1 Timothy 4:1-5 - Apostates: Departed Before They Started
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
An apostate is one who has abandoned the faith that they once professed. We live in a world of many apostates. We see countless examples of those who seemed like legitimate believers but turned out to be fakes.
Joshua Harris is one such man who is a glaring example of this. He wrote the popular book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye which was published in 1997. It was a book with a good premise. It promoted sexual purity by teaching young believers to avoid traditional dating relationships and encouraged relational accountability. The book sold over 1 million copies.
However, in 2018 he came out disavowing his popular book, and the following year he divorced his wife of 21 years.
By 2019, he went on to claim that LGBTQ+ was something that he should have affirmed and also renounced his Christian faith. He attended a Vancouver Pride event that same year.
(https://www.christiantoday.com/article/after-u-turn-on-homosexuality-i-kissed-dating-goodbye-author-joshua-harris-joins-pride-parade/132977.htm)
The damages that apostates do to the faith are immense. Many who followed Harris throughout the purity movement have struggled with his downfall. Instead of focusing on his moral failings, they have gone so far as to deny the truth’s that were in the book such as saving sex for marriage.
When a leader is shown to be an apostate, much harm befalls the church. This speaks of the need for extreme vetting in the church. We require elders to be a member for 3 years before ordaining them to eldership. We also pursue a plurality of elders so that there is accountability. But despite all of the practical steps that we take, apostates will always be among those in the church.
The following anonymous quote comes to mind in a situation like this:
It has been said in the past that we should not let our charisma take us further than our character can sustain us.
We must beware of those who are incredibly gifted but lack the spiritual maturity and depth to handle their roles. Some people may seem more mature than they are because of their natural ability to speak convincingly and their gifted intellect.
We must understand the Scripture’s warnings and eagerly seek to maintain the purity of Christ’s church.
And we must understand that our faith must be in Christ alone and our trust in His Word as the ultimate authority. Men and women will fall and fail, but the Word of the Lord remains forever (1 Peter 1:25).
With all of this in mind, let’s dive into our a Scripture for today:
Read Full Scripture:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Prayer
As we consider apostates, we see three things that are true about them. First…
Apostates Will Depart From the Faith (1)
Apostates Will Depart From the Faith (1)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Paul asserts that the Spirit expressly says. Who is the Spirit mentioned here? This is the Spirit of God which likely refers to the entire Trinity with an emphasis on the Holy Spirit as it has been the Holy Spirit that wrote the Scriptures through the pens of men (2 Peter 1:20-21).
And the Spirit says that in the later times some will depart from the faith.
These later times refer to the times after the resurrection of Christ and before His return. We are living in these times today. Paul is writing during the later times already as he writes this letter. He is using this futuristic language to express the issues at hand. This is commonly seen in prophecy.
During these later times some will depart from the faith. What does it mean that some will depart from the faith? Does this mean that they were saved and now are not saved?
The Scriptures are clear that those who are truly saved are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old has gone and the new has come. No one can pluck them out of Christ's hand (John 10:28). They are born again (John 3). They will persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13).
Brothers and sisters - we cannot save ourselves and we cannot maintain our salvation either. Although we must respond to His offer of salvation, the saving work is His alone. And although we certainly must heed the warning passages to persevere, it is God who preserves those who are His.
We are saved by grace, and we are held by grace.
However, the Bible does expressly warn us of those who appear like they are with us but are not of us. Listen to the Apostle John teach this in 1 John 2:19 as he clearly articulates this concept.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
There are many goats among the sheep. We see this even today. There are those who appear as if they are truly saved, but when trials or tribulations come, they quickly fall away. We also see some of those that appear as sheep who follow deceptive leaders. The Bible is clear that Jesus’s sheep hear His voice and follow. Goats follow anyone. Sheep only follow their Shepherd.
This does not mean that sheep will not be deceived at times. That can absolutely happen. However, true sheep will be corrected and rebuked by the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit and will follow the Good Shepherd – namely Christ. They will value what His Word says above man’s word and will stay on the narrow path of salvation.
Looking back at verse one we see what these departers devote themselves to:
1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
We can see that these apostates departed before they started. They were not true believers who followed Christ. They are being seen for what they truly are - sons of the devil. And they are devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons. We should note that deceitful spirits and demons are synonyms here referring to Satan and his evil demons.
It is very interesting that the Greek word for deceitful is actually planos (plon-ose) which is where we get our root word for planet. The concept is that these apostates have wandered from the orbit of truth. They are like space rocks roaming aimlessly to and fro throughout the universe.
We will see a few of the teachings of these demons in the following verses, but we know who is behind all of this false teaching and deceit. It is Satan and his demons.
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
They have fallen into the snare of the evil one.
Our first point has warned us that apostates will depart from the faith. Next we see that…
Scripture References: 1 Peter 1:25, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 10:28, John 3, Matthew 24:13, 1 John 2:19, 2 Timothy 2:26
Apostates Will Distort the Faith (2-3)
Apostates Will Distort the Faith (2-3)
through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
Paul now moves forward to discuss the leaders who are leading these departers of the faith. The departers are following false teachers who are insincere liars. In other words they are hypocrites. These false teachers teach one thing but do another. They are not who they pretend to be, and their teachings are not true.
Satan is a liar who never delivers on his promises. He always promises great things but delivers only pain and suffering.
We see men and women fall for Satan’s promises time and time again. He promises pleasure but delivers pain. He promises fulfillment but delivers emptiness. He promises happiness but delivers brokenness. Do not buy what he sales. The Bible calls him a liar and a murderer for a reason. And his followers are just the same. Listen to Jesus’s warning to the apostate religious leaders:
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan wants to do nothing but steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). I pray that you are able to see through his twisted teachings and false promises and not fall for his temptations.
Getting back to the last half of verse two we see that their…
1 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)
through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
We have discussed the conscience in some detail recently. The conscience is the courtroom of the mind. It is a God-given understanding of what is right and wrong. However, as we discussed before, if the conscience is not informed and sanctified through the gospel and by the Holy Spirit, one may have his or her conscience seared by the enemy.
To sear something is to burn it or char it. If we take some time to consider burns for a moment, there are three types of burns. In the medical world we refer to them as first degree, second degree, and third degree burns. First and second degree burns hurt because the nerve endings are still left intact. However, a third-degree burn feels leathery and is not painful. That is because all of the nerve endings of that area have been destroyed.
This is the concept that Paul is presenting. Those who have a seared conscience have a conscience that is burned to the third degree. There is no feeling anymore.
There is no understanding of right and wrong. What is right is being called wrong and what is wrong is being called right. And these individuals who are so far in sin are blinded by their father the devil.
In this state, they propagate and teach things that distort the faith and the truth. A couple of these false teachings that these liars taught are seen in verse 3:
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
These are only a couple of the many false teachings spewed out by false teachers. It is interesting that Paul refers to these two in particular. Both of these can be traced back to Genesis 1-2. Man is given marriage to enjoy and man is given food to eat and enjoy.
These false teachers were peddling something called asceticism.
This is a lifestyle that is characterized by abstinence from earthly pleasures in order to pursue spirituality. This is one of the most dangerous forms of false teachings because it appears as holy but is corrupt on the inside. The Apostle Paul warns against asceticism in the book of Colossians. Colossians 2:16-23 goes into great detail, and I would highly suggest you studying that section of Scripture on your own. However, Paul ends his teaching with this statement:
These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
We have seen multiple attempts at works-based asceticism over the history of the church. The first century had many in the Gnostic sects that taught asceticism and taught the human body and all of its functions were evil no matter what. They taught against marriage and against any forms of pleasure.
This way of thinking was moving into the early church as we look at Paul and John’s writings, and we see it blatantly in the monastery movement. Monks would live in harsh conditions and practically starve themselves to attempt to be more holy and gain favor with God.
Even in the past few decades we have seen this movement in what is often referred to as the Hebrew roots movement. Although it is not sinful to study and learn about Old Testament culture and Law, we must always remember that we are no longer under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14). Yet, many in this movement teach to refrain from certain foods that were forbidden under the law and admonish those who do not follow the Jewish festivals of the Old Testament.
These false teachings deny the truth of the Gospel. We are not saved by works or anything we do - we are saved by grace through faith. Beware of teachings that contradict the Scriptures. These may appear as wise teachings, but they are instead teachings of the devil wrapped in pretty paper.
Before moving forward, it is important to see the lie in abstaining from certain foods to earn favor with God. Jesus said the following:
And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
There are many writings from Paul that support this and are given in your handout (Romans 14:1-23, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, Colossians 2:16, Colossians 2:21) however, I think that Jesus is clear enough here to not need any further proof.
There is one caveat that we need to notice in this statement to maintain Scriptural balance.
1 Timothy 4:3 (ESV)
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
Paul is not teaching that we should show no restraint in what we eat. We are to care for our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Bible also clearly teaches that we are to avoid mind-altering substances and things that remove inhibitions and to live sober-mindedly (Titus 2:12, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8, Proverbs 20:1, Ephesians 5:18, Titus 2:3, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
So, the overarching teaching here is that we are free to partake in the things God has created so long as we can receive them with thanksgiving. We will get into this understanding more in our next point as well.
So far we have seen that apostates will depart from the faith and they will distort the faith. Lastly, we see that…
Scripture References: John 8:44, John 10:10, Genesis 1-2, Colossians 2:16-23, Romans 6:14, Mark 7:18, Paul’s Teachings on Food (Romans 14:1-23, 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, Colossians 2:16, Colossians 2:21), (Living sober-mindedly - Titus 2:12, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8, Proverbs 20:1, Ephesians 5:18, Titus 2:3, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Apostates Will Deny the Faith (4-5)
Apostates Will Deny the Faith (4-5)
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
Paul refers back to Genesis 1:31 where God proclaimed His creation good. Anything that man can partake in that can be received with thanksgiving and bring God glory can be enjoyed.
The late theologian John Stott gave us a good warning to heed in light of this passage:
“Notice carefully, however, what Paul writes. It is not that ‘everything is good’, but that everything created by God is good. This is an indispensable qualification, since not everything that exists has come unsullied from the Creator’s hand. For the creation was followed by the fall, which introduced evil into the world and spoiled much of God’s good creation.” - John Stott
This clarified understand rules out those things that do not bring God glory such as mind-altering substances including drugs and excessive alcohol. It also rules out things that are a direct harm on the body. Paul puts this into perspective in his first letter to the Corinthians church.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Everything we do needs to be for the glory of God. When we eat or drink and we give thanks - we glorify God for being our Provider and Sustainer. God is honored and glorified through our thanksgiving.
This past week during our midweek book study, we spent some time discussing thankfulness. We talked about how thankfulness is the key to contentment. We glorify God by being content and thankful for what He has given us.
If we either become discontent because we feel we deserve more or we are rejecting the gifts that He has given us - God is not glorified.
Moving on to verse 5…
for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Paul ends with an interesting statement. The gifts of God, whether food, drink, marriage, or anything else - are made holy by the Word of God and prayer.
This first refers to partaking in all good things according to God’s Word - namely the Scriptures which declare all foods clean as we already saw Jesus assert in the book of Mark as well as declaring marriage good which is a picture of Christ and His church in Ephesians 5:22-33. The Scriptures declare what is holy.
We also see that things are viewed as sanctified or holy because of prayers of thanksgiving. Jesus regularly blessed God before His meals and offered thanks (consider Mark 6:41, Mark 8:6, Mark 14:22-23, Luke 24:30). One such example is the Lord’s Supper:
Mark 14:22–23 (ESV)
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.
We can know that we are following the Lord and are in His will if we are partaking of His blessings according to the Scriptures and in thankful prayer.
One issue that we see all too present today, however, is a lack of thankfulness. This is especially seen in our affluent society that has so much that they should be thankful for. We have running water, climate-controlled homes, almost any type of food one could imagine, comfortable beds, countless entertainment choices, and so much more.
You would think that we would be the most thankful nation in the history of the world. Yet instead, we are the most entitled nation in the history of world. We do not glorify God by being entitled and unthankful.
I pray that we are different, church. In a world that denies and rejects the God who has blessed us with so much, may we be a thankful people. I pray that we thank Him regularly - in good times and in hard times. May we follow the will of God seen in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Scripture References: Genesis 1:31, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 5:22-23, [Jesus giving thanks at meals - Mark 6:41, Mark 8:6, Mark 14:22-23, Luke 24:30], 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Conclusion
As we come to a close, I want to end with a couple of really important warnings regarding apostates. We have seen that they depart from the faith and had departed before they started.
This conclusion of my sermon is going to be a little longer than normal, but I hope that your attention is locked in right now. This is an incredibly important topic to address.
There is no better example of departers from the faith today than by looking at the modern deconstruction movement.
For those of you who may not have heard of this new age movement, it is a dangerous movement that seeks to reinvent the faith by either adding to the Bible or taking away from it - sometimes going so far as to completely deny there is any truth in it.
Many of those propagating this godless movement are former leaders in evangelical Christianity. They have done great harm to young people that really looked up to them. People such as Joshua Harris that we mentioned earlier have completely abandoned the faith as well as singer Derek Webb, formerly with the band Caedmon’s Call, who talks about going in and out of Christianity and openly admits to being open to just about anything as he continues his deconstruction. Former D.C. Talk singer Kevin Max calls himself an ex-vangelical and is a promoter of progressive ideologies. Former pastors, such as Rob Bell, who deconstructed Christianity through theological revision have sought to reinvent the faith through so-called progressive theology.
We must be careful to avoid false teachers and apostates who depart from the faith. We know that they departed before they started. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing. In our world of evangelical stardom - of elevating so-called Christian singers and preachers, there will always be apostates in our midst. Some may balk with my public mention of this handful of names. I could list many, many others. However, these men have publically spoken on these issues and are outwardly preaching false gospels. These blasphemous statements have been spewed out publically for the world to see leading others to follow their wicked ways. Be discerning of who you listen to, who you read, and who you learn from.
We must protect our young people, especially, from the voices of these deconstructionists who promise that they have arrived at a new and better truth - a third way of sorts. They teach that this third way is not orthodox Biblical Christianity, but it doesn’t have to be atheism either. They deconstruct and rebuild theology in their own image.
John Cooper, from the Christian band Skillet, has made it a goal of his to personally “declare war” on the deconstruction movement. He claims there is nothing Christian about it and that “it is a false religion.”
I would certainly agree.
We also see that apostates will distort the faith. They will add to and take away from the Scriptures. We see this in so-called progressive Christianity where rainbow flags waive in front of the steeple - where inclusion of sin leads to exclusion of the Word of God and His commands.
And finally, we see that apostates will outrightly deny the faith. They will refuse to acknowledge Christ as the only way to God. They will seek to add to the Scriptures by adding manmade ways of reaching God and becoming more ‘spiritual.’
My friends, beware of apostates. Hold fast to the solid rock - namely Jesus Christ - by holding fast to His Word - namely the Bible. Everything else is sinking sand.
Remember, this is palm Sunday. This is the week before Resurrection Sunday. As Jesus traveled into Jerusalem many waived palm branches and celebrated His entry. Yet, most of these were departers and apostates. Within a matter of days, Jesus would be handed over to be crucified by many of these same people celebrating His arrival. May we be of those who stand firm and follow Christ with perseverance.