Sound Doctrine Versus the False Teachings of Legalism Read 1 Timothy 4:1–5 For everything God created is good. 1 Timothy 4:4 Paul didn’t identify the exact heresy he opposed in 1 Timothy, but false teaching has plagued the church for centuries. Irenaeus, a church father, wrote that leaders of one heresy “preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation of the human race. Some of those reckoned among them have also introduced abstinence from animal food, thus proving themselves ungrateful to God, who formed all things.” Marriage and food were also at issue in Ephesus. Having established key principles for congregational worship and church behavior, Paul returned to the problem of false teachers with which he opened this epistle (v. 1). From a larger spiritual perspective, the Holy Spirit has warned of false teachings, which originate with demons and lead people to apostasy. This is serious business! These kinds of false teachings are spread by “hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared” (v. 2). This means that their moral sensibilities have been desensitized or anesthetized against wrongdoing, as compared to the “good conscience” of 1 Timothy 1:5. They have no genuine understanding of righteousness or holiness. The false teachers in Ephesus taught against marriage and certain foods, reflecting a mix of legalism and gnosticism (v. 3). They apparently measured themselves by a standard of self-denial and asceticism that became pride and self-righteousness. Even worse, their teachings and actions denied the goodness of God’s material creation (v. 4; Gen. 1:31). Despite our fallenness and its consequences, His creation remains good because it is consecrated by the sanctifying gifts of prayer and the Word (v. 5). These blessings are to be enjoyed with thanksgivin With today’s passage as background, think of some aspect of the created world that you can enjoy today as a gift from God. You can treat these physical or material pleasures as part of your daily worship and as consecrated dimensions of your pilgrimage, knowing that ultimately these are manifestations of God’s love for us and examples of His grace.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 05:11:28 +0000
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