Part 5, In Pursuit of Godliness Series,
1 Timothy 4:1-6
2 Timothy 1:13-14, “13 Hold on to the example of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” NASB. The Bible tells us, that we have been entrusted to protect God’s truths. It is our destiny in the Lord, our life-long ministry. The Word of God is like a precious diamond that leaders need to guard with their lives from being taken away from us. Now the question is, how do we protect the divine truth and protect it from what?
1. We must keep an eye out on false doctrines. 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 teachings of demons…”
· The presence of ungodly teachers within the church in Ephesus. See 1 Timothy 1:3-7.
· From the time Jesus came and up to the time He will come again, many will depart from the most fundamental of our faith – salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. See Eph. 2:8-10.
· We must protect the purity of the Word of God in our church and lovingly and respectfully correct those who teaches the opposite.
2. We must be aware of the strategies of the devil. 1 Timothy 4:2-5.
“2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 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. 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.”
· hypocritical lying. v.2. hypokrites in Greek, referring to pretenders. They departed from the church’s teachings.
· John referred to them, too, in 1 John 2:19, saying, 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.” NASB.
· Counterfeiting truth. vv.3-4. Forbidding marriage and requiring dietary requirement as a prerequisite for salvation, whereas Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone.
3. We must constantly channel God’s truth to others.
“6 In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following.” 1 Timothy 4:6
· Central to the apostle Paul’s teaching ministry is the gospel of Christ.
· He hasn’t change that ever since he wrote a letter to the Ephesians and certainly, he wouldn’t change that 3 years later in his instruction to Timothy.
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
· There are no bragging rights granted to people in heaven because it is only by God’s initiating grace that people are saved from eternal separation from Him.
· We become good servants if we constantly nourished ourselves with the words of faith and channel the same to others.
· Good followers of God’s truth would equal to being good servants of God.