1 Timothy 4
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 {men} who forbid marriage {and advocate} abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
In 1 Tm 4:1-3 the apostle Paul tells us that in the later times (such as ours) some will fall away from the faith. Now when you read in 1 Tm 4:1-3 that ‘some will fall away from the faith’ do you read it as referring to ‘somebody else will fall away from the faith’ or ‘this could happen to me’?
The way we read Scripture can make a world of difference in what we do after we read Scripture. For, if you think that this applies to somebody else you will not pay too much attention to it; but if you realize that this could happen to you, then you will immediately become alert. So don’t be asleep but learn to apply Scripture to yourself. It can make a huge difference.
Paul says that the reason that they will fall away is because they will pay attention to demons that attempt to deceive people with false doctrines. Now do you think that these demons will appear as red beings with two horns and a tail? Not at all! Consider 2 Cor 11:13-14.
2 Cor 11:13-14 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Apostles! These demons who will try to deceive you can be doing that through apostles or pastors or seminary professors or teachers. Your pastor could be teaching you false doctrine every Sunday morning. And then, your small group leader could be reinforcing it on Wednesday night! Satan recruits the very people that you would trust the most. That is why you can’t depend on any man but have to get your doctrine directly from the Holy Spirit.
Realize that one of Satan’s schemes is to spread false doctrines. He used this scheme successfully with Eve, deceiving her into thinking that God was a liar (Gen 3:1-5). 1 Tm 4:1-3 tells us that he has now sent out his evil spirits to deceive as many people as he can with false doctrine. From what we read about Christian history it seems as if Satan has been very successful in deceiving the church into believing one false doctrine after another.
The Holy Spirit must have considered it very important that we know of Satan’s plan to spread false doctrine because He made this revelation very clear to Paul ("The Spirit explicitly says…" said Paul in 1 Tm 4:1-3). Therefore we are to pay careful attention to it. Awareness that one of Satan’s schemes is to propagate false doctrine will help us be on the alert to test every spirit (1 Jn 4:1).
If a friend told you that there were pickpockets on the road would you not be alert when you walked down the road? Even if you really didn’t believe your friend you would still be on the alert just in case your friend spoke the truth.
In 1 Tm 4:1-3 the Holy Spirit warns us about those who are trying to steal the truth. If we love the truth as much as we love our money then we will very careful about accepting any teaching, no matter who the teacher is. We will carefully study the Bible to see whether the teaching is true.
If we read 1 Tm 4:1-3 and do not realize that someone is trying to steal the truth then we will not be alert and it will be easy to fool us into believing false doctrine. So then, the point that I want to make here is that you should realize that there is an organized effort to promote false doctrine and that unless you make an effort to counter this promotion by deceitful spirits you will end up having false doctrine.
Let me say again that these deceitful spirits are not necessarily outside the church in the cults and in other religions. The falsehood of the cults and in other religions is quite obvious and there is nothing deceitful about it. These deceitful spirits might very well be within the church because they cause people who are in the church to fall away from the faith. Those who are in the cults and other religions are already outside the faith. In fact, the deceitful activity would be concentrated in a church that has sound doctrine because that is where there would be the most need (from Satan’s standpoint) to deceive people.
Does your church forbid marriage for certain members? Does your church forbid the eating of certain foods? If so, you should give 1 Tm 4:1-3 some serious thought, shouldn’t you?
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.
Clearly, we can eat anything edible as long as we eat it with gratitude and a prayer of thanks.
6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, {constantly} nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
A good servant of Jesus will point these things out to the members of the church. Are you a good servant of Jesus?
7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and {also} for the {life} to come.
Anything concerning God that is not found in the Bible is a fable. We should not waste any time discussing such things. Instead, we should focus on disciplining ourselves to become more and more like Jesus in character. Keeping our body fit is not to be neglected because it is of some profit, but keeping our spirit free from sin is a lot more valuable. Therefore, a person who neglects both body and spirit, or a person who neglects the spirit in lieu of the body is behaving poorly.
9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.
10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
We should all realize that we are to focus on the hope of getting a new body (this is what God has promised us) – one that cannot be tempted to sin – and that is why we discipline ourselves to become more like Jesus.
God is the Savior of all men, and especially of believers. What this means is that God has made salvation available to all men – it is in that sense He is the Savior of all men. He is especially the Savior of believers in the sense that the salvation that was made available to all men is actually realized in those who believe.
Verses nine and ten contradict the Calvinist teaching of Limited Atonement, which states that God only makes salvation available to believers because Jesus didn’t die for all men, but only believers (it is in that sense that the atonement is limited).
11 Prescribe and teach these things.
12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but {rather} in speech, conduct, love, faith {and} purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
A person who has a spiritual gift should exercise that gift, even in the presence of older people, without any fear or concern.
Leaders are to be an example to all members of the church in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity.
13 Until I come, give attention to the {public} reading {of Scripture,} to exhortation and teaching.
In Paul’s time, there were no printed Bibles. As a result, public reading of Scripture was helpful to those who didn’t have access to God’s word. Today, we don’t need others to read the Bible to us because we can read it ourselves.
Teaching is explaining what the Bible says. Exhorting is urging people to do what the Bible says. We are to do both whenever an opportunity presents itself, and as God leads us to do so.
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
15 Take pains with these things; be {absorbed} in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
We must use our spiritual gifts to their utmost, for the glory of God. When we do so, people get saved from the penalty and power of sin. We must also examine ourselves and our teaching, making sure that our teaching is true, and that our behavior matches what we teach.
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