Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I Timothy chapter 4 as we continue our study through the Word of God. I believe Paul’s focus here in chapter 4 is born out of what he finished saying in chapter 3. Paul tells us starting in verse 14 of I Timothy chapter 3, “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.” I Timothy 3:14-16.
Paul is speaking of how we are to conduct ourselves in church, that we as part of God’s family are to conduct ourselves in a way that honors God and according to His standards. It is the church, God’s people that present the truths of God in this world and Paul tells us that the church is the supporting structure, it is the framework of God’s truth and to negate it or move away from it will only weaken the structure. It is what we are built upon, the Word, Jesus!
Thus, in verse 16 Paul speaks of the mystery of godliness or God’s hidden program to bring godliness into this world. How is that done? Paul tells us that God became flesh, He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, angels are witnesses of His work as He brought the Good News to the Jews and also the Gentiles, and after His crucifixion and resurrection He was received up into glory. Now it is the local church, as part of the body of Christ, that continues on in the work, which He began!
Now, as we move into chapter 4 Paul is going to speak of those who are weakening the pillars, cracking the foundation because they have fallen away from the truths of God found in the Word of God and they are bringing their destructive heresies to the people. With that said, let’s begin reading in I Timothy chapter 4, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSE 1
Paul’s warning to Timothy and to us is that we are to be the guardians of the truth because the Holy Spirit is telling us that there is coming a time when wide-spread deception will come, not might. Now please understand that there has always been deception ever since the Garden of Eden and the fall of man into sin. Satan got Eve to doubt God’s Word, doubt God’s judgment for sin, and doubt God’s goodness and that same doctrine of demons continues making man into God and in control of his destiny, he can do what he pleases! Now we can understand that mentality outside the church, with unbelievers, but here the Holy Spirit is warning that this deception will cause some to depart from the faith, some who are in the church, who look like Christians, but are not!
I don’t believe you can lose your salvation, walk away from it after you have been saved? I don’t believe you can. John tells us in I John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” You see, they never were saved, they called themselves Christians, they professed it, but they never possessed Christ in their lives. Look at Judas and Demas and the false disciples in John 6:66, where we are told, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”
The Greek word for “depart from” means “to remove oneself from the position originally occupied to another place.” These people came close to being saved but then moved away from saving faith to hold on to doctrines of demons! They are not struggling to believe but willfully abandoned the faith! An example of a pastor departing from the faith is seen in a June 1997 article in U. S. News & World Report. The article describes a Virginia pastor who “would rather preach on ‘Bosnia, justice, or world peace’ than on Bible stories or personal salvation.” He has departed from the faith!
Another important point to make is that this is a spiritual battle and it will only intensify more and more as we get closer to the Tribulation Period. You see, we are living in the “last days” as we are told in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” The “last days” is a broad term that began with the first coming of Jesus Christ and will continue on through His second coming!
Paul warns us of seducing spirits in II Corinthians 11:13-15, as he says, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” Be on guard, be in the Word because a lie can travel at the speed of light and the truth seems to go by foot! We are seeing these lies come into the church today and the only way to expose them and remove them is by the truth that is found in God’s Word – the FAITH! It is as we are told in John 8:31-32, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” And in John 17:17 Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” You see, the faith is the pillar and foundation of the truth – God’s Word and it is what stabilizes the church!
VERSES 2-3a
When you speak to people in the cults, like the Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons who think they are Christians, and you show them in the Scriptures their error, they ignore it, they don’t see it, why? It seems so obvious! Because their heart has been hardened, it is cold; it is insensitive to the things of God because they willfully have chosen to move in that direction. The Greek word for “seared” is KAUSTERIAZO, (kows-tay-ree-ad’-zo) and it speaks of cauterizing, and thus, there is no feeling, the tissue is dead. There is no guilt, no remorse as they teach these false doctrines. Paul, in Ephesians 4:18-19 tells us, “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” That is the point, they are beyond feeling!
Some of the false teaching related to the practice of forbidding marrying and abstaining from certain foods. Now please understand that there is nothing wrong with being single or abstaining from certain foods. Then what is the point? The reason they were doing this was to win favor with God, be more spiritual by having their rules and the idea is a salvation by the Law through Works, which will never save you!
Paul, in Colossians 2:20-23 tells us, “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using — according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
I like the way Calvin put it as he said, “the controversy is not about flesh or fish, or about black or ashen colors, or about Wednesday or Friday, but about the mad superstitions of men who wish to obtain God’s favor by such trifles and by contriving a carnal worship, invent for themselves an idol in God’s place.” If Grace through Faith in Christ saves us, and we are sustained by Grace through Faith in Christ, and we will be received up into glory by God’s Grace through faith in Christ, why would we have to practice some physical self-denial for our salvation? We don’t! It is as Hebrews 13:9 says, “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.”
VERSES 3b-5
At the end of creation week we are told in Genesis 1:31, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Why do we take what God says is good and make it evil? That is foolish! God has given us a hunger for food; there is nothing wrong with that until we move away from the good and we eat in excess, where the food is now in control of us. There is nothing wrong with sexual desires; God has given them to us and I thank God for that. In fact, Paul tells us in Hebrews 13:4a, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled . . .” You see, sex with in the marriage relationship is good but Satan has come in and perverted sex and says that sex outside of marriage is good, sexual relations with the same sex is good, but God says just the opposite. Paul continues on in Hebrews 13:4b and says, “ . . . but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” And let me say this, if you are unsure of a situation you are in, in something that you are doing, bring what you do before God, He will show you what is good and what is not, read His Word, and may you thank God for the goodness He gives to us!
VERSE 6
What makes a good pastor? Some would say, “How big his church is!” Others may say, “How many programs they have!” But Paul says that a good pastor is one who will instruct his people, the sheep that God has entrusted to him. And in that instruction we need to warn the sheep of the danger that is out there as Paul warned the Ephesian elders back in Acts 20:29-32, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” But not only warning them but teaching them the truths of God so as false doctrine comes in, they will see it for what it is, doctrines of demons!
And it is not just teaching God’s Word, for Paul said in II Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” You see, teaching God’s Word correctly, able to understand it and then teaching it to others because “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17.
Thus, as you are teaching the truth of God the sheep will grow and mature and they will go out and do the work of the ministry. Paul, in II Timothy 2:2 speaks of this as he says, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” God gave the church leaders, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12. Thus, in teaching, preaching and warning the sheep, you are a good minister of Jesus Christ!
VERSES 7-9
The focus is the Word of God and growing in godliness, not giving into fairy tales or things that are meaningless. Don’t become distracted from the truth, speak if forth, teach it and you will grow. The Word that Paul uses for “exercise” in the Greek is GUMNASIA, (goom-nas-ee’-ah) and from it we get our English word “gymnasium” and “gymnastics.” The Greeks were big into physical training and each Greek city had its own gymnasium, Gold’s Gym you might say, and Ephesus was no exception. Thus, Paul picks up on this that was familiar to them and he tells us that physical exercise isn’t wrong, it helps some, but that which is more important, more beneficial is the exercising of our faith, to train up the inner man. Look at health clubs today and what you tend to find is many mirrors, why? So you can look at yourself and see how well you are doing, flexing those muscles. For us, the world is a mirror from which we can see how well we are doing as we encounter different situations and how we respond will tell us if we are growing, if the inner man is being built up!
People do spend much time and much money, lots of effort on preserving these bodies that God has given to us, it is a multi-billion dollar industry from plastic surgery, to exercise programs, to diets, to pills and-so-on. And like I said, there is nothing wrong with caring for the body that God has given to you, but I will let you in on a little secret. The moment you are born your body is moving towards disorder, decay, and death! They will go back to the dust of the earth unless the Lord comes for us before that happens! Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
You see, the outward man is perishing, wearing down but that is not who we are. We are soul and spirit and when these bodies, these tents, go back to the dust of the earth we will be with the Lord and He is preparing for us new bodies, mansions for our soul and spirit to dwell in. And thus, our focus should be on the building up of the inner man as Paul did in his own life. In I Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul tells us, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
Just as our human body grows by eating and exercise, so too does our spiritual lives, the inner man. That is done as we feed on God’s Word, as we exercise our faith, we will grow, we will mature and this is truly profitable for our lives, more so than physical exercise even though it does help some!
VERSE 10
Don’t get into this race half-heartedly is the idea here. You see, we are actively involved in our spiritual growth, and it does take work. Paul speaks of “labor” or KOPIAO ((kop-ee-ah’-o) in the Greek and it means, “to work to the point of weariness and exhaustion.” Paul also says that we are to “suffer” or AGONIZOMAI (ag-o-nid-zom-ahee) in the Greek, from which we get our English word “agony” from and it means, “to engage in a struggle.” J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “If he is unwilling to pay the price of fatigue for his leadership, it will always be mediocre . . . True leadership always exacts a heavy toll on the whole of man, and the more effective the leadership is, the higher the price to be paid.”
When Paul speaks of the living God and says, “ . . . who is the Savior of all men, especially of them who believe,” is he speaking of a universal salvation where all men are saved in the end? Not at all! God’s desire is that all are saved, but it is man’s free will to choose that also plays a role. You see, the work of Christ on Calvary is more than adequate to save all men, but it is only effective in saving those who come to Him by faith.
Thus, the warning we are to give as watchmen, in Ezekiel 3:17-21, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” May we do that, may we warn people in the love of Christ of the coming judgment and the everlasting life that Jesus has for them.
VERSE 11
Let’s face it, when you speak forth the Word of God with the boldness of the Spirit, you are going to offend some people. Over the years I am sure that I have made many uncomfortable and they may have even gotten mad at me for saying what I said. I had one woman, after 9/11 when we went to Washington Park to comfort those in our community with the love of God, yell at me saying basically, “What gives you the right to speak of Jesus here? I don’t believe in that and that is not what I want to hear!” She was offended to say the least! The thing is, she was not mad at me but God and instead of getting mad at God, she was mad with me, His servant, and many react the same way. Thus, many will leave the church and find a place where they will hear what they want as Paul said in II Timothy 4:1-5, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Don’t be a man pleaser but a God pleaser, serving Him and let the chips fall where they may! You see, it is like throwing a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yells the loudest is the one who was hit!
VERSE 12
Because Timothy was young, a word that speaks of someone who is under forty years of age, Timothy was probably in his late 30’s; he had not established himself with the people, his credibility with the people. Thus, Paul wants to encourage him by telling him that his age wont’ matter if he lives what he believes and as he does, others will notice, he will be an example to them. Paul lists six things that should be manifested in his life. First by “word” or the things he says. Then by “conduct” or how he lived his life, the things he did. In “love” which speaks of his sacrifice towards others. Then in “spirit” which may speak of his attitude. In “faith” which is service with eternity in view, not focused on the temporal things. And in “purity” which speaks of a sexually pure life. It is as Paul said in Philippians 4:9, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” This is not just for a pastor or minister but our lives should be an example to others of what God has done and is doing in us!
Paul was planning on returning to Ephesus, we don’t know if that happened or not, but until he did, Timothy was to read the Word of God, exhort the people in the Word of God, teach them the Word of God. And in the Greek it implies that there was some preparation before he taught showing that he was committed to the work, the study of Scriptures, he prepared himself before he taught. I knew a person who said he didn’t prepare, he just got up and taught as the Spirit lead him. That may sound spiritual, but it is not, it is just plain laziness! You can’t give to others what you yourself have not received! Each study I do takes about 6 to 8 hours, I am not boasting, but if I don’t study, if I don’t prepare, then you are going to get a lot of hot air, nothing that you will be able to take with you to help you to grow.
In Nehemiah chapter 8, after some of the Jews returned home from their captivity in Babylon, we are told starting in verse 1, “Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law . . .
. . . So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!’ while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” Nehemiah 1:1-8.
Notice, they read the Word of God, they explained the Word of God and they applied the Word of God to the people’s lives. That is exactly what we do here at Calvary and it is what is to be done in the church today, that practice needs to continue on if people are going to grow in their faith! Preaching and teaching God’s Word is not only the highest calling of a minister, but it is what we are to do! Tragically many have moved away from sound doctrine and spend their time on non-essentials; foolish things while their sheep starve!
Timothy is warned not to ignore or lay aside or bury the spiritual gifts that God has given to Him. What a great lesson for us to take heed and apply. It seems that the elders in Timothy’s home church, the elders in Lystra and Derbe, prophesized and laid hands on Timothy before they sent him out with Paul on his journey. Thus, to negate God’s call on his life that was confirmed by prophetic utterances would be wrong.
When we think of meditation we many times think of emptying our minds, a kind of eastern meditation. That is not at all what Paul is calling for Timothy to do. Paul wants Timothy to fill his mind with the Word of God. We are good at filling our minds with all kinds of things, but when it comes to God’s Word we stumble. We can know all about music and movie stars, all kinds of statistics of sports stars, but how important is that? Not at all and when it comes to God’s Word, that is what we need to know. Paul, in Romans 12:1-2 said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” May we fill our minds with the Word of God, to give our whole being to the Lord so that we may grow in the Lord and be an example to others!
It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Spiritual growth doesn’t just happen, yes it is a gift of God but there is the work on our part, we too must labor and grow!
I don’t think Paul is speaking of the salvation of your soul here, that is not the context of this chapter. I believe he is speaking of false doctrine and not only Timothy falling prey to it and being in bondage to it because he is not in the Word of God, but leading others down that same dangerous path. Not that Timothy did that, but it is a warning to him and to us!
As I close this evening, let me leave you with Paul’s words from Philippians 3:12-16, as he said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” Let us press on!