WORD From The Woods
1 Timothy 4
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 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. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
In this passage, Paul is encouraging his young disciple, Timothy, to be strong and stand firm in the faith as a good servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were all kinds of false teaching and distractions to draw people away from following Christ that Paul was warning Timothy about. I love that, instead of naming ever specific false teaching or doctrine, Paul just tells Timothy to train himself for godliness. The last verse in the passage says to persist in these things, and by doing so he will save himself and his hearers. I don’t think this is talking about saving in the sense of salvation, but saving them from falling into false doctrines. It’s just like when the FBI trains specialists to look for counterfeit money, they train by studying authentic currency so that when they see a counterfeit, they will recognize it immediately. They don’t study all they different counterfeits, they study they real thing. That’s the example that Paul gives here, to devote ourselves to the study of God’s word and training ourselves for Godliness, and by doing that we will become equipped to stand against the false teaching and deception that we will certainly encounter. One of the things I love about Timothy is the fact that he was a very young man when he was called into service to Christ. Most commentators think he was in his 20s or 30s when this letter was written, and he was already shepherding a group of believers in Ephesus. Paul tells him not to let his youth stop him from what he’s been called to do, but to be a godly example to those around him. I pray that you will be encouraged by this passage to draw closer to Christ and become more equipped to be an example to those around you!
God Bless and have great week! -Terry-
1 Timothy 4
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 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. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
In this passage, Paul is encouraging his young disciple, Timothy, to be strong and stand firm in the faith as a good servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were all kinds of false teaching and distractions to draw people away from following Christ that Paul was warning Timothy about. I love that, instead of naming ever specific false teaching or doctrine, Paul just tells Timothy to train himself for godliness. The last verse in the passage says to persist in these things, and by doing so he will save himself and his hearers. I don’t think this is talking about saving in the sense of salvation, but saving them from falling into false doctrines. It’s just like when the FBI trains specialists to look for counterfeit money, they train by studying authentic currency so that when they see a counterfeit, they will recognize it immediately. They don’t study all they different counterfeits, they study they real thing. That’s the example that Paul gives here, to devote ourselves to the study of God’s word and training ourselves for Godliness, and by doing that we will become equipped to stand against the false teaching and deception that we will certainly encounter. One of the things I love about Timothy is the fact that he was a very young man when he was called into service to Christ. Most commentators think he was in his 20s or 30s when this letter was written, and he was already shepherding a group of believers in Ephesus. Paul tells him not to let his youth stop him from what he’s been called to do, but to be a godly example to those around him. I pray that you will be encouraged by this passage to draw closer to Christ and become more equipped to be an example to those around you!
God Bless and have great week! -Terry-