I
Timothy Chapter 4
Memory
verses for this week: Mark
9:41 For whosoever
shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong
to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Introduction:
In chapter 3, Paul taught us about the qualifications for
Pastors and deacons. We
mentioned how that many denominational groups have ignored God’s
qualifications and have went to man-made choices in today’s
society. We also
discussed how that the deacon’s office was one of service to help
the pastor, and certainly not designed to oversee or dictate church
policy as many use deacons today.
This week we will be studying about some of the prophecy
concerning the end times.
I. The Warning
of the Time of Apostasy
1 Tim 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;
1 Tim 4:2
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron;
It is important to note that it is the Holy Spirit that is
speaking in these verses. The
Spirit declares that in the latter days, some shall depart from the
faith.
2
Thessalonians 2:7 For
the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The mystery of ininquity had already begun to work in
Paul’s day. We
believe this speaks of the Holy Spirit, and how that one day He will
be taken from this earth. This
will be when Christ returns and raptures out the church.
Verse 1 says that those who departed from the faith gave heed
to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils rather than believing
God. Verse 2 speaks of how the mystery of lawlessness will be
propagated through the influence of Satan.
Today, while the Holy Spirit is present on the earth, we who
know the Lord and are guided by the Spirit of God propagate the
mystery of Godliness by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Satan is already at work with those who follow Him, and evil
influences will have a much greater effect after the church is
raptured out. Men will
believe a lie rather than the truth in that day.
1 Tim 4:3
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.
1 Tim 4:4
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused,
if it be received with thanksgiving:
1 Tim 4:5
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
The doctrines of demons that embody this mystery of
lawlessness are to forbid men to marry and to have them abstain from
eats. We know how
that in the Old Testament, the Jews were not permitted to eat of all
animals. But when Peter
was at the house of Cornelius, God gave him a vision of animals on a
sheet being let down by the four corners.
And Peter was told to eat, and he said that he would not
because the animals were not clean.
Acts
10:11 And saw heaven
opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a
great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Acts
10:12 Wherein were all
manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and
creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Acts
10:13 And there came a
voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
Acts
10:14 But Peter said,
Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or
unclean.
Acts
10:15 And the voice
spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that
call not thou common.
Acts
10:16 This was done
thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
The teaching here was not only that all animals could be
eaten if they were received with thanksgiving, but the greater
meaning was that the Gentiles were now invited to be saved on an
equal basis with the Jews.
God has given all animals to be used for food for the human
race in our day. See
Verse 4. I’m sure
that most of you can recognize the false teaching of forbidding
certain ones to be married by one of the larger denominational
groups of our day. This
is man-made, not of God.
We read the qualifications for a pastor last week, and while
not requiring a man to be married, it did say that the pastor should
be the husband of one wife.
Both single and married people can serve the Lord, but God
has not commanded that men should remain single in order to serve
the Lord. And
when it comes to food, all creatures are good to be eaten if
received with thanksgiving.
When I was younger, I remember how that Fridays were special
at school, and how we would not have certain foods prepared because
of Catholic teaching about how that meats should not be eaten on
Friday. The
temporary, symbolic distinction of the Mosaic law between clean and
unclean meats was nailed to the cross when Christ died.
Galatians
2:14-17 But when I saw
that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest
after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest
thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews by
nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:
for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if,
while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found
sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
It is not wrong to marry.
Multiplying and populating the earth was part of the original
commission of man in innocence.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
II. A Good
Minister of Jesus Christ
1 Tim 4:6
If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou
shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words
of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
1 Tim 4:7
But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise
thyself rather unto godliness.
We can see that God’s opinion of what makes up a good
pastor is much different than that of the world.
Many today would prefer to hear physcological teachings or
book reports rather than what the bible has to say.
Some would say that those who get along with everyone and
never offends anyone is the ideal pastor.
But God demands that we teach and preach the whole word of
God. God says a man
that will put the brethren in rememberance of the fact that false
teachers will appear on the scene and lead people astray is a good
pastor. The only way
this can be done (putting the brethren in remembrance) is to teach
and preach the whole counsel of God and to stand on solid doctrine.
A good minister teaches truth and shuns ‘old wives’
fables’.
III. Exercise in
Godliness is what Profits
1 Tim 4:8
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is
profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is,
and of that which is to come.
1 Tim 4:9
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
We have a world that has gone healthy crazy.
There are exercise gyms and health food stores all over any
major city. And I
think that exercising is important to good health, and eating
properly is good. But
being overly concerned about exercise and ignoring God is a recipe
for failure. It says that bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is
profitable unto all things. We
should be more concerned about “Spiritual” exercise and reading
the Bible than worrying about toning up our muscles.
With God in control and a mind stayed on Christ, little will
bother us in the long haul.
And every Christian needs to look at situations from the long
view. So many times we let little minor things bother us,
when it truly has little affect on us beyond a day or two. Look to the Lord and follow after God’s laws and
commandments. These are
faithful, and it says in verse 9 that it is worthy of all
acceptation.
J. Vernon McGee in his “Thru the Bible Commentary” said
this about verse 8.
“For bodily
exercise profiteth little.” There are those who believe that Paul
is downgrading physical exercise. I don’t understand it that way
at all. Paul spent about three years in Ephesus where there was a
great coliseum in which the Olympic Games were held at times. The
coliseum seated 100,000 people, and foot races were often held
there. Paul uses the figure of the race and compares it to the
Christian life and walk in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27. I believe Paul
knew something about exercise. I stood in the city of Sardis one
time and observed the Roman road that was being excavated to the
east and the west of that city. Paul walked that road nineteen
hundred years ago, preaching the gospel of Christ. He didn’t
travel in a bus or in an automobile. He didn’t ride a horse or
even a donkey. Paul walked there, and it took a rugged
individual to cover the ground that he covered throughout the Roman
Empire. He may not have done much jogging, but he did a great deal
of walking.
Paul’s
emphasis on godliness rather than on physical exercise is because
the Ephesians were a people given over to games and athletics. We
are also that kind of a nation. Many of our cities have coliseums
where great spectacles are conducted, and many believers put more
emphasis on athletics than they do on the things of God. There are
church officers who spend more time during the summer in the ball
park than they spend in prayer meetings. Paul is not saying bodily
exercise is wrong. He is saying, “Let’s hold things in correct
perspective.”
“But godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Bodily exercise
will help you only in this life, because when you get a new body it
won’t make any difference whether you’ve exercised this one or
not. “But godliness is profitable unto all things.” Those who argue that a Christian
can fall into sin and can always come back to God on easy terms are
right. But, my friend, a godly life pays off not only down here, it
will pay off in eternity. The Prodigal Son lost a great deal by
going to the far country, and any Christian who lives a careless
life rather than a godly life will find that even in eternity he
will pay for it. Are you as anxious about godliness as you are about
physical exercise, about athletic events? The physical ends at the
end of this life, but godliness is carried over into the next.
[1]
IV. God is the
Savior of All Men
1 Tim 4:10
For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we
trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of
those that believe.
The difference in Christianity and all other religions in the
world is that we have a Living redeemer.
All others were started by men or women and they lived and
died. Christ did die
that day on Calvary, but after 3 days and 3 nights, he arose out of
that grave and is alive and seated on the right hand of God today.
And Jesus, part of the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, is the Savior of all men.
His blood was shed for the sins of all mankind, but only
those who believe in Him can have salvation.
Acts
4:11 This is the stone
which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of
the corner.
Acts
4:12 Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1 Tim 4:11
These things command and teach.
The true teacher and preacher of the truth will teach the
doctrines that Jesus taught his disciples.
And we will spread the Gospel to those around us, and tell
them that Jesus is the name that is a name above every name, and by
turning to Christ, we can have our sins forgiven and receive eternal
salvation.
V. The Preacher
as an Example
1 Tim 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the
believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in
faith, in purity.
Verse 12 implies that Timothy was a young man at the time
Paul wrote this letter to him.
But even at this early age, God had called Paul into the
ministry. All of
us should take this command seriously and realize that the future of
our church and our nation lies in the youth that are coming up.
And we should do our very best to set a Godly example that
they would want to follow and glorify God in doing so.
He says be an example of the believers in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.
A minister by living a Godly life should cause us to have
great respect for him, and certainly respect the office of the
pastor. Pastors
are the only ones that have a clear calling from God as to their
vocation. God guides
all of us as to what we should do, but when it comes to the
ministry, God specifically chooses and calls men into the ministry.
1 Tim 4:13
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to
doctrine.
1 Tim 4:14
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Paul tells Timothy to read and study the word of God.
The church needs to be uplifted and exhorted, and taught true
bible doctrine. Young
Timothy had a special gift that had been foretold.
He received that special gift when the hands of the
presbytery was placed on him.
VI. Meditate on
These Things
1 Tim 4:15
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that
thy profiting may appear to all.
1 Tim 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in
them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that
hear thee.
All of us need to be thinking on the things of God.
By meditating, Timothy would be a blessing to all of those in
whom he ministered and came into contact.
Paul admonishes him in verse 16 to pay close attention to
himself and the doctrine he taught.
Everyone who teaches should be cautious to teach truth and be
sincere and accurate in all things.
Paul says do not only teach the truth, but continue in those
things that will lead others to Jesus Christ.
In following after Godliness, this would save Paul from many
snares and difficulties, and would encourage others to draw nigh to
God.
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Prov 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
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