1 Timothy chapter 4. Now I'm going to go back in the
2nd service and pick up on 1 Timothy 3.16. That's why I'm not dealing
with that this morning. I'm going to deal with it in
the 2nd service. But the theme of the lesson this
morning is the latter times, the latter
times. This was written nearly 2,000
years ago when Paul wrote this to Timothy, and now I do believe
You and I are living in these days that Paul is writing to
Timothy about. He says in verse 1, now the Spirit,
the Holy Spirit speaketh expressly, distinctly. This is going to
happen. This is not something that might
happen. This is going to happen. The
Holy Spirit, being God, knows all things. He knows what He's
talking about. He knows what He's talking about.
He's God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And He knows exactly what's going
to happen in the latter days, and He's telling us about it.
We have His word on this, that in the latter times, of which
I believe we are in, some shall depart from the faith, from the
gospel." That's what he's saying, shall depart from the gospel,
the only gospel. Paul said there's only one gospel.
Now, there is not only one being preached. There are many false
gospels being preached today, right? But he says here that some who
confess to believe, now they've made a profession, they have
been baptized, they have confessed the Lord Jesus Christ, they've
heard the gospel, and they are going to depart from it. They're
going to depart from it. And here's the reason why. Giving
heed to seducing spirits, giving heed, giving attention, paying too much attention to these seducing spirits. I looked that up. That means
roving spirits. You know, Satan is said to be
like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He goes to and
fro in the earth. You know, God asked Satan not
for information in the book of Job. He said, where have you
been? He said, I've been going to and fro in the earth, up and
down in it. Not exploring the earth, but
seeking whom he may devour. Looking for a chink in the armor.
That's what he's doing. Roving spirits as a tramp. That's what it means, like a
tramp. You know, someone that just,
he jumps on a train, he goes here, like a hobo, you know,
he jumps on another train, goes here, he's just like a tramp.
That's what it has the meaning of. A roving spirit as a tramp
or an imposter. an imposter, a misleader, a misleader. I thought of this a little while
ago. Every time someone stands in the pulpit, like I am right
now, every time someone stands in a pulpit, opens the Word of
God, another spirit is speaking. It's
either the Spirit of God or it's a demon. It's one or the other. That's why Paul said in 1 John,
to try the spirits, he called them spirits, whether they be
of God. Because every time someone opens
a Bible, stands in a pulpit, that person is speaking by a
spirit, either the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, or a demon,
a demonic spirit. It's one or the other, every
time. But they've given heed to seducing spirits and doctrines
of devils. You know, when you think of doctrines
of devils, when most people, put it this way, when most people
think of doctrines of devils, they think of some cult, don't
they? They think of a cult. You think
of Jim, someone like Jim Jones. You know, you think of these
different cults that have risen up. Doctrines of devils is so
close to the gospel that it would deceive the very elect of God
if possible. No one realizes, except you who've
been told of God, that most of what's being preached throughout
this community, I don't know all these people. I do know,
but I don't know them personally, okay? I don't know them personally. A devil is speaking this morning.
And he's speaking another gospel. Another gospel. Here is a doctrine,
let me give you an example. Let me give you an example of
a doctrines, of doctrines, plural, of devils. Here's one, here's
a doctrine of a devil. Jesus Christ died to save every
person on this earth. He died for the sins of every
person. Now, if they'll just accept Him
as their personal Savior, He will save them. That's a doctrine of devils. God loves everyone. God loves
everyone is a doctrine of devils. It says, in the Word of God,
He hated Esau. That's what it says. And to stand up and say, God
loves you, and God wants to save you if you'll let Him, is a doctrine
of a devil. That's so, isn't it? That's the truth. That's the
doctrine of the devil. And people give heed to these
things. These are seducing spirits. And listen here, in verse two,
they're speaking lies. It's a lie. It's a lie. The greatest lie and lies ever
told are told from the pulpit. They are, they're told from the
pulpit. The greatest lies ever told are told on God. They're
told on God. And these lies are spoken in
a spirit of hypocrisy, hypocritical spirit. And here's the reason
why and how they can do it, having their conscience seared with
the hot iron, through sin and through willful ignorance. You
know, if someone hears the gospel, if someone hears, If someone
hears the gospel and willfully gets up and walks away from it,
you know what's happening? The conscience is being seared,
calloused, what do they call that, cauterized? It's being
cauterized to where feeling is gone, to where judgment, listen,
judgment is gone. You really can't judge between
your right hand and your left hand no more. That's a dangerous position to
be in, is to have your conscience seared with a hot iron. You see,
the conscience, God has written His law on the heart. The heart,
the conscience. God's written His law. You know,
you know, you know by your conscience that God is. You don't know who
He is. But you know that he is. You
know by the law written on your heart, things that are right
and wrong, you know that. But over time and sin and willful
ignorance, the conscience is seared to where you can't really
feel. You really can't discern what
I'm saying. You can't discern between right and wrong. You
can't do it. You hear someone standing in
the pulpit. and they preach a lie, they preach a lie on God, you
can't discern it. You really don't, you can't tell
the difference, can you? But now you, whom God has saved,
you can hear the difference. You can hear the difference when
another gospel is preached. You know, and sometimes it's
not easy, easily discerned, but you know something's not right.
You know, there's something not right. I can't put my finger
on it, but something's not right. In time, I think you can. You
will. But it's not always obvious at
first. I know this from experience. I know what I'm talking about
from experience. At first, it's like there's something not right.
And then finally, you understand what's going on. You hear the
difference. But they are very subtle. You
know, the Word of God says that the ministers of Satan over in
Corinthians changed themselves into ministers of light. They
become ministers of righteousness, self-righteousness. You know,
they promote morality. They belong to the moral majority. But that's not Christ, and that's
not salvation, and that's not His righteousness they preach.
So the Holy Spirit clearly warns us that in these last days, some
who profess to be Christians will listen to these seducers
and they will depart from the faith. Now they will not depart
from religion. They're gonna still be religious. They'll still be religious. A man told me yesterday, he came
to the house and he said, well, he said, you're saved and I'm
saved. He said, we're both saved. Well, maybe, maybe so, maybe
not. Maybe not. Depends on the gospel
you believe. Depends on who saved you. It
depends on who saved you, that's what it depends on. Now, they depart from the faith
because, first of all, they want a following. They personally
want a following. Now Satan's motive is to take
away the glory from God. It's to bring down the house
of God. It's to destroy the church of the living God. But now most
personally do it because they are after a following. That's
why they do it. And listen, all men and women
are naturally inclined to self-righteousness and worshiping God according
to their imagination. And Satan takes advantage of
this. Satan knows human weakness. He knows your weakness, my weakness,
better than I know myself. He knows it better than I know.
He knows where to shoot. He knows what to put in front
of me. And He knows that by nature, every one of us, every last one
of us are religious. He knows that. You know, most
of God's children, most whom the Lord saves, His children,
you know, most of them make a profession. They make a false profession.
before they ever really come to the truth, to a saving knowledge
of the truth, most do. What did most of you come out
of? Did you come out of false religion?
Most come out of false religion. Most people have made a profession,
they have a false hope, a false peace, a false rest, and then
one day God crosses their path with the gospel. And then they
understand. And they see the difference between
that false gospel and the true gospel. But most come out of
false religion. They've made a false profession.
And Satan takes advantage of our weakness. He takes advantage
of it. And notice here what... And these
are just examples here in verse 3 through 5. These are just examples. that Paul gives, you know, it
could be anything other than Christ. Anything other than Christ
is what they will bring before you. But in verse 3 here, let
me go back to verse 2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy, having
their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry. What does that make you think
of? What denomination or religion do you think of? Catholicism. Forbidding their priests to marry. Commanding to abstain from meats
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of
them which believe and know the truth. You know, God instituted
marriage. You know, Paul said this, it's
better to marry than to burn. That's the burn in the lust of
your flesh after one another. Paul said it's better to marry.
God said it's not good that man should be alone. So what did
he do? He made a woman and he brought her to Adam. And they
were husband and wife. God instituted marriage. But here's the subtlety of Satan.
Here's his subtlety. He attacks the order of God.
He attacks the order that God has set up. And he does it through
the church, so-called, not his church, but through a false church,
forbidding to marry. Marriage is what? What is the real pinnacle and
height of marriage? What is it for? It is a picture
of Christ and the Church. That is why God established marriage. It is a picture of Jesus Christ
and the Church, His bride. And Satan attacks that. and he
uses men and he uses them in the pulpit to send forth this
false gospel, this false message. And I tell you what it does,
it makes them, the priests, those nuns, it makes them feel holy. It makes them feel pure. That does not, I tell you one
of the purest things is marriage. And one of the purest things
is a sexual relationship in marriage. It's as holy as reading God's
Word. It is. It's instituted by God. And they try to make it something
bad. They try to make the relationship, the marriage and the intimacy
that's in marriage, they try to make it a taboo. It's not. In its place, it's not. He said
the bed is undefiled. It's undefiled. And then he says
here, they command thee to abstain from meats. From meats. I guess it'd just be, well, it's
certain meats is what it is. It's certain meats. I'm sure
it's not vegetarians and they can't eat no meat. He's talking
about certain meats. You know, you don't eat certain
meats. and you're a better person. I mean, that's what it comes
down to. You're a better person. God, you are more accepted of God
by the do's and the don'ts. I'm not accepted of God by what
I do or what I don't. I'm accepted of God in Christ.
It says in Ephesians 1, He hath made us accepted. I didn't do
one thing to make myself accepted of God. It's not because I don't
eat pork. Of course, I've already blew
it. I'm married now, so I wouldn't
fit in their mold. Not in their mold. The same for meat which, listen,
God created to be received. You know, God created the animal
world and much of it is for our use, is for our nourishment,
is for eating. It's for eating. You know, listen. It's not that which goes in the
mouth that defiles a man, it's that which comes out. Eating
pork doesn't defile me. You know, the Jews, they didn't
eat pork. It doesn't defile me. Not at
all. You know, God did not create
any animal, anything that exists, anything that exists, God did
not create it bad. When God finished creation, he
looked upon all of it and he said, it's very good. It's very good. Now there's some
things that I don't want to eat, that's for sure. But there's
a lot of things I can eat. And I eat it with a good conscience.
I can eat pork with a good conscience, or I can eat beef with a good
conscience. I can do so. Because it has nothing
to do with my standing before God. And it says here, for it
is sanctified. Now, let me go back to verse
4. For every creature of God is good. It's good. And nothing to be refused. Don't
call that which God has cleaned, don't call it common, which God
is clean. That's why he said to Peter,
Peter said, no, Lord, you know, when she came down and there
was all kinds of animals on it, and God said to Peter, slay and
eat, kill it, kill it and eat it. And he said, no, I've never
eaten anything unclean. He said, don't you call unclean
that which I've cleaned. Don't you do that. For every
creature of God is good. and nothing to be refused if
it be received with thanksgiving. A lot of it has to do, really
all of it has to do with the way you received it. It's the
way you receive it. For it is sanctified, it is set
apart for use. It is sanctified by the Word
of God. You say, you shouldn't eat that.
Well, the Word of God says this, where every creature of God is
good, nothing to be refused. You see, it's set apart by the
Word of God. God said, I can do it. God said, I can do it. And by prayer, asking God to
bless our food. You know, we don't do that out
of habit. That's not a ritual. I know sometimes
we do it without really thinking about what we're saying. I know
that by experience. But when we ask God to bless
the food to the nourishment of our body, you know how important
that is? Because he's the one who does
bless it and causes it to nourish our bodies. And this also shows our dependence
upon God, and it shows our thankfulness and gratitude to God for providing
our daily food. Give us, Lord, our daily food.
We thank Him for it. We ask Him to bless it. Now these things that Paul has
mentioned here, They are not the only things that false teachers
use to exercise dominion over your conscience, which is exactly
what they're trying to do. They're exercising dominion over
your conscience. I tell you this, if you're trying
to sell me something, and I've done this before, if you're trying
to sell me something, don't work on my conscience in order to
get me to buy it, because you're going to lose me real quick.
When you start trying to get me to feel bad or you start working
on my conscience, you're going out the door. Now, if you can
sell, you can sell me a product on the basis of a good product
and I do need it. It'll fit what I need. You know,
I've been machine shop. I had several, many salesmen
come by and try to sell me something, a product that I needed and it
worked for me. Then I've had some come and try
to sell it to me and try to get my conscience and they're the
ones who went out the door. And that's what these men do. They
are trying to have dominion over your conscience. Because now
they've got dominion over you. They've got you. And that's what
false religion, that's what Satan does. He plays on the conscience.
I have a clear conscience in the Lord Jesus Christ. Happy
is the man who condemns not himself in the things which he allows." Listen, in Christ, I have a clear
conscience. In Christ, my sins are put away. In Christ, I am righteous. In
Christ, I'm accepted. And in that, I have a clear conscience. And I'm not going to let someone
come along and say, wait a minute, You need to be circumcised, or
you need to keep the Sabbath, or you need to do this, or you
need to do that. No, no I don't. Because what
they're trying to do is start making you feel bad if you don't
do that, and the next thing you know, you're under bondage again.
You're under bondage. Don't let anyone bring you under
bondage. What you do, what I do, we do
by the word of God, don't we? We do by the word of God. They do all of this in a hypocritical
pretense of holiness and temperance. And they have neither one. They
have neither one. God instituted marriage. God
gave us food, animals to eat. And none of that has anything
to do with our acceptance with God. None of it. Absolutely none
of it. None of it defiles me. It does
not defile me. I was born defiled. I was born defiled. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity.
But in Christ, I've been cleansed. I've been made whole. I'm not
defiled anymore. And I'm not going to let someone
come along and put a yoke of bondage on my neck and get me
to keep ceremonies or days or any of that. I'm not going to
do that. And you're not going to do that. We are not going
to do that, by God's grace. By God's grace, because I know
if he pulled his hand back, we'd do it. Because there's a strong
nature in us that's given to that. Now he says in verse 6, If thou
put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be
a good minister of Jesus Christ. Put them in remembrance of these
things continually. Continually. You know why we do this continually?
Because as soon as we walk out that door, we get hit in the
face with the world. We get hit in the face with our
jobs. We get hit in the face with the family. I mean, it's
just one thing after another just comes at us. And we forget
these things. This is why it's so important
for us to come here week after week after week. God said to
forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as a manner
of some is. Don't forsake that. And Paul
said for me to write the same things to you there, Philippians
3.1, for me to write the same things to you, to me indeed,
it's not grievous. And for you, it's safe. For you,
it's safe. Because of sin, because
of sin, doesn't it seem like the things we forget are the
good things? The things we ought to remember are the ones we forget.
Let somebody tell you an ornery joke. You'll remember it 50 years
from now. Someone tell you the truth and you have to be told
that again and again and again. Oh, he said, if you put the brethren
in remembrance of these things constantly, you'll be a good
minister of Jesus Christ, a good soldier of Christ, a good minister
of Christ, and you'll be nourished up in the words of faith yourself. You know, when I study, each
week over my study, you know, and I know this from experience
because I have had to work out there in the workplace for many
years and I sit in the study. But I tell you what, being able
to sit in the study, first of all, I am nourished up. If I'm
not fed, I'm not going to feed you, am I? It is not going to
happen. If I'm not blessed, you're not
going to be blessed. If God doesn't feed me in a study,
what am I going to feed you? You know, I come out here with
the attitude, is let me tell you what I've learned this week.
Let me tell you what I've seen this week. And I couldn't tell
you how many people have said to me over the years, I never
saw that before. Well, I didn't either. I was
sitting in a study, I saw it, and I came and told you about
it. Nourished up. Nourished up. That's what food does for you,
doesn't it? Nourishes you up. Helps your body stay strong.
Nourished up in the words of faith or in the gospel and of
good doctrine. Good doctrine. What's good doctrine?
Doctrine that's of God. Teaching. Teaching is what doctrine
is. Teaching that's of God. whereunto
thou hast attained." All these things, and that's what Paul's
saying, put them in remembrance of all the things that I've written
to you. The end of the commandment is love. Christ came into the
world to save sinners. The church is to pray for all
sorts of men. Godly women are to behave in
the home and church as godly women. That's how they're to
behave. And there are certain qualifications
He's given us here for pastors and deacons. As I said last week, a lot of these qualifications
will disqualify a man. They can disqualify a man without
ever having to say any more about it. And that God is to be worshipped
in righteousness, to be worshipped in Christ, and all these carnal
means, the keeping of days and these eating meat or not eating
this meat, all that is gone. That does not even enter into
worship, not at all. Now, if you remind them of these
things, you'll be a good minister of Christ, always feeding, nursing
yourself in the people whom the Lord has given you to preach
to. And I won't close here, he says, refuse all these traditions.
They're verse seven, look in verse seven. But refuse profane
and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
Exercise thyself in the things of God. Well bodily exercise
profits little. Now he's not talking about going
to Planet Fitness. He's not talking about that kind
of exercise. He's talking about the religious exercise that men
go through, men and women go through. He said that's of no
profit. You're talking about kneeling,
talking about kneeling down to pray or what you eat. He said
that's That's what he's talking about.
The bodily exercise of religion profits little, but godliness
is profitable unto all things. Godliness is profitable to everything
in this life, to the believer, and everything after this life.
That which is of God, that's what godliness is. All that's
of God. When you exercise yourself in
faith, hope, love, When you exercise yourself in these things, it's
profitable. It's profitable for your peace of mind, your peace
of heart. It's profitable in this life. And it's profitable
in the life to come. All right.