A life of eating and feeding - 1 Timothy 4:6

God just finished giving Timothy via Paul, and us who are ministers, details of false teachings that would spring up in the visible Church on earth.

Verse 6 says, "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."  

Timothy's job as a pastor is to warn them about these false teachings.  Why?  Because these false teachings deny the Gospel.

People were making up rules that didn't exist and treating God's world as if it were evil.

Rather, God says in verse 5, that as Christians dwell in the Gospel and respond in prayer, they put God's world to holy use.  After all, Jesus came in the flesh to die for our sins, and was raised in a physical body!  Now, reconciliation with God is through faith in him.

So when people make up rules that make this physical world 'evil' - make all pleasures sinful - rather than fountains of thanksgiving and praise to God - they rob God of glory and deny the good news that Jesus saves sinners.

Now, the job of a pastor is to continuously teach right doctrine and warn against false doctrine.  Or 'teaching' if you prefer that word.  We're not talking about some stuffy, passionless systematic theology - but rather the teachings from God!

The teaching is to be continuous, which implies that the danger is continuous until Christ returns.

Now, Paul says that if Timothy does this he'll be a good servant of Christ.  This implies several things - first, that Christ will be pleased with Timothy's service.  Think of it!  The God of the universe happy because of us communicating his words!  Second, that pastors doing this are representing Christ, doing his bidding on earth, serving as his representatives.  And this is a massively important calling.

So the pastor's call is to represent Jesus' teachings such that Jesus will be pleased, as he should be, since he is King, God, Loving Savior, forever.

How's that for a motive at promoting right teaching?  The pleasure of Christ?  Not bad, huh?

In the next phrase, Paul instructs Timothy on the foundation for that continuous teaching - continuous feeding or 'being trained.'

The word here indicates 'eating' - and it is a continuous action - not something that one does once or even once in a while - this is a lifestyle.  He is feasting, savoring, getting strength to work.

What is he eating?  The words of the faith and good doctrine.  It could be that here he has in mind the distinction between Jesus' commands and Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

However, that distinction doesn't matter for us; both are in the Bible and the Bible consists of both.  Pastor, get soaked in the Bible.  Saturate yourself with it.  Feast on it.  Starve for it, yearn for it, take it and eat it.  Then, you will have a foundation for your continual proclamation of it to others.

Paul takes a moment to note that Timothy made a choice in the past to follow this 'doctrine' - really, to become a Christian - to bend his knee to Christ Jesus.  We did this in the past - and we are to continually return to those truths and the teachings of Christ.  He is our loving savior and holy king.

So, ministers of the Gospel, feed on the Scriptures all the time and communicate the Scriptures all the time.  And Christ himself will be represented to his beloved bride, his Church, and he will be pleased.

Thoughts after eye surgery....

Yesterday I had a minor eye surgery.  I was told that I might experience slight burning afterwards, but that I'd probably not experience any pain at all.  

That was drastically incorrect.  

My eyes were killing me.  I couldn't stop crying - couldn't even open my eyes.  I wanted something to bite down on, to grip on to, to hit.  

Have you ever experienced something that put you in that much pain?  Maybe an illness?  A surgery?  An injury?  Childbirth (which I hear hurts a lot)?  

Recall those moments and how you felt.  

God brought to my mind that in hell there is 'weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  I realized then that the intense pain that I so desired rescue from was so much less than what people are experiencing and will experience in hell.  

And like the rich man in the story of Lazarus , in hell there is no reprieve.  No alleviation.  Continuous torment.  

I can think of several proper ways to respond to these truths.  What do you think?  

Satan doesn't want you to enjoy sex. 1 Timothy 4:3-5

So let’s get a little recap. 

The Christian Good News, or Gospel, is the message that Jesus Christ died on a cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is returning to judge the world and to establish his kingdom forever. 

That’s the news part.  The response part is faith in Jesus and a seeking to obey his commands. 

Everyone who does that, because of what Jesus did, will enter Jesus’ eternal kingdom rather than being judged by it. 

As people believed this message, they began to get together to celebrate it.  Those gatherings we call ‘churches.’  Churches exist to proclaim that message. 

There are people within these churches that will teach things that contradict the Christian Gospel and try to persuade people to leave it – and thus, to ultimately leave their church. 

What we learned last time, is that these people are the devil’s instruments.  What we’ll see today is what they were teaching in Paul’s day. 

(3)  who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 

These false teachers forbade marriage and required people to not eat certain foods.  You know, like meat on Fridays. 

I’m not exactly sure where these people were getting their ideas.  It could’ve been partially from Judaism – in which case they were missing the point that the ceremonial laws – the laws that set Jews apart from everyone else – had been fulfilled in the person of Jesus. 

It’s perhaps more probable that these teachers got their ideas from an ancient religion called ‘gnosticism’ - which taught that people would be ultimately saved by secret knowledge.  Some forms of Gnosticism taught that to gain this knowledge, you had to separate yourself from the physical world – because physical pleasure, they thought, was bad. 

Hence, marriage – more accurately, sex - was bad.  Good food was bad. 

The problem with this thinking is that God created the world.  And he created it to be good and to be enjoyed.  And he deserves to be thanked for it!  He is good and the giver of good gifts – and he deserves thanks.  To rob God of thanks is to blaspheme his name. 

Now, obviously, all good things can be perverted.  Sex and food can be used for sin.  But that doesn’t mean they’re bad.  They’re good, and God deserves to be honored with and for them. 

Furthermore, making physical pleasure forbidden contradicts the Gospel of Christ.  The Good News is that we’re not saved by attaining secret knowledge – but simply by trusting Jesus Christ.  If we are trying to cut ourselves off from pleasure to save ourselves, we blaspheme Jesus.  Not good. 

Paul next gives some rationale for his argument – that these things are to be thankfully received. 

(4)  For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving… 

That should sound familiar.  God created this world – and it’s good.  Sure, it’s affected by sin – but ultimately, it isn’t sinful.  It’s good.  So to knock God’s world is to knock God.  If you’re doing so, knock it off. 

By the way, some people use this verse to justify drug use.  First, ‘mishandling’ God’s world has already been covered here.  You can’t genuinely thank God for giving you something your use of which results in your disobeying God.  So don’t be stupid.  The idea is that you shouldn’t reject things on the basis of their being enjoyable.  God is enjoyable.  So don’t dishonor God by saying he made bad things. 

(5)  for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 

There’s another reason we are to not reject physical things that are pleasurable on the basis of their being pleasurable: God has set that thing apart for use to honor himself.  That’s what the apostle means when he says that that thing has been made holy. 

How does it get made holy?  By God’s word and prayer.  What does that mean?  Perhaps John 17:17 sheds some light on this: Jesus prayed for his disciples – he prayed that God would set them apart, make them holy, by means of the word, the truth. 

God has given us a book.  That book contains words, and those words point to a singular message – the Gospel.  See above.  Jesus was praying that God would set us apart to serve him, to honor him.  The means that God uses to do that is his word.  And prayer – note that Jesus is praying in John 17. 

So as Christians hold fast to the word of God and pray for God’s strength to be set apart for his glory, God will cause them to do so – even with regard to things on this world that are pleasurable. 

Summary: 

1)  Satan’s human messengers were making up rules that weren’t in the Bible. 

2)  Their doing so made God evil and contradicted the Gospel. 

3)  We’re to treat this world by setting things apart, trusting in the Gospel, and through prayer. 

4)  We’re to also thank God for good things.  He is to get glory by how we use his world and glory for being good to us. 

5)  We must beware people who would teach false things! 

Prayer: 

God, you’re so good to us.  You’ve given us all we need on this earth – and so much to enjoy besides.  And more than that, you’ve given us your Kingdom through Jesus.  Thank you!  Cause us to use this world for your glory and to be thankful.  You deserve it – and we desire your gracious presence.  In Christ I pray- amen.  

Parody of a Modern Worship Service

This is at the same time hysterical, and yet, sad.

Make sure to link to 'how to write a bad worship song' at the end there.

Emotional Porn

Great article here

People the devil uses - 1 Timothy 4:2

The Church is founded on and exists to proclaim these truths about Jesus Christ:

“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” 1 Timothy 3:16b

Everything that happens in Church is based on the word and for the word. The section we’re about to look at is therefore, both based on that message about Jesus and for the sake of that message about Jesus.

Actually, these things are what pastors are charged with putting before their congregations. We see in 1 Timothy 4:1 that, even though Christ has come and has been raised from the dead, some will leave the Church, showing themselves damned. They will do so because of satanic lies. That brings us to our section today.

(2) through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared…

These demonic lies come through people. People will persuade people to leave Christ’s Church. And since they say demonic things, they speak lies.

And so what must we do but test all things with the truth of God’s word? What other foundation do we have but the Bible? If we would know truth, we must know God’s word. And we must test things by God’s word.

The foundation of these lies is what leads many astray – it is insincerity, or hypocrisy. These people aren’t merely deceived – they are hypocrites. They never reveal their whole hand. They seek to persuade bit by bit, never honest about all of what they believe. They are actors. They play along. They speak enough truth to convince people of lies.

These liars have ‘seared consciences.’ To be seared is to be burnt and disfigured. It is to be damaged beyond recognition. The conscience is the thing in a person that helps distinguish right from wrong. And so these people have perverted senses of right and wrong. Their intrinsic ability to tell the difference has been grotesquely disfigured. They no longer feel the ugliness of sin nor the beauty of holiness like they should.

And so they believe and speak satanic lies – seeking to persuade people away from the truths of the Gospel.

We must beware. Right doctrine and righteous living go hand in hand. If a doctrine or deed doesn’t accord with the Gospel, we must recognize it as such and deal with it appropriately.

Pastors are to put these things before their congregations – and we are to beware heretical teachers.

Summary:
1) Satanic teaching will come through human liars.
2) These false teachers will be hypocrites, and have a perverse sense of right and wrong.
3) We are to beware of such people; pastors are to warn the churches about such people.

Prayer:
Holy God! You are sovereign over all things, even over heresy. And you are the truth. Whatever doesn’t come from you is not truth – and not only is unrighteous, but results in hell for people. God, imprint the Gospel of Jesus Christ on our consciences. Let us be discerning about the teachings and teachers we receive. Cause us to cling unswervingly to your word. In Christ I pray, amen.

Some in church will end up in hell - 1 Timothy 4:1

(1a)  Now, the Spirit expressly says… 

God has just finished showing us the purpose of the Church and of its government – worship of Jesus Christ, founded and based on God’s own words.  In Chapter 4, God, through Paul, begins to give Pastor Timothy more instructions on how to lead Christ’s Church. 

He transitions, and then tells us that the Spirit expressly says some things.  We must take note of several things here.  First, this is God who is talking.  He is the vindicator of Christ – He who raised him from the dead.  We need to pay attention – this isn’t advice from a human – but rather, God’s own words – God’s own warning. 

We learn that the Spirit is speaking clearly through what Paul writes.  There is no confusion about God’s message.  It’s understandable.  Make no mistake!  This word, ‘expressly,’ serves as a sober warning to us: we’re to pay attention! 

We also learn that through Paul the Spirit was speaking in words.  Paul wasn’t getting spiritual vibes – the Holy Spirit of God was giving him words to speak – actual words – particular words – clear words.  See 1 Corinthians 2. 

And so we should pay attention. 

(1b)  …that in later times some will depart from the faith…

This is what God himself was telling Paul – that some would depart from the faith after receiving the Gospel. 

‘In later times’ reflects that it is subsequent to their joining a church – hence, ‘the faith.’  But it also reflects that this activity is by the sovereign hand of God.  Even though Christ has been vindicated and the Spirit has been poured out – and redemption is happening through the word of God – yet, people will leave God. 

That is to say, the Spirit wants us to not have a false confidence.  Even though Christ has been vindicated by his resurrection, we still live in an era in which people who we thought knew Christ may abandon his word and his people. 

This is a terrible thought.  Some that were visibly part of God’s community are not saved.  They give assent to ‘the faith’ – yet, they will eventually leave it. 

God does not want us to have a false confidence that would lead us to give up an earnest pursuit of him and his words.  There is a danger, even in the church, of damnation. 

Truly, Christ has been vindicated, believed upon, and has saved those who genuinely have trusted in him.  Yet – some who we think do do not.  And so we must proclaim the Gospel with white-hot earnestness within the local church – and outside of it. 

(1c)  …by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…

How will some abandon the teaching of Christ?  By devoting themselves to something else – by being persuaded of contrary teachings.  It begins with paying attention and curiosity and ends in belief. 

And these things are lies!  They come from deceitful spirits – lying spirits.  They are demons – Satan’s angels.  They are here to lie and to make sure people are damned (see John 10). 

This is a grave warning.  Satan is active, seeking to persuade people of lies – even in churches- such that they will abandon the faith and be damned. 

And by the sovereign hand of God, he’ll have some success. 

This is a solemn warning for us to pay attention to God’s words.  To speak God’s words.  To dedicate ourselves to the Gospel and to test all things by God’s words, lest we be deceived and proved false – and lest others be deceived and fail to enter life. 

Summary

1)  God spoke directly and clearly to and through Paul – we must pay attention. 

2)  God is sovereign over all things, even over the activities of the evil one. 

3)  We live in a time in which it is still possible to abandon the truth, even though Christ is vindicated. 

4)  We must devote ourselves to knowing, loving, and proclaiming the Gospel with white-hot devotion that comes from these warnings. 

Prayer: 

Father, this is scary.  Yet, we confess that you are sovereign, that you are reigning over history, and one day, by your will and work, we’ll appear with Christ in glory.  Yet even now, falling away from the truth is possible – and the evil one wants us to.  O God, only you can preserve us.  We thank you for giving us your word which is how you preserve us.  Give us hearts that pay attention and eschew all things which contradict it.  Help us examine ourselves and our thoughts and other messages in light of it.  Vindicate us with Christ we pray, in whose blood we ask – amen.