The Truth
is our salvation! 1 Timothy 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.” Paul had left Timothy to
shepherd the Church at Ephesus. Now he is writing to him to warn of
the troublesome teachers there. These teachers were apparently Jewish
Christians who wanted to enforce the Old Testament Law in the Church.
They wanted to be teachers of the Law, though they did not understand
it. 1 Timothy 1:7, “Desiring to be teachers of the law;
understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”
In the
First Century as in the Twenty-First, some teachers denied that the
dead are raised. Others said that Jesus was never really human, and
still others said He was not divine. But it seems that the teachers
whom Paul spoke about spent much time with genealogies, perhaps to
exalt themselves as priests or as descendants of David.
It
doesn’t matter who our ancestors are; if we fail to seek out and
embrace the Truth of God’s Word, we will be lost! We may have spent
our whole lives in church, but if we have not been born again (born
from above) with the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, we
cannot live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Ephesians
5:9, “...the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10Proving
what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them.”
There is
Life in the Truth! All else is vain and fruitless! The Old Covenant
Law was so mixed with tradition and fable that their teaching
produced confusion instead of enlightenment. The result was questions
and vain jangling. 1 Timothy 1:4, “Neither give heed to fables and
endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly
edifying which is in faith: so do. 5Now the end of the commandment is
charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith
unfeigned: 6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto
vain jangling;” The revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will
not cause confusion! 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the
author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
1 Timothy
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; 2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their
conscience seared with a hot iron;”
Paul is
dealing with some questions that have arisen in the Church at Ephesus.
He was inspired by the Holy Ghost to deliver a warning for that
present time, but also equally relevant to today. Some followers of
Christ had already turned aside. (see 1 Tim. 1:6) Unless Timothy
could counteract these “soldiers of deception,” more would depart
from the faith in the time just ahead. They would give in to seducing
spirits and be deceived! They would accept and teach doctrines of
devils instead of teaching and living the Truth of God.
Paul also
describes what will happen to these soldiers of deception. They will
follow after lies, having their conscience seared over and being
non-responsive to the Spirit of Truth. It is easy to go from an
honest mistake to an outright lie. The carnal man will justify a
half-truth to benefit selfish goals. But, such a lifestyle will move
a person from attempting to follow Christ to being deceived and
deceiving others. (continued)
