A.
FALSE DOCTRINE IN THE END TIMES.
1. (1) A WARNING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT.
2. (2-3) DEPARTURE FROM THE FAITH.
3. (4-5) REFUTING LEGALISM MARKS DEPARTED FROM THE FAITH.
B.
INSTRUCTION IN MINISTRY FOR TIMOTHY.
1. (6) HOW TO TELL YOU ARE FULFILLING YOUR CALL.
2. (7-10) KEEPING YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.
3. (11-16) PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS.
A. FALSE DOCTRINE IN THE END TIMES.
1. (1) A WARNING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT.
A. Now The Spirit Expressly Says:
Paul Especially Marked This As A Revelation From The Holy Spirit; Either As A Spontaneous Word Given As He Wrote Or Quoting From A Previous Prophecy. Paul Knew Certain Dangers Would Mark The Latter Times.
· The Danger Of Apostasy (some Will Depart).
· The Danger Of Deception (deceiving Spirits).
· The Danger Of False Teaching (doctrines Of Demons).
B. Some Will Depart From The Faith: Because Of The Danger Of The Latter Times, If Timothy Were To Remain A Faithful Minister To God’s People, He Must Keep A Dead Reckoning On The Truth – The Faith.
If This Were Lost, Not Much Else Really Mattered.
C. The Faith: This Doesn’t Mean Losing The Ability To Believe, But Losing The Content Of What Christians Should Believe.
It Describes The Essential Teachings Of The Christian Faith.
When Some… Depart From The Faith, They Are Abandoning The Essential Teachings Of Christianity.
D. Deceiving Spirits: This Refers To Demonic Spirits (angelic Beings Who Have Rebelled Against God), Who Seek To Deceive Men And Women And To Entice Them Away From The Truth.
E. Doctrines Of Demons: This Speaks Of The Specific Teachings Of These Deceiving Spirits. Demons Are Theology Majors, And Have Systems Of Doctrine.
F. Deceiving Spirits… Doctrines Of Demons: These Have Been Around Since Man First Walked The Garden Of Eden. But We Should Expect That More And More People In The Church Would Depart From The Faith In The Latter Times And Accept These False Teachings.
2. (2-3) THE NATURE OF THEIR DEPARTURE FROM THE FAITH. EMBRACING THE DOCTRINES OF DEMONS.
A. Speaking Lies In Hypocrisy:
This Describes Those Who Depart From The Faith. This Certainly Points To The Ones Who Willingly Embrace Falsehood To Justify Their Sin Or Pride; But It Also Refers To Those Who Claim To Teach The Bible, While Just Using It To Support Their Own Ideas Or Agendas.
B. Having Their Own Conscience Seared:
Their Conscience, Which At One Time Would Have Convicted Them Of Their Departure From The Truth, Now Doesn’t Reply At All. It Is As If The Nerve Endings Of Their Conscience Have Been Burnt Over And Are Dead To Feeling.
Paul Knew What It Was To Have A Dead, Burned Conscience. Before He Surrendered His Life To Jesus Christ On The Road To Damascus, He Felt Completely Justified In His Persecution Of Christians And Hatred Of Jesus. He Could Feel Justified Because His Conscience Was Seared And Needed A Wake-Up Call – Which The Lord Graciously Provided.
C. Forbidding To Marry, And Commanding To Abstain From Foods:
This Describes The Legalistic Teaching Of Those Who Have Departed From The Faith. They Taught That It Was By Following This List Of Man-Made Rules That One Was Justified In God’s Sight – That You Would Be More Holy To God If You Didn’t Marry, And If You Did Not Eat Certain Foods.
There Have Always Been Those In The Church Who Regard Themselves As More Spiritual Than God Himself, And Have A Stricter Set Of Rules For Living Than God Does.
We Often Think That If We Sacrifice Something For God (such As The Right To Marry Or To Eat Certain Foods), Then He Owes Us Something. This Is Legalism At Its Worst; Trying To Manipulate God Into Giving Us Something.
The Idea Is That We Can Make God Indebted To Us, Make Him Our Servant And Make Ourselves His Master.
In This We Fulfill The Original Doctrine Of Demons – That We Should Be Gods.
3. (4-5) A REFUTING LEGALISM MARKS THOSE WHO HAVE
DEPARTED FROM THE FAITH.
A. For Every Creature Of God Is Good: Regarding What We Eat, We Can Eat All Things. We Receive Things Rightly When We Receive Them With Thanksgiving, With An Abiding Sense Of Gratitude Towards God. We Receive The Blessings Of Food, Shelter, And Comfort As Gifts, And Not As Rights.
B. Nothing Is To Be Refused: We Are Not Limited By Any Kind Of Diet; What We Eat Does Not Make Us More Righteous Before God (though What We Eat May Affect Our Health).
C. It Is Sanctified By The Word Of God And Prayer:
Paul Here Has In Mind Prayer Before A Meal. Notice That The Emphasis Is Not On Asking God To Bless The Food; But On Thanking God For The Blessing Of Providing Food To Eat.
The Word Of God Sanctifies Food In The Sense That God Gave Two General Commands To Mankind To Eat The Good Things Of The Earth.
· And God Said, “See, I Have Given You Every Herb That Yields Seed Which Is On The Face Of All The Earth, And Every Tree Whose Fruit Yields Seed; To You It Shall Be For Food.” (Genesis 1:29)
· Every Moving Thing That Lives Shall Be Food For You. I Have Given You All Things, Even As The Green Herbs. (Genesis 9:3)
B. INSTRUCTION IN MINISTRY FOR TIMOTHY.
1. (6) HOW TO TELL YOU ARE FULFILLING YOUR CALL.
A. If You Instruct The Brethren In These Things, You Will Be A Good Minister Of Jesus Christ: Notice That The Pastor’s Job Is Primarily Instruction Of The Brethren. If The Minister Does Not Instruct The Brethren In These Things, Then He Isn’t Really A Good Minister Of Jesus Christ.
B. Nourished In The Words Of Faith And Of The Good Doctrine Which You Have Carefully Followed: But, If Timothy Will Be A Good Minister Of Jesus Christ, He Himself Must Remain Anchored In God’s Word, Carefully Following The Good Doctrine.
2. (7-10) KEEPING YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.
A. Reject Profane And Old Wives’ Fables: The Priority Must Be On God’s Word, Not On The Words Of Man. Paul Cautioned Timothy To Keep Focused On The Word, Not On Things That Come From Man. The Greatest Effort Must Be Put Into God’s Word, Not Man’s Word.
B. Reject Profane And Old Wives’ Fables: This Is The Negative Aspect Of The Command. In The Positive Aspect, The Priority Must Be Kept On Eternal Things, Not Temporal Things.
C. Exercise Yourself Toward Godliness: Ancient Greek And Roman Culture Put A High Value On Physical Exercise. Paul Tells Timothy That The Same Work And Commitment That Others Put Towards Physical Exercise Should Be Put Toward The Pursuit Of Godliness.
D. Godliness Is Profitable For All Things, Having Promise Of The Life That Now Is: Paul Here Explains The Value Of Godliness, Both In The Present Sense And Its Eternal Sense. Godliness Makes The Life That Now Is Better, And We Should Not Hesitate To Believe It And To Tell People This.
E. And Of That Which Is To Come: At The Same Time, Godliness Is The Only Guarantee Of A Profitable Life Which Is To Come. There Are Many Pleasures Or Achievements In This World That Do Not Even Pretend To Offer Anything For The Life Which Is To Come.
I. Only Godliness Is The Path To Eternal Life And Happiness.
· Sin And Vice Offer Nothing For The Life To Come.
· Genealogies And Pedigrees Offer Nothing For The Life To Come.
· Worldly Success And Wealth Offer Nothing For The Life To Come.
· Personal Fame Or Beauty Offer Nothing For The Life To Come.
· Achievements In Learning Or The Arts Offer Nothing For The Life To Come.
F. We Trust In The Living God: This Is To Be The Great Motto Of The Christian Life. Even As David Challenged Goliath In The Name Of The Living God (1 Samuel 17:26 And 36), So Our Trust In The Living God Empowers Us To Accomplish Great Things For His Glory.
G. The Savior Of All Men: This Emphasizes The Idea That The Priority Must Be Kept On The Message Of Jesus Christ. It Isn’t That All Men Are Saved In A Universalist Sense; But That There Is Only One Savior For All Men. It Isn’t As If Christians Have One Savior And Others Might Have Another Savior.
3. (11-16) PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS.
A. These Things Command: This Has The Note Of Authority. Timothy Was Not To Enter The Pulpit With Speculations And Opinions And Theories Of Men. He Was To Fearlessly Proclaim God’s Word As A Command And Not Give Into The Fear Of Man.
B. Let No One Despise Your Youth: Because Timothy Was Young, He Was Vulnerable To The Errors Of Youth Which Bring The Often Justified Criticism Of Those Older. To Address This, Paul Called Him To Live A Life That Was So Godly That No One Could Despise His Youth.
C. Be An Example To The Believers: The King James Version Has Be Thou An Example Of The Believers. Some Believe This Is A More Accurate Translation, With The Idea Being That Timothy Was To Be The Best Representation Possible Of The Christian Community.
This Meant That Timothy, And Every Godly Servant Of God, Should Be An Example:
· In What They Say (word).
· In What They Do (conduct).
· In Their Love.
· In Their Attitude (spirit).
· In Their Faith (in The Sense Of Faithfulness).
· In Their Purity.
These Are The Criteria By Which To Assess A Pastor. If He Is Smart, If He Is Funny, If He Is Cool, If He Dresses Well, If He Is Popular, Or If He Is Any Number Of Other Things Matter Little. You Must Look For A Pastor Who Is An Example In Word, In Conduct, In Love, In Spirit, In Faith, In Purity.
D. Reading… Exhortation… Doctrine: These Are The Things That Timothy Must Give Attention To. Each Of These Things Are Centered On God’s Word. He Must Give Attention To These Things In Both His Private Life And In His Public Ministry.
E. Do Not Neglect The Gift That Is In You: Timothy Was Warned To Not Neglect The Gift That God Has Given. This Shows That There Was Definitely The Possibility That Gifts And Abilities In Him Could Be Wasted For Eternity. As With The Parable Of The Talents, We Should Not Bury What Abilities God Has Given.
F. With The Laying On Of Hands: Paul May Have In Mind Timothy’s Ordination Service, When Church Leaders Laid Hands On Him And Recognized God’s Call On His Life To Ministry. This Was An Event Apparently Accompanied By Prophecy.
G. Meditate On These Things: Paul Called Timothy To Meditation On God’s Word And The Work Of God In His Life. This Is Not Emptying Our Minds (the Goal Of Eastern Meditation), But Filling Our Minds With God’s Word And Truth.
H. Give Yourself Entirely To Them: Timothy Was Encouraged To Give It His All, To Put Forth A Maximum Effort, And By Doing So, His Progress Would Be Evident To All. Often, Progress Is Not Evident Because We Do Not Give Ourselves Entirely To The Pursuit Of God And His Will.
I. Take Heed: Timothy, And Every Pastor, Must Examine Constantly The Two Great Areas Of Concern – One’s Life And One’s Doctrine. Failing To Do This Would Mean Danger For Both Timothy Himself And For Those In His Congregation.
J. Save Both Yourself And Those Who Hear You: The Benefit From Taking Heed To One’s Life And Doctrine Is Remarkable. It Is An Assurance To The Servant Of God That They Will Also Be Saved, And Many Of Those Who Hear Them. Taken In The Opposite, We See That The Cost Of Failing To Take Heed To One’s Life And Doctrine Is High. The One Who Fails To Take Heed Should Feel No Great Assurance For Either Their Own Life Or The Lives Of Those Who Hear Them.
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