1 Timothy 4:1-8

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.

If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time


It is sad but some will depart from the faith, from the truth, and devote themselves to the lies of deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons. Behind all false teaching is the work of demons bent on ruining the Christian’s walk. Those who depart will knowingly teach lies but their hypocrisy will not concern them because their conscience will be seared. Their false teaching will add burdens to the church by imposing rules as an unbiblical means of reaching godliness. Paul cites two examples, forbidding marriage and imposing bans on certain foods. Paul’s response is that everything that is made by God is good and we need not reject anything if we can receive it with thanksgiving to God. Certain acts might make us feel more godly, and others may think of us as more godly by our acts of piety, but if we are not living according to God’s word, then the result will not be true godliness.

The antidote to false teaching is to focus on the truth. Paul encourages Timothy to be grounded in the truth and to make sure that the church too is grounded in sound doctrine. Having nothing to do with these silly ideas like forbidding marriage and rules around eating. Instead, train yourself for godliness. We all know that to run a good race requires good training. We also know that dedication to studying equips us for an exam. While both of those hold value in this life, how much more value is training and dedication to godliness? What we invest in our training towards godliness has value in both this life and the next. When you look at the effort and time you spend each day, how much of it is dedicated to training in godliness? If your training in godliness is the only thing that has value for eternity, do your efforts reflect that?