How to remain faithful! -- 1Timothy 4:1-7

How to remain faithful! -- 1Timothy 4:1-7
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 26, 2017

Here in America we have not faced the persecution that exists in much of the rest of the world for our faith. We think that if someone feels ill-will towards us or says a nasty thing about our faith that this is the same as the persecution others around the world face -- it is not. Certainly we are facing more and more resentment, ungodliness, and outward bitterness towards Christianity but we are not yet suffering beatings, slavery, and religious genocide as others have and are. Yet how are we to remain faithful if persecution for our faith worsens?

Paul knew very well what real religious persecution was all about. He not only felt it as he followed Jesus but had inflicted it on other believers before becoming a Christian himself. This is why he was being so urgent with Timothy; being a believer in Paul’s day meant being persecuted for your faith. So how does one remain faithful in light of such a prospect? Let’s find out…

READ: 1Timothy 4:1-7

Paul knew there would be those for whatever reason who would try to sway the early church to not adhere to what Jesus taught and so tells Timothy that in order…

I. To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ! (Vv. 1-2)

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

  1. Jesus had taught his disciples that “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time… No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:22-23, 32 NIV) And Peter had written to remind the church that “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this 'coming' he promised?’ Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation… But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (2Peter 3:3-4, 9 NIV) So like Jesus or the other disciples I do not think Paul was specifically writing Timothy about a set date but rather he knew everyday brought believers closer to the day of Jesus’ return and that “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” Never forget that anyone who teaches against the gospel in the antichrist and any teaching that goes against what Jesus taught is demonic. John would write that “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist… every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1John 2:22; 4:3) So Paul warns Timothy that “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ!

  EXAMPLE: I believe in fact this is what we are facing now in our day. There are those who want to dismiss Jesus as just another human who taught good things and was a nice guy who loved everyone. While this is the partial truth it is not the actual truth. Adam Rutherford in his book A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Human Genes writes that history is “foggy” and therefore untrustworthy so if we “Flit back a few centuries, and there is no contemporary evidence even for the existence of Jesus Christ, arguably the most influential man in history. Most of our tales about his life were written in the decades after his death by people who had never met him. Today, we would seriously question that, if it were presented as historical evidence. Even the accounts that Christians rely on, the Gospels are inconsistent and have irreversibly mutated over time.” This is not the gospel message of Jesus who came to “seek and save the lost” rather it is part and parcel of a worldview to dismiss Jesus. To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Jesus Christ who “appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” (1Timothy 3:16 NIV). To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ!

There are a lot of false notions that have existed even for decades concerning what is taught in Scripture. As believers we must not appear hypocritical in our faith walk nor in our teaching of what Scripture actually says. Therefore Paul tells Timothy that…

II. To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth! (Vv. 3-5)

They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

  1. There is a lot of ungodly teaching concerning Jesus in our day and sadly a lot of it comes from “Christian” churches. Some of comes from the pride of the preacher who speaks it; some of it comes from the human adherence to unbiblical teaching; and some of it comes from those who would want to deceive you in order to gain some kind of control over your life. I learned early on that the best thing believers can do is to read their Bibles but again sadly few actually do. Instead we allow others to fill our heads full of gospel gunk that has no actual bearing on what Jesus, the disciples, or biblical writers actually taught! As I have heard and taught the best thing to remember when reading what others say about a certain passage: A text taken out of context is a pretext to a false doctrine, and so we must be willing to make sure we contextualize what we read or hear concerning Scripture! Paul gives us some examples of what folks do who have an axe to grind rather than truthfully teaching what is actually in Scripture. Some of these folks “forbid people to marry” like ascetic Catholics or those who think marriage is not necessary or that it can be redefined to fit their personal perverted proclivity! Or those who “order [believers] to abstain from certain foods” like Seventh Day Adventists and their schizophrenic attitude towards the Old and New Testaments or those who teach that Christians should eat only certain “healthy” things forgetting that all things “God created [were] to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” Going back to what Jesus actually taught and how he completed God’s plan and therefore the law, redemption, and what we should know about God, Paul reminds us that “everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth!

  EXAMPLE: Pontius Pilate stood in front of the truth of God in human form, Jesus, and asked him “What is truth?” In our day the answer to this question has been reduced to some personal esoteric often emotional concept. We have churches that are complacent in not teaching the entire truth of God found in Scripture. Some do it in order to sooth their own guilt, some do it in order to promote themselves, and some do it so they will not “offend”. The gospel message is offensive by its very nature. Never forget Jesus bluntly taught his followers, “All men will hate you because of me.” (Luke 21:17 NIV) Later Paul would write Timothy, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3 NIV) To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth!

What the world needs today is the gospel truth yet there are those who will defy it, discredit it, and try to dissuade others from following it. Therefore as Paul taught Timothy in order…

III. To remain faithful we must teach others the truth! (Vv. 6-7)

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

  1. I have found it frustrating, kind of funny, and often puzzling when you use logic with others and they resort to name-calling, vulgarities, or lying. It is truly sad when those who profess faith in Jesus do these things. Paul understood that this would occur as well and he wanted his young friend Timothy to be aware of his concerns. He knew the Jewish community, the pagan world, and even other jealous believers would resort to these kinds of tactics when faced with the stark truth of the gospel. So he writes that it is his duty as a pastor to teach the truth in season and out of season no matter what others claim. In fact, Paul writes, “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” The same is true for each of who profess our faith and trust in Jesus. In fact, Paul would write Titus, another young pastor, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8 NIV) Paul would later tell Timothy to “Keep reminding them of these things.” (2Timothy 2:14 NIV) In fact he would tell him to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene.” (2Timothy 2:15-17 NIV) And in fact this is why there still exists a resistance for some to follow actual biblical teaching rather than what has “always been taught”. This has created a false correction by some and spiritual rebellion by others. Therefore we are to “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; [but] rather, [we are to] train [ourselves] to be godly.” To remain faithful we must teach others the truth!

  EXAMPLE: I have found it beneficial to allow others to read for themselves what the Bible says rather than always trying to tell someone what it says. This is why I will use specific passages when witnessing to someone else and allow them to read them out loud and tell me what they think they say. Now do not think I am saying that reading some Christian books are not beneficial because they are, but we need to be more discerning in what we read even if it claims Christianity. As Paul would write, “‘Everything is permissible’--but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’--but not everything is constructive.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV) We must follow and teach what the Bible actually says and not our own inclination. Much of what is taught about Jesus’ coming, prayer, angels, worship, church membership, giving, church leadership, and salvation has more to do with manmade doctrines rather than what is actually taught in Scripture. Paul tells Timothy that in order to remain faithful we must teach others the truth!

Conclusion:

To remain faithful we must not believe the world’s teaching concerning Christ! To remain faithful we must adhere to the truth! To remain faithful we must teach others the truth!
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This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

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