THE WAY TO PREACH WHEN APOSTASY
COMES INTO THE CHURCH
1 Timothy 4:1-16
Dorn Ridge, July 07, 2013
The following link will take you to an MP3 recording of this sermon: http://chirb.it/q4DEp9
INTRODUCTION:
1.) Jesus said: “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
2.) As grand as the prophecy of God is, for 2,000 years Satan has repeatedly given his worst to defeat the Church of Jesus Christ.
3.) Today I want us to look at the instruction the Apostle Paul had given to the young man Timothy in regards to some of Satan’s false teachings that had crept into the church, and how that today we can use those same tools in our battle against the prince of darkness.
I. DURING THE LATER DAYS APOSTASY WOULD COME INTO THE CHURCH. [VERSES 1-3]
1.) The Spirit of God had predicted this would happen.
A.) Certainly more than one of the books of the New Testament predict that Anti-Christ, and also anti-Christian influences would come into the church.
B.) The apostle Paul had earlier warned this very same Church of Ephesus on this very matter.
ba.) Acts 20:28-30
C.)Paul said to Timothy that some would abandon the faith.
ca.) Even worse than abandoning their faith, some who would do so would be doing it by the influence of Satan and his demonic world.
cb.) 1 Timothy 4:1
cc.) Sadly, in every age of the church, Satan and his demons have been at work to destroy the work and ministry of Jesus Christ.
cca.) What better means than by giving the church a false doctrine that supposedly will bring one closer in his relationship with God.
cd.) The influence here in this passage is through hypocritical liars in the church moved by the demons of hell.
cda.) Verses 1b-2
2.) Satan will promote that which will draw men from Christ.
A.) 1 Timothy 4:3
B.) Teachings forbidding people to marry.
ba.) One of the teachings that would come into the church that would be a powerful force in leading people astray was a doctrine that people should not marry.
bb.)When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 7, something was going on within the church which we do not know the details of today.
bba.) Whatever it was, Paul advised that under “the present circumstances” it was better to not marry and remain in their present state.
bc.) In the early church one of the groups of false teachers that had come into the church were the Gnostics who felt anything of the physical was evil.
bd.) If anything of the physical is evil, then by that logic so also the physical bodies we possess, and therefore sexual relations between a man and woman, even in the holy bonds of marriage were considered by some to be unholy, and even defiling to your being.
be.) The result and conclusion of this line of thinking is that a person will become more holy and more Godly and more dedicated to God if marriage and the sexual relations between a man and woman are taken out of the equation.
bea.) This same false teaching has since been adopted by others in the history of the church.
beb.) For some individuals this can be beneficial spiritually particularly if chosen by an individual as his own desired act of dedication toGod.
bec.) Reality though, is that for many who try and live this type of life this is not the case.
bed.) Rather than individuals becoming more spiritual and Godly, sometimes the very opposite will happen..
bed-1.) It is God himself who gave these natural desires, and not everyone has the power to go against the God-given desires and inclinations of the heart, even for the Kingdom of God.
bed-2.) The result is they are led into sexual sin, and by the guilt of their actions they are drawn further from God.
bed-3Over the history of the church, this doctrine has repeatedly planted seeds which have led some to greater sin, instead of bringing men closer to God.
C.) Paul describes another false teaching was to abstain from certain foods.
ca.) Under the Old Testament dispensation, God had classified some foods as being unclean..
caa.) When God chose the Jewish people they were chosen to have higher standards than the rest of the world even in their diets.
cab.) Certainly the standards of God even in the diet is much higher than those of the world.
cab-1.) Today, we may not follow standards of diet as rigid as what the Jewish people would have, but our diets today would be more in line with the diets of the Jewish people than with the diets of the Gentiles of the ancient world.
cab-2.) This was impressed on me a few years ago when was reading through some of the recipes online that were common in the 14 and 1,500’s. Things like Blood pudding calling for a pint of sheep blood, a pint of cream, and other ingredients cooked together.
cab-3.) Today even just the reading of some of these recipes almost send us running to the flush.
cb.) In the early church certainly those from Jewish backgrounds would have had trouble with various foods as being unclean.
cba.) Jesus dealt with this, and under the authority of God declared all food to be clean.
cbb.) Mark 7:19
cbb-1.) God’s declaration on all food being clean was not for the sake of diet alone.
cbb-2.) The real reason for Christ declaring all food to be clean was in order to allow redemption to come to all mankind
cbb-3.) The removal of these dietary taboos removed the barriers to the Jewish people taking the gospel message to all of the world.
cc.) There were others of early Christians who had battled with the problem that some meat may have been offered to the false gods in pagan temples.
cca.) Paul made it clear that such gods were not real, that they were only images made by man, but to some whose faith was weaker, it created a real problem.
cd.) Again in the first century, the Gnostics and others would have forbidden the eating of various foods as being sinful.
ce.) Such teachings were false teachings and were teachings that in some instances were leading people away from Christ.
D.) All these were at the best teachings of man, and at the worst teachings from the demons of hell that have perverted the Word, of God, and ultimately taken people out of close fellowship with God.
E.) All of these presented challenges for the early church to deal with.
ea.) That brings me to my second point:
II. IN NONESSENTIALS THERE MUST BE FREEDOM IN CHRIST. [VERSES 4-5]
1.) Everything that God has created is good.
A.) It does not matter if it is food for the body, or the sexual relationship between a man and woman in marriage, it has ultimately been created and made not only good, but beautiful by God Almighty.
B.) If these things have been declared by God to be good, what authority does man have to teach otherwise?
C.) When the Word of God is replaced with the teachings of men false doctrines start coming into the church – doctrines which lead men away from Christ, and often times will put him into the clutches of Satan.
2.) Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.
A.) False teachers were condemning what God had given for man’s blessing and benefit.
B.) The declaration Paul made to Timothy was that the food we eat, and also the marriage relationship including the sexual desires are from the hand, and within the plan of God.
ba.) That which has been given and blessed by God is neither wicked nor sinful.
bb.) Instead, we need to give thanks to God for these and other blessings.
bc.) The problem that Paul and Timothy had to address in Ephesus was specific in regards to these two things.
bd.) Just the same, the principals here can apply to many other situations as well.
C.) Any time Preachers, teachers, and church leaders give teachings to either supplement, itemize, or replace Jesus Christ and the Word of God as the final statement of authority within the church there is great danger of false teachings.
ca.) One of the unique things in the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches from most other churches is the absence of a written creed.
cb.) Perhaps the closest to an official statement of faith we would have was a brief statement by James A. Garfield that many of our churches have kind of adopted.
cc.) Garfield had been a preacher from the Restoration movement of which we are a part. He later became the twentieth president of the United States, until time of his assignation in 1881.
cd.) But because of the simplicity of his statement of faith, and the fact that he was so well known by his office as President, the points he had made have become well known and circulated among our churches.
ce.) But going back to the idea that our churches have no official statement of faith, the reason for that is our church has traditionally had the goal of restoring the New Testament Church rather than to become a new denomination.
cf.) Anytime a man writes a statement of faith, there is always the danger of bringing in religious prejudices instead of relying on merely the inspired Word of God.
D.) So the question that comes up, is how could Timothy or you and I deal with false teachings as they come into the church?
ca.) That brings me to my third point:
III. THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH APOSTASY IS BY A GODLY LIFE, AND THE WORD OF GOD.
1.) Preach the Word! (Verse 13)
A.) 2 Tim. 4:1-5
B.) Point out the truths of the faith, and hold to the good teaching you have followed(verse 6,)
ba.) The best way to deal with false teachings and heresies within the church has always been the Word of God.
bb.) The Word of God in its entirety, and truth needs to be proclaimed regularly from the pulpit.
bc.) The Word of God needs to be used to privately rebuke, and teach when there is error.
bd.) When we are faithfully using the Word of God, it is God himself, and the power of His word that will win the spiritual battles rather than our own inferior arguments and reasoning.
C.) Paul instructed Timothy to be true to the Word of God.
ca.) 2 Tim. 2:15
cb.) Be diligent in these matters.
cc.) Give yourself wholly to them.
cd.) Grow in Christ.
cda.) Timothy was a young man; but he still needed to grow in Christ and be an example to those in the church.
cdb.) 1 Tim. 4:12,15
ce.) Watch your life and doctrine closely.
cea.) We always need to watch both our faith and doctrine.
ceb.) But when false teachers come into the church this is even more important.
2.) Don’t let other things side track your preaching of the Word.
A.) Have nothing to do with Godless myths. (verse 7a.)
aa.) In the first century of the church these false teachings on the avoidance of certain foods, and the idea that celibacy would bring one closer to God was not from the Inspired Word of God ,but from man and the demons of hell.
ab.) To accept such teachings as Scripture confused people, and often have drawn them away from Christ.
ac.) Today, we do not need to limit it to just these two areas that Paul described.
ad.) Whenever church traditions, or the teachings of man on any subject replace the Word of God there is trouble in the Church.
ae.) Such Godless myths must be avoided, and authority given back to The Word of God as the sole authority for the Church.
B.) Have nothing to do with old wives’ tales.
(Verse 7b.)
ba.) I am not sure what Paul was referring to specifically here, but in every generation there are wives’ tales that need to be avoided.
C.) Don’t let the physical take your eyes off of the spiritual.
ca.) Verse 8
cb.) Probably as a young man, Timothy was interested in sports, and having big muscles, and all these things young men often will desire.
cc.) As good as any of these are, Paul reminds Timothy that ultimately his spiritual development and growth is even more important than sports or physical exercise.
cd.) Working on the physical will just help the body. Working on the spiritual will help the soul.
3.) Put your hope in the Living God.
A.) He is the Saviour of all men.
B.) He is especially the Saviour of those who believe.
CONCLUSION:
1.) As I bring this message to a close today, we can truly rejoice that Jesus Christ and his church will remain triumphant over the forces of Satan.
A.)Because the ultimate victory belongs to Christ does not mean that Satan will not try to destroy the work or Ministry of Jesus Christ.
2.) We need to keep ourselves true to the Word of God, and leave our hope fully in Jesus Christ to defeat the powers of Satan as they attack the church.
