal and vegetable alike but without judgment on the latter (Romans 14:2-3). By avoiding false teachings that only show false humility and faux godliness we can teach others what God has commanded instead, “words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed” as we rightly discern the scriptures to cut them straight (2 Timothy 2:15) and live accordingly. Godly exercise exposes profane and old wives’ fables and gives us the promised life that God has for us both now and into eternity. Contrary to modern teaching rampant in the church today, godliness comes before selfish prosperity teachings contrary to the clear commands of the scriptures. We therefore trust in the Lord who bought us at such a price to save us from our rebellious sin by following Him. These things we are told to command and teach as living examples of fidelity and faithfulness to the truth. We are to use what gifts we have been given by God’s will to fulfill those prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10) to do as we meditate on God’s word and our calling. Doctrine matters as essential and we are to heed all we need to know, live, and teach others to be well-pleasing sons and daughters of the Lord. Remember, we are to beware false teachings with exercises to godliness and awareness of error and truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment