I charge you in the presence of God. 1 Timothy 6:13.

 If you are a student of the Bible, then you know that we are on the brink of the church being snatched out of here and God's wrath is to be poured out upon the earth. The message, that I hear coming out the mouths of those who feel they are the global elite, is that they must reduce the population and control those who are left upon the earth, in a fashion that best suits the lifestyle they want to live.

The combination of God's judgment and the cruelty of humanity will lead to a slaughter of those who choose to follow Christ during this time frame, and these are considered to be the martyred saints. (For those who think that humanity can be peaceful and fun, think again. At the point at which God had decided to destroy every living thing on earth, this is what He saw.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB)

Perhaps the NASB does not convince you of the depravity of the human heart, maybe the CEV translation might.

The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. (Genesis 6:5 CEV)

As John looks into heaven for the second time, he sees martyred saints; while the number was extremely large the first time, it is uncountable the second time. It is the death of these “saints,” in record numbers, that leads Christ to say, “the tribulation will be so great.” I will show you this in scripture but want you to pay attention to the wording and how it changes across translations. I will ask for you, as the Holy Spirit told me that several of you will say, why is that important?

The NASB seems to be the common translation, as far too many of us take those two words and apply them to the time of wrath.

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)

The word great is the Greek word megas. For many of us, we are familiar with some store having a “mega sale”. The assumption is that their sale is bigger and better than anyone else's. The simple explanation that the Holy Spirit is trying to make, is that this is exceedingly great.

It would be easy to say, we have never seen anything like this, and though some fool may have told you that there was no holocaust, there was. Jewish death tolls reached 6 million; Soviet civilian death tolls reached 7 million; Soviet prisoners of war were around 3 million; non-Jewish Polish civilians hit around 1.8 million, and more than 700,000 people were killed in the death camps for being dissidents, activists, criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses, Gypsies, Serbians, and people with disabilities. To add to the graphic nature of these numbers, the people of Warsaw, said that it rained ashes daily. There is no doubt that the death toll, primarily of those who follow after Christ, during this time of wrath, will exceed those numbers that the death camps generated.

Tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis and – get this, means pressure, affliction, burdens persecution, troubles, and tribulation.

Dear Lord, there is not a day that goes by that I don't experience some form of pressure or affliction. It makes me grateful that I was born in America, and up to March of 2020, it was a sane place to live without the threat of violence, as some of you have.

I light of my introduction above, Paul has some sound words for us all.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1Timothy 6:13-14 NASB)

End, page one.

Look at how the ESV expresses verse 13.

1 Timothy 6:13 ESV I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

Charge, as we see in the NASB, is the Greek word paraggello. It not only means to charge (as in a legal pleading), but it also carries the connotations of transmitting a message, enjoin (to forbid or prohibit), declare, or command.

Paul may well be saying to Timothy, I command you. Wow, that seems like a harsh way of speaking to someone who could easily be seen as a volunteer. Maybe that's our problem, we merely see ourselves as volunteers, who have the option of walking away at any time.

But there is something I think we need to consider.

Skimming through the Book of Acts leaves you with the impression that everything happened in fifteen-minute increments over a short period of time, and that was not the case. Most of these events occurred over seasons and years.

How would you possibly build the strong bonds that Paul had with the varying bands of new believers he established, in just a few short weeks?

These bonds, built over an extended period of time, allowed Paul to feel that he could speak boldly into their lives, just as we see him doing with Timothy, a young man that may well be in his early thirties by this point.

Some people's words apparently no longer have any value, but there was a time when we used to have people place their hand upon a Bible and swear to tell the truth; even though they do that, they still lie. Paul tells Timothy, I am writing this to you with God looking on, holding you to what I say. I am even calling upon the witness of Christ Jesus, who beaten and bloodied by Jewish and then Roman soldiers, and yet, still made a good confession before Pilate.

Now here is the punch line. I charge you, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of Jesus Christ. That appearing, was for them, a long way off, but they lived as though it was coming any minute. On that note, I recently listened to Chelsi Bedell, a Christian vlogger, talk about a meeting that she went to with her husband. There, Benny Hinn was introduced to the audience. This is the same Benny Hinn that cheated on the wife; and, it is the same Benny Hinn who got wealthy from the ministry. After years of this showmanship, he denounced the faith movement that was so lucrative to him. On that stage that evening, Benny Hinn said, coming to Jesus is the easy part, staying close to Jesus is the hard part. Chelsi said when I heard this I knew it was wrong and that he was a false teacher. Think about Benny Hinn and the path he put himself on, it only seems logical that he would say, this road we are on is hard, simply because he could not leave the monetary wealth and was therefore sucked into cheating on his wife.

What did Jesus say?

Take my yoke upon you, for it is easy and my burden is light. I can tell you that Benny struggled, but his struggle wasn't with God, it was with his own desires, for money and lust.

Once again, Paul tells Timothy, you keep the commandment without reproach.

Well, that's great, but how do you do that?

The answer had already been given in verses 11 and 12, where it says:

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12 NASB)

End, page two.

You keep the commandment, without reproach by:

• Fleeing from these things.
• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
• Fight the good fight of faith.
• And. take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.

Paul told Timothy, in verse 14, that he keep the commandment without stain or reproach.

Stain may be best explained through the NLT translation, when it says, “Then no one can find fault with you.”

Reproach is the Greek word anepilēptos. It only occurs three times in the New Testament and all of them occur in 1 Timothy. It is best defined as irreproachable and means free from blame; upright, and innocent.

While God somehow sees us in this manner, it is hard to imagine how as we know the stumbles we make. But God looks through the lens of Jesus on the cross, where everyone was forgiven of sin and redeemed. Sin is that thing that is a part of us, thanks to Adam. Since that time we have been broken from inception.

Obviously, we needed help.

I have gritted my teeth and sweated as I tried to resist sin, and yet still failed - as far as I was concerned. So there is something here that keeps trying to tell me that staying above reproach is an achievable thing. I will not ask Benny Hinn how to stay above reproach, as he has proven, that he too, is merely a broken man; as we all are.

I want to add one more thing before I end this and move on to the next study.

I put myself in recovery because I was, and still am, an angry man. Before you get all judgmental hold on a minute and pay attention. In recovery I learned, that because of our brokenness we will never be free from our addictions; as I pointed out, mine is anger.

Many will say, doesn't this life in Christ make us free from “everything” that bound us?

Having known the Lord for many years, and learned that He is faithful, I know that freedom is His heart toward all of us. He has done everything necessary to make that happen. You might remember that Paul whined about his thorn in the flesh – we, religious zealots, turn that thorn into a variety of things. I happen to think that Paul's thorn was anger, just like mine. God's response to Paul, was that His grace was sufficient. Translation, I have given you everything you need to be free. Alright, here comes the deep wisdom. An alcoholic, or an angry man, has to realize that while they walk this earth (before the rapture) they are dependent upon God's grace and the investment that we have made in our relationship with Christ. What is that investment, since we have nothing to give but our lives? It is exactly that, we, knowing that we are incapable of managing our own lives, turn them over – daily, to the grace and mercy of the living God, Christ Jesus. In doing this (I got this from a television show I watch,) I have to make a conscious decision to choose wisdom. Is what I am contemplating worth the pain and harm I am going to do myself and those around me? I, like so many others, have been choosing wisely. Note: I am not asking your opinion, but God's. His opinion is written in His Word. You should consider reading it if you aren't already.

I charge you in the presence of God. 1 Timothy 6:13.

If you are a student of the Bible, then you know that we are on the brink of the church being snatched out of here and God's wrath is about to be poured out upon the earth. The message, that I hear coming out the mouths of those who feel they are the global elite, is that they must reduce the population and control those who are left upon the earth, in a fashion that best suits the lifestyle they want to live.

The combination of God's judgment and the cruelty of humanity will lead to a slaughter of those who choose to follow Christ during this time frame, and these are considered to be the martyred saints. (For those who think that humanity can be peaceful and fun, think again. At the point at which God had decided to destroy every living thing on earth, this is what He saw.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB)

Perhaps the NASB does not convince you of the depravity of the human heart, maybe the CEV translation might.

The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. (Genesis 6:5 CEV)

As John looks into heaven for the second time, he sees martyred saints; while the number was remarkably large the first time, it is uncountable the second time. It is the death of these “saints,” in record numbers, that leads Christ to say, “the tribulation will be so great.” I will show you this in scripture but want you to pay attention to the wording and how it changes across translations. I will ask for you, as the Holy Spirit told me that several of you will say, why is that important?

The NASB seems to be the common translation, as far too many of us take those two words and apply them to the time of wrath.

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. (Matthew 24:21-22 NASB)

The word great is the Greek word megas. For many of us, we are familiar with some store having a “mega sale”. The assumption is that their sale is bigger and better than anyone else's. The simple explanation that the Holy Spirit is trying to make, is that this time, in which some megalomaniac rules the earth, the death toll will be exceedingly great.

It would easy to say, we have never seen anything like this, and though some fool may have told you that there was no holocaust, there was. Jewish death tolls reached 6 million; Soviet civilian death tolls reached 7 million; Soviet prisoners of war were around 3 million; non-Jewish Polish civilians hit around 1.8 million, and more than 700,000 people were killed in the death camps for being dissidents, activists, criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah witnesses, Gypsies, Serbians, and people with disabilities. To add to the graphic nature of these numbers, the people of Warsaw said that it rained ashes daily. There is no doubt that the death toll, primarily of those who follow after Christ, during this time of wrath, will exceed those numbers that the death camps generated.

Tribulation is the Greek word thlipsis and – get this, means pressure, affliction, burdens persecution, troubles, and tribulation.

Dear Lord, there is not a day that goes by that I don't experience some form of pressure or affliction. It makes me grateful that I was born in America, and up to March of 2020, it was a sane place to live without the threat of violence, as some of you have.

I light of my introduction above, Paul has some sound words for us all.

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1Ti_6:13-14 NASB)

End, page one.

Look at how the ESV expresses verse 13.

1 Timothy 6:13 ESV I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

Charge, as we see in the NASB, is the Greek word paraggello. It not only means to charge (as in a legal pleading), but it also carries the connotations of transmitting a message, declare, or command.

Paul may well be saying to Timothy, I command you. Wow, that seems like a harsh way of speaking to someone who could easily be seen as a volunteer. Maybe that's our problem, we merely see ourselves as volunteers, who have the option of walking away at any time.

But there is something I think we need to consider.

Skimming through the Book of Acts leaves you with the impression that everything happened in fifteen-minute increments over a short period of time, and that was not the case. Most of these events occurred over seasons and years.

How would you possibly build the strong bonds that Paul had with the varying bands of new believers he established, in just a few short weeks?

These bonds, built over an extended period of time, allowed Paul to feel that he could speak boldly into their lives, just as we see him doing with Timothy, a young man that may well be in his early thirties by this point.

Some people's words apparently no longer have any value, but there was a time when we used to have people place their hand upon a Bible and swear to tell the truth; even though they do that, they still lie. Paul tells Timothy, I am writing this to you with God looking on, holding you to what I say. I am even calling upon the witness of Christ Jesus, who beaten and bloodied by Jewish and then Roman soldiers, and yet, still made a good confession before Pilate.

Now here is the punch line. I charge you, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of Jesus Christ. That appearing, was for them, a long way off, but they lived as though it was coming any minute. On that note, I recently listened to Chelsi Bedell, a Christian vlogger, talk about a meeting that she went to with her husband. There, Benny Hinn was introduced to the audience. This is the same Benny Hinn that cheated on the wife; and, it is the same Benny Hinn who got wealthy from the ministry. After years of this showmanship, he denounced the faith movement that was so lucrative to him. On that stage that evening, Benny Hinn said, coming to Jesus is the easy part, staying close to Jesus is the hard part. Chelsi said when I heard this I knew it was wrong and that he was a false teacher. Think about Benny and the path he put himself on, it only seems logical that he would say, this road we are on is hard, simply because he could not leave the monetary wealth and was therefore sucked into cheating on his wife.

What did Jesus say?

Take my yoke upon you, for it, is easy and my burden is light. I can tell you that Benny struggled, but his struggle wasn't with God, it was with his own desires, for money and lust.

Once again, Paul tells Timothy, you keep the commandment without reproach.

Well, that's great, but how do you do that?

The answer had already been given in verses 11 and 12, where it says:

But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12 NASB)

End, page two.

You keep the commandment, without reproach by:

• Fleeing from these things.

  The things are the things we see in verses like 1Timothy 6:10, where it says

  "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (NASB)

• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

  The pursuit of anything else is simply fulfilling your lusts. You figure out if it is destroying you and your relationships.

• Fight the good fight of faith.

  We are not merely swinging at the clouds, we pray and we do it as if our lives and families depended upon it.

• And. take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.

  Hold are the Greek word epilambanomai and means to seize as if for help.

Paul told Timothy, in verse 14, that he should keep the commandment without stain or reproach.

Stain may be best explained through the NLT translation, when it says, “Then no one can find fault with you.”

Reproach is the Greek word anepilēptos. It only occurs three times in the New Testament and all of them occur in 1 Timothy. It is best defined as irreproachable and means free from blame; upright, and innocent.

While God somehow sees us in this manner, it is hard to imagine how as we know the stumbles we make. But God looks through the lens of Jesus on the cross, where everyone was forgiven of sin and redeemed. Sin is that thing which is a permanent part of us thanks to Adam. Since that time every human has been born broken by sin.

Obviously, we needed help.

I have gritted my teeth and sweated as I tried to resist sin, and yet still failed - as far as I was concerned. So there is something here that keeps trying to tell me that staying above reproach is an achievable thing. I will not ask Benny Hinn how to stay above reproach, as he has proven, that he too, is merely a broken man; as we all are.

I want to add one more thing before I end this and move on to the next study.

I put myself in recovery because I was, and still am, an angry man. Before you get all judgmental hold on a minute and pay attention. In recovery I learned, that because of our brokenness we will never be free from our addictions; as I pointed out, mine is anger. But many will say, doesn't this life in Christ make us free from “everything” that bound us? Having known the Lord for many years, and learned that He is faithful, I know that freedom is His heart toward all of us. He has done everything necessary to make that happen. You might remember that Paul whined about his thorn in the flesh – we, religious zealots, turn that thorn into a variety of things. I happen to think that thorn was anger, just like mine. God's response to Paul, was that His grace was sufficient. Translation, I have given you everything you need to be free. 

Alright, here comes the deep wisdom. An alcoholic, or an angry man, has to realize that while they walk this earth (before the rapture) they are dependent upon God's grace and the investment that we have made in our relationship with Christ. What is that investment, since we have nothing to give but our lives? It is exactly that, we, knowing that we are incapable of managing our own lives, turn them over – daily, to the grace and mercy of the living God, Christ Jesus. In doing this (I got this from a television show I watch,) have to make a conscious decision to choose wisdom. Is what I am contemplating worth the pain and harm I am going to do myself and those around me? I, like so many others, have been choosing wisely. Note: I am not asking your opinion, but God's. His opinion is written in His Word. You should consider reading it if you aren't already.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith. 1Timothy 6:11 -12.

 Most translations entitle this next section

“Fight the Good Fight of Faith.”

But look at what the NASB translation says in 1 Timothy 6:11a.

“But flee from these things, you man of God.”

You would think that the editors would have something associated with their opening title and grabbed our attention right away.

What do we get, flee, but from what?

Obviously from sin, but it also includes the things that Paul described at the beginning of this chapter. In a moment we will see that there is a call to fight, but it is NOT what you think.

By the way, flee and fight is two extremely different things. In general, we perceive those who flee to be fearful, and fear doesn't do anything but demonstrate a lack of faith.

The majority of translations use the term flee. Flee is the Greek word pheugō which means to run away or escape.

The dictionary explanation of flee is this, “To run with rapidity, as from danger; to attempt to escape.” That same dictionary tells us that to fight is to “To strive or contend for victory, in battle or in single combat; to attempt to defeat, subdue or destroy an enemy.”

The CEV calls these things that Timothy is to escape from evil. Here is a recap of what we have seen in chapter six that falls under the category of evil.

• Preaching a gospel that is different than anything Paul taught.
• Disrespect for those to whom you are submitted.
• Things that bring about strife, evil language, and controversial questions.
• Constant friction between people who are deprived of truth.

These last two items played a role in conversations I had over the Christmas Holiday season of 2020. My son-in-law had referenced a previous Pastor as a friend of mine. So, I took the opportunity to point out that this former Pastor and I were nowhere close to being friends.

[This is the Pastor who took me to lunch in a very public restaurant and then proceeded to humiliate me, first, by telling me that I could not teach “that,” considering that he had already asked me to lead a chapter at the book study on discipline that night. I had shown him my prepared notes for the meeting. And he immediately assumed that I intended to cover every word put on those pages. He was not interested in hearing any explanation. Secondly, after several minutes of frustration, he asked me why I teach Eschatology. Odd, seeing as he has never heard me teaching Eschatology, nor had he given me an opportunity. I began to answer him with a standard line; Eschatology is pertinent because it is happening worldwide. That was about all I got out of my mouth when it turned derogatory and abusive. I quickly stopped him and said, is that what you think of me? To which he replied, yes. I ended our session there.]

That former Pastor has moved on in an effort to repair some damage he previously created, and I could care less if I ever saw him again. I talked to my son-in-law about what the Bible says about forgiveness and how we are to follow Jesus’ words, found in scripture, for direction on running our daily lives.

At least I had my son-in-law’s attention for a few minutes. When I stopped talking, he immediately dove into talking about the stolen Presidential election and Joe Biden’s flaws. Honestly, I do not think that the son-in-law is willing to grasp anything from scripture unless it creates strife, controversy, or scares him away from hell.

End, page one.

Note the translation as this one is less a fearful escape and more of a responsible migration away from the snare that Satan is setting for you.

1 Timothy 6:11 CEV Timothy, you belong to God, so keep away from all these evil things. Try your best to please God and to be like him. Be faithful, loving, dependable, and gentle. [Contemporary English Version]

The (AMPLIFIED Bible) conveys the idea of running. However, if you spend any time in recovery, you will meet far too many people who unsuccessfully tried to run. You want to know what this equates to; it equates to people trying to do things apart from God.

Does God expect you to sit on your butt until you build up your running muscles? Hardly, and the sad part is that you know that God desires you to do something. The problem then becomes one in which we need to run to God, but we don’t do that either.

The (BBE) tells us, “But you, O man of God, keep yourself from these things, and go after righteousness.” If I were to describe what a life of trusting God while running from evil looks like, I would say that it looks like what we see here in The Bible In Basic English. We are living a life where we go after the things of righteousness.

Let me be clear; righteousness is NOT following religious rules. It is the perpetual act of following after Jesus and His Word. In short, if He says it, do it.

On that note, let’s look at the CEV once again. Halfway through the sentence, it says, “Try your best to please God and be like Him.” This is precisely what following after Jesus looks like.

Ah, now this is where the fighting begins.

1 Timothy 6:12 NASB Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Here we are instructed to fight the good fight of faith.

Fight is the Greek word agōnizomai and means to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary.)

The “good” is the Greek word kalos and means beautiful (figuratively), good (literally or morally).

The second usage of the word fight is different from the first that we find 1 Timothy 6:12. Here, fight is the Greek word agōn and means a place of assembly (as if led), that is, (by implication) a contest (held there); figuratively an effort or anxiety...

End, page two.

So what do we get if we place the alternate words into 1 Timothy 6:12?

We frequently struggle as if we are contending with an adversary, as we speak forth the Word from the Bible of from our spirits through the Holy Spirit, in our places of assembly. In these assemblies, we often exert an effort as though we were in a contest. (Me)

If we are struggling or exerting an effort, much like an athlete, the question is, why?

We all have an adversary, and occasionally that adversary convinces well-meaning people, who call themselves followers of Christ, when in reality they are actively following after Satan’s advice, to open their mouths and give him their tongues for the purpose of creating strife.

My Pastor, Jack Hibbs, talks openly, since the Covid shut down of churches, about how people have come so that they could attend an open church. The problem is, they have come, and they bring whatever beliefs they have learned from their collection of churches, with them; this would not be a problem if they kept those twisted beliefs to themselves, but several of these recent attendees have stood in opposition to the Pastor, challenging and intending to bring strife and contention.

When we do this, bring strife and contention, ignoring the witness of scripture, what then are we relying on as a witness for our ramblings? Nothing more than tradition and false teachings.

Content with what you have. 1Timothy 6:6-10

 This section is how I ended my last post on Timothy.

Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. (1 Timothy 6:2-5 TNIV)

Paul admonished Timothy to teach sound doctrine and insist on it; he then goes on to tell Timothy that if anyone teaches otherwise:

• They are conceited
• And they understand nothing.

Because we have been boiling in the hot water of liberalism for many years now, we, for the most part, will go into denial and defend someone teaching our elementary age school children about anal sex as a method of birth control. Sorry, that was a little rough, but we need to wake up and take action. Why do we have to get slapped in the face to wake up?

Paul goes on to say that these people, who have put themselves in opposition to sound doctrine, have an unhealthy interest in:

• “controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth.”

Just this evening, my son-in-law, who tells us that his relationship with Jesus is private, goes on a 45-minute rant about how evil the churches are because they closed their doors in response to California Governor Newsome's lockdown order. He went on to say he would have never closed the doors to the church. You want me to buy into that oration, especially since you make NO effort to get you, or your family, into church; and, there are opportunities. His arguments do not end there as he continues with his rants about masks and safety. He suggests that we could segregate the church by having all those who choose to wear masks to sit on one side, while the unmasked can sit on the other side. I said, you can't do that because the end result will be the two camps glaring at each other, thinking, how evil the other is; one for not caring, the other berating those with masks for acting in fear; all this helps to create turmoil within the church body. Paul says that people that cause this strife and friction have one goal financial gain. If you extend this twisted thought out to its end, do you think that your negative babbling will get you a teaching or pastoral position at the megachurch? Why, because you think the church is a source of financial gain. The son-in-law went on about how the pastors are getting rich. He referred to one I was recently involved with.

Alright then, let me just speak about the church I recently left. The most recent pastor was brought on as the new pastor by the pastor that was leaving, and he did so under the premise of bringing on a younger man that would carry on the work that the founding pastor began. As a church, we fed the poor and built homes in Tijuana on several occasions.

End, page one.

However, when this new pastor came, he effectively said, this church body is too old, and we need more people in the twenty to forty year age range. Obviously, irritating the majority is not a good way to start a relationship, but he did. He didn't show up driving a Mercedes Benz; he drove a beat-up Chevrolet van; and, for a time, had to live in people's homes and travel trailers.

Now, here is the oddity. My previous pastor owned a 2400 square foot home in New Orleans, not far from the small church he pastored before returning to Southern California. The community that he lived in was devastated by the floods brought on by the hurricane; however, his home was not destroyed. While the home was up for sale, and it took a while, a church member here in California, who owned several homes in a nearby affluent neighborhood, let the pastor rent one of those homes, for a meager price, until they could afford to buy another. Well, their New Orleans home sold for an excellent price, and the pastor eventually bought the home they were living in. The New Orleans home just about paid for the new one.

Would you say he was rich?

I wouldn't.

Did he come here to get rich off of us?

I don't think so, as it appears that he still wears the same jeans and shirts he showed up with.

Does it sound like I need to trash this pastor because he is trying to get rich off the church?

No, and not only that, I am quite sure that I would be judging the man, and therefore be subject to a judgment myself.

Is there an overabundance of greedy pastors destroying people's trust in the church?

Absolutely, but if this will cause you to lose sleep, then walk away from that church.

So my son-in-law's malicious talk, directed at ALL pastors and one I know a little something about, is clearly unfounded. All this sounds so negative, and it could be, but again Paul takes it to the next step.

1 Timothy 6:6 CEV And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have.

If I used the NASB, it could be perceived that the pursuit of Godliness is a means to financial gain, and it is NOT. As you can see, the CEV translation makes it quite clear that your life can be richer through Christ by making you content with what you have.

Read about Paul's take on this idea of getting rich off the church, as he went hungry on many occasions and had no permanent place to call home.

Keep something in mind if this challenges you.

1 Timothy 6:7-8 CEV We didn't bring anything into this world, and we won't take anything with us when we leave. (8) So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes.

We are warned that those who want to get rich CAN fall into many temptations, snares, and destruction. To put it plainly, Dr. J. Vernon McGee says, “Riches will not bring satisfaction.”

End, page two.

1 Timothy 6:9 NASB But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Eugene Peterson's Message tells us.

1 Timothy 6:9 MSG But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time.

As I read this, Benny Hinn comes to mind.

I will finish this off with the infamous, only because it is so frequently misquoted, by almost everyone, as a weapon to manipulate people and justify some's poverty, who are probably dealing with their inability to control their spending.

1 Timothy 6:10 NASB For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

There it is; it is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil.

Love seems like a simple word, but again, that is not the case here. The GK word is philarguria, which means – avarice, or the love of money. If you look up the word avarice in the dictionary, you find this:

Avarice means an inordinate desire of gaining and possessing wealth; covetousness; greediness or insatiable desire of gain.

An insatiable desire of and for gain. This is the kind of thing that drives people to murder.

The Cyclopedia tells us, “Avarice consists not merely in seeking after worldly wealth too eagerly, or by unjust means, but in loving it excessively, even though it be our own. Avarice is in its nature, sin, and, according to St. Paul, a kind of idolatry.” [Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.]

Considering what we have just spoken about, it is easier to understand how “some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

I want to close this out by retelling a story that Pastor Jack Hibbs shared with us one recent Sunday morning. He said, after the first service, a man came to him and said, I was raised in the church, been there all my life, and repented multiple times, as most of us did; but after hearing your sermon this morning, I am not sure I am a Christian. How can I know? Jack told us that he took a momentary look at the Bible in the man's hand, which looked unused, and said, You take that new Bible in your hand and read it, if it tells you to do something, then do it; that's how you follow Jesus; and it was Jesus who said, if you love me, you will follow me.

When it comes to money, you either use it wisely, or it uses you.

Keep yourself from sin and follow Jesus.

End, page three.

Give these instructions to the church. 1 Ti 5:7 through 16.

 When we finished 1 Timothy 5:6 we were given these instructions. Ignore the fact that it seems to speak only to widows because it does not.

But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives. NLT

Anyone, who is living purely for their own pleasure is spiritually dead.

Notice what Paul says in his letter to the church in Rome.

"The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.

But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

(And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.

And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."

(Romans 8:3-11 NLT)

Paul tells Timothy

Give orders to this effect, so that no evil may be said of anyone. 1 Timothy 5:7 BBE

Again, why would Paul have to say, the person “who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while they live”?

Verse 7, as you can see above, tells us that Paul does not want anyone to be able to speak evil of us. In the current environment in which we live, the liberals seem to have the leisure to make things up, but not necessarily. An example of this very thing came to me recently, from Pastor JD Farag. In his message entitled, “Godless Chatter - 1 Timothy 6:20-21 – November 1st, 2020.” Pastor JD spoke about the things we have shared on social media, and he spoke specifically about Presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, and how Christ died for them as well. Apparently, he has read some of our posts, and it caused him to cry, as he believes that many of us would have a difficult time leading anyone to Jesus based on how we have excoriated the Biden's.

I am aware of the repercussions of slanderous statements but sharing well-known evidence against persons who are actively pursuing illegal actions; and, even worse, live in unflinching denial of those facts, seems reasonable to me.

Does what I say mean that the father and son team should not be exposed?

Not if they are going to continue to boldly lie about their actions while calling the current President an evil man. If the Biden's repented of their actions and turned their lives over to Jesus Christ, I believe I could say, they are Christians; none of that, however, makes them safe. My goodness, we have to give the tree time to produce good fruit. Does that make sense to you?

Paul continues this focus on the widows until we reach verse 16.

1 Timothy 5:8 NLT But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

Television shows are frequently based on reality, and so the reality is that families have ignored caring for their relatives. If you have ever seen the movie, Christmas Vacation, with Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid, you might understand why you might want to deny care for some of your relatives. The NLT does not make it clear, as it appears that these relatives have denied the true faith; but that is not the case, as translations, such as the CEV, point out that it is us who have given up the faith, and are worse than someone who doesn't have faith in the Lord.

1 Timothy 5:9-10 CEV For a widow to be put on the list of widows, she must be at least sixty years old, and she must have been faithful in marriage. (10) She must also be well-known for doing all sorts of good things, such as raising children, giving food to strangers, welcoming God's people into her home, helping people in need, and always making herself useful.

Why are there stipulations, such as being at least sixty years old; faithful in marriage; having raised her children well, and faithful in taking care of strangers?

Because it shows faithfulness and a Godly attitude. Children raised by someone like this, would, because of their teaching, take care of their mother. Why even the strangers, because of her faithfulness, would then take care of this dear lady, as well. The bottom line, this was the closest thing there was to social security.

1 Timothy 5:11-15 CEV Don't put young widows on the list. They may later have a strong desire to get married. Then they will turn away from Christ (12) and become guilty of breaking their promise to him. (13) Besides, they will become lazy and get into the habit of going from house to house. Next, they will start gossiping and become busybodies, talking about things that are none of their business. (14) I would prefer that young widows get married, have children, and look after their families. Then the enemy won't have any reason to say insulting things about us. (15) Look what's already happened to some of the young widows! They have turned away to follow Satan.

To say, just because they get married, they will turn away from Christ, can apply to most of us men as well.

Does marriage make you lazy?

No, the laziness has to already be there; either that or one or the other has massive co-dependency issues.

Choosing to be a busybody and gossip, is a choice to get involved in things that are NONE of your business. See, these younger ladies can get remarried, have children, and be supported, in time, by family. Paul's underlying motivation is that the enemy has no accusation against you because it can turn some away to follow Satan.

1 Timothy 5:16 NLT If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.

Another example of this last verse came from the historian, William J. Federer, who spoke on “Socialism: The Real History, From Plato to the Present.” In his recent talk at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, he spoke about how that families and the church were the social systems of the day. Sadly, we turned that authority over to the government, which destroyed it and our freedom.

Rebuke not an Elder. 1 Timothy 5:1

 Let's start off this study into chapter five of 1 Timothy with a version I try to stay away from, the KJV.

1 Timothy 5:1 KJV Rebuke not an elder but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren;

The KJV version has an air of respect as it speaks of an elder. The presumed idea is that older citizens should be thought of as elders. We would assume that this means someone with wisdom and qualifications coming from a life lived by a moral standard.

While this seems like a valid concept, we need to do our homework and look up words and their meanings.

Elder is the Greek word presbuteros. The meanings range from someone who is older, a title of dignity, and one of the classes of members to which the chief priest and the scribes and the elders belonged.

With the Christian church coming on the scene the word elder was applied to those “who were committed the direction and government of individual churches.”

I have to read 1 Timothy 5:1 in light of the entirety of Paul's letter to Timothy. It was written to instruct a young man on how to be a good pastor and church leader. So, my perception of an elder, in regards to this letter, is to see this person as someone within this body of believers, who is, in all likelihood, carrying the responsibility of being a church elder.

Now let's look at another translation, one I use frequently.

1 Timothy 5:1 NASB Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers,

The NASB changed the terminology to simply read, an older man. While it would be appropriate to treat older people with respect, the change in language removes the idea that this person is an elder within the church. This, in my mind, ignores the context and ignores the Greek word presbuteros which speaks of a leadership position. Most of the translations refer to older men, almost as if they are excluding presbuteros and the context of church leadership.

Let's consider a couple more words: appeal and entreat.

Both of these examples is the Greek word parakaleō which Strong's tells me, means to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation): - beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ation), intreat, pray.

I have never heard the word hortation intentionally used before. Because it is unfamiliar to me I looked it up in Webster's dictionary. It means the act of exhorting or giving advice.

Thayer's definitions of the word entreat, simply say, to call to one's side.

What I do with this information?

First, let's address this from the standpoint of a person having to be rebuked, whether they are an elder or merely an older person.

What have they done to deserve such a sharp rebuke?

As we see from 2 Timothy that the potential for being in opposition, to the teachings Paul left for Timothy to preach, is one answer. In the church, we call those teachings church doctrine. These doctrines are the foundation on which we build.

And in this way, I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person's foundation, (Romans 15:20 NET.)

Build, Do you mean that we can make it higher, cover it in gold, and promote the worship of the temple over God?

No, for the only thing being built is the body of Christ, based upon Jesus' work on the cross; and, even then the building only takes place as people are drawn to the Word the God, the life we are living – in love, and they themselves become established in the hope we have.

If someone is holding another viewpoint about these doctrines (although I am not sure that is theologically possible,) is it necessary to go nuclear on them?

“The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NASB)

The definition of entreat, as we saw above, indicates that we are to call this person to our side. I think the obvious fact is that, in the process of trying to correct or straighten this person out, it is done with a heart of love. Now, the complete stranger; that person who will NOT listen to you, you might have to handle differently. I have frequently said, especially when dealing with the grandchildren, why can't they simply respond when I calmly said stop, but since you have refused to comply we have now come to harsh actions.

My most recent experience came when a brother-in-Christ attempted to give an emotionally charged word to the church body I was attending. This speech was a failure from the moment that he had to announce to the crowd that he was worthy of listening to; everything he must have pictured in his mind floated away in anger and frustration, and he was asked to return to his seat, primarily because his word was inappropriate. Since the brother refused to listen and comply he ended up being escorted out of the church that day. He has never come back.

Paul, in 1 Timothy instructs the young pastor in these things in order to prevent the teaching of strange doctrines.

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, (1 Timothy 1:3 NASB)

The word strange is the same as the Greek word used for doctrines. Thayer's Greek Definitions tells us that it can be seen as: to teach other doctrines; different doctrine; or, simply deviating from the established doctrine.

What do we have that confirms this?

Galatians 1:6-8 NASB

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!”

“To be accursed!” sounds rather serious, and is quite probably the impetus behind Paul's having to speak to Timothy about correcting a church leader.

If the church leader in question is a younger man, do you think Timothy has more freedom to speak aggressively?

I am not sure this is the answer, as it leans toward aggression.

“As we have said before, so I say again now if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:9 NASB)

Accursed is the Greek anathema and according to the Word Study Dictionary means given up, or devoted to destruction for God's sake; given up to the curse and destruction.

In 1 Corinthians 5, though Paul does not mention the man's name, clearly the man has committed egregious sins, which are spelled out in the Torah. I think it is obvious that multiple attempts to confront and curtail this man's activities have failed; and that is where Paul comes into the story, as he has decided it is time to turn this man over to Satan so that his flesh may be destroyed but not his spirit.

“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 5:5 NASB)

You would think that turning someone over to Satan would be the absolute end of them. If that were the case, then one could argue that judgment was put into our hands. I happen to think handing judgment off to us would be a foolish decision, as we, regardless of the cross, are still broken people and will be so until Christ collects us back to Himself, changed.

“all judgment has been given to the Son” (John 5:22b).

There is no doubt that the man's flesh dies in this story, but there is also no doubt that the man has the opportunity to be saved in the day of the Lord. I use the term opportunity because Paul suggests that he may be saved. That word may is rather open-ended and can be taken two ways; one is said with affirmation, but we don't exactly get that sense here. The other is an opportunity extended, and whether it is accepted or not is not known to us.

Consider these verses.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” (Jude 1:20-23 NASB)

“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make a request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. We know that no one who is born of God sins, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:16-18 NASB)

“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
(James 5:19-20 NASB)

One of the struggles I have with this subject of dealing with an elder is how entrenched they can be within the church, often to the degree that others will quickly come in agreement and side with this person to protect them. I watched it happen repeatedly on Monday mornings.

Previously, I told you that I had left just such a Bible Study. I left because I rarely learned anything while there (It was definitely more a relational gathering of men,) for as the speaker would begin, my heart would scream out, that is wrong and I would begin to search out scriptures that refuted the speakers topic, or his interpretation of what he was preaching that day. I think that addressing leaders like this is either a bravery issue, or it's a skillset; and I feel like I have neither.

I appreciate what Paul told Timothy to do when he said,

“Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. (14) Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. (15) Give your complete attention to these matters(NLT,) so that your progress will be evident to all. (16) Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” 1 Timothy 4:13-16 NASB

To simplify this I will turn it into bullet points.

• Give attention to the public reading of Scripture.
• Give attention: to exhortation and teaching.
• Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you.

So Paul is telling Timothy, no matter what, keep this information I have given you, alive.

Now if we are talking about an elder in the church, or we are talking about an older man, that has spent his life in the Word of God, you are NOT to crush the man's spirit as you address some error he may be spreading. (That is easier said than done.)

As we see from 2 Timothy, the potential for being in opposition, to the teachings Paul left for Timothy to preach, is one answer. Secondly, in the church, we call those teachings church doctrine. These doctrines are the foundation on which we build.

“The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NASB)

See, I have to look at this from a context point of view. In chapter four of this letter to Timothy, Paul addresses how some will leave the faith, but return with false teaching. These teachings might sound right, but they are not. Having spent some time in the faith movement, there was a push to get God to bring you monetary and physical gain. God is not interested in your gains, He is interested in your heart. So, is it possible that this was demonic teaching that crept in? Possibly.

We are not quite done.

Do not address an older man harshly but appeal to him as a father. Speak to younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters -- with complete purity. (1 Timothy 5:1-2 NET.)

Notice how this version says, appeal to him as a father. Hopefully, you had a great father-son relationship and can understand this. Additionally, it does speak to the pastor addressing younger men as brothers and, older women as mothers, whom you would probably, like mine, never cuss in front of. And lastly, even though the context of the message is to straighten out twisted and false teachings, your approach with younger women is with the same respect you would give a sister. Not necessarily a sibling, for many would confess that they don't treat their siblings well. Paul, in this translation, says your relationship is to be with complete purity.

The Hypocrisy of Liars, 1Timothy 4:1- 5.

 We closed out 1 Timothy chapter three with words meant to establish us and fill our hearts with faith. These words also define who Jesus is and give us words of strength and trust to share with others.

Why then, is there a need to open this fourth chapter of 1  Timothy by telling the young church leader - a young man that Paul treats as a son, that there will not only be those who turn away from what we believe, but they will work their way back into the church and start teaching in resistance to what Paul has taught?

A question such as this would only be valid if Timothy had not experienced demonic resistance such as this. Paul had already experienced this very thing, and, as we will see, the Spirit of God had spoken to him about the depravity and how those in the early church were not going to have to wait for two thousand years to experience this apostasy.

[As a side note, the mere usage of the term apostasy has many saying, Ah yes, that is the sign we were looking for. You need to know two things: 1. It is not your sign, and 2. We, those who thought we were sensible,  reading our bibles, could see that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 calls for a falling away of the church. The problem is that lying hypocrites got into the church and intentionally changed the meaning of the word apostasia to suit their momentary need. The Geneva Bible is one of the earliest translations, and they translated apostasia correctly and used the word a departing. That departing is the catching away of the church.] 

To make this report of Paul's even worse, the NLT, Paul calls them hypocrites that follow after deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

I told you one of the prime examples that we, as citizens, who enjoy a civil society, have to deal with is BLM inc. Founded by a Lesbian Marxist, BLM’s leadership consult with the dead for their daily direction. In doing this, they are following the teachings of demons.

But what if many of these people who have turned away from sound teachings are not so dramatic?

1 Timothy 4:1-5 ERV  The Spirit clearly says that in the last times, some will turn away from what we believe. They will obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons. (2) Those teachings come through people who tell lies and trick others. These evil people cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is like their conscience has been destroyed with a hot iron. (3) They say that it is wrong to marry. And they say that there are some foods that people must not eat. But God made these foods, and those who believe and who understand the truth can eat them with thanks. (4) Everything that God made is good. Nothing he made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to him. (5) Everything he created is made holy by what he has said and by prayer.

What was Paul trying to say when he said, "the Spirit expressly says."?

Many would say (if they were willing to be vulnerable) that they have no idea what it is like having the Spirit speak to them.

Since the Spirit is closely associated with wisdom, and we see wisdom spoken of in the Proverbs, then perhaps the voice of the Spirit sounds much like what we perceive as wisdom, which was way before the advent of fortune cookies. So we are talking about the voices that you comprehend to be in your head. Look at the words of Solomon, one of the wisest men on earth at the time.

“Wisdom calls aloud in the open air and raises her voice in the public places;” Proverbs 1:20 CJB

I happen to believe that the Holy Spirit frequently speaks to us, but because we are so attuned to the voices in our head, we think that thought or idea was our own and therefore dismiss the possibility that God could or would be talking to us.

We cannot get away from Paul - who, by his own admission, was an expert in the Old Testament. Therefore he must be referring to scriptures that will establish a viable witness for us. It’s either that or Paul, refers to the faith fathers, such as Abram, Moses, and Samuel, to name a few, to validate how God speaks to us.

2 Chronicles 15:2 does convey the idea that God is with you, along with His voice, but it does not explain how Paul could say that “the Spirit expressly says.”

“...the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, craving Him as your soul's first necessity], He will be found by you;...” (2 Chronicles 15:2b AMP)

And, this verse opens the door of explanation as to why He may not be talking to you, as you make NO effort to be with Him.

Unfortunately, 1 Timothy 4:1 is the only place we find the Greek word rhētōs used in scripture, so I cannot fall back on another scripture for my reference.

The word expressly, or explicitly is the Greek word rhētōs and means to express in words.

Webster’s dictionary defines the word explicitly as an adverb, which means to speak plainly, expressly, without duplicity, or disguise or reservation of meaning, not by inference or implication.

AVOW', is to declare openly, or simply to own.

Where else do we see this level of openness and honesty?

In God's conversations with Abram, where God would say, “as for Me,” God showed His character, as he declared openly, and He owned what He said by saying, He swore by Himself.

“Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron.” 1 Timothy 4:2 CJB

A fitting quote from Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

“'Speaking lies in hypocrisy.' The apostate will pretend to be very pious and very religious. I have come to be suspicious of this pious position taken by super-duper saints who claim to have something special. My friend, if you do have the truth, it will make you humble because the first thing you will find out is how little you know.”

Hypocrisy is the Greek word hupokrisis and means acting under a feigned part.

You might say, as some do, are you kidding me! You're telling me that these people were faking it the entire time. On a personal note, several of my grandchildren have a daddy who did all the appropriate, religious actions, tears and baptism included; however, every time I encounter a study like this, I think of him. It sure seems like what he did was just an act.

Paul, in verse two, speaks of “their conscience being seared.” If this were literal, nerve endings would be burned off, and scarring would have taken place. In the surgical arena, they use a device that simultaneously cuts and seals, but nerves inevitably become damaged in the process.

1 Timothy 4:3-5 NASB “men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (4) For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; (5) for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

The opportunity for people who come to the Lord, to become legalistic is an opportunity looking for a victim; this happens within the “faith movement.” Having been in the faith camp for several years, I would have fought with you, saying, NO, they are not because we only teach the Bible. To be honest, my first response is to say; Paul is talking about Jews. This assertion is probably valid as Paul, for many years, made his first stop in the synagogues, where he preached this gospel of Jesus Christ. The Jews, still to this day, abstain from certain foods; for example, they have no room for a pulled pork sandwich. Paul wrote about this very thing in his letter to the church in Rome.

As you read the passage, consider how your liberty could cause someone else to stumble. This life in Christ is not about living a legalistic life; it’s about consideration.

“I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food, your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because his eating is not from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:14-23 NASB)

The word destroy is the Greek word apollumi and has a wide range of meanings: to destroy fully, or lose. But also figuratively mar.

According to Webster’s dictionary, MAR is to injure by cutting off a part or to wound and make defective.

Do you see not only what the hypocrites can do, but what we, with our religious freedoms, can do to others?