Paul spoke yesterday about the truth of the gospel---the truth upon which the church was founded. Today he will encourage Timothy to stand firm against false doctrine and to instruct the church to reject false doctrine. We will take a look at legalism (works) versus faith, because not all doctrine appears false on the outside. In fact, the most dangerous doctrine is that which puts on a mask of being "ultra holy".
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." (1 Timothy 4:1-2) There is no specific verse of Scripture regarding this revelation of the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit still speaks to us and reveals things to us in our own times, so it's not surprising that He would have revealed to the apostles that as time goes on the spiritual condition of many will grow worse. Strictly speaking, ever since Christ ascended to the Father we have been living in the last days, and since Satan knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12), he is doing everything he can to pervert the glorious gospel of Christ in the time he has left. This is why Paul says that those who teach lies are doing the work of deceiving spirits and demons. Spiritual lies come straight from the devil himself---from the one the Lord Jesus called "the father of lies". (John 8:44)
Paul says that false doctrine is being taught by those "whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron". Have you ever used the wrong heat setting to iron a delicate fabric? It burned holes in the fabric, didn't it? It rendered the fabric useless. This is what Paul is saying about those whose consciences have been seared. Their consciences have holes in them, so that sin slips through without any resistance. Their consciences have been rendered useless, because when they sin nothing in them says, "Uh oh! You're making a mistake. This isn't the right way to go. I'm going to cause you to feel guilty and ashamed so you'll turn back." They've indulged in sin so much that they no longer feel guilt or shame. It doesn't bother them a bit to live in sin or to tell others that it's fine to live in sin.
False teaching doesn't always appear false on the surface. The most dangerous type of false teaching is that which looks "ultra holy". It's the type of teaching that says, "The more you deny yourselves, the holier you are." But under the surface this is nothing but legalism, nothing but an attempt to gain righteousness by works and not by faith, and nothing but pride. Why is pride at the heart of legalism? Because pride says, "I can do it on my own." This is the same as saying, "I don't need redemption. I don't need a Savior. I don't need someone who can make me right in the sight of a holy God. I can achieve holiness for myself." Paul warns Timothy that what appears to be sound doctrine is often a cloak for legalism. "They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." (1 Timothy 4:3-5)
This doesn't mean that a Jew or a Muslim, for example, who has converted to Christianity can't remain on the diet he was accustomed to following. It simply means he recognizes that his righteousness before God doesn't hinge on observing dietary laws. Righteousness before God hinges on faith in Christ. Righteousness has always been by faith, and we only have to look to Abraham for an example of this, for God imputed righteousness to him because of his faith and not because of his works. (Genesis 15:6) The law of Moses did not exist in Abraham's day; therefore Abraham could not follow the law. Yet God imputed righteousness to him anyway. This clearly shows us that righteousness has always been, and always will be, by faith. It's possible to observe the Mosaic law as best one can and not be right with God in the heart. It's possible to make a show of religion while having a heart that is far from God. A person can wear the proper clothes, say all the right things, bring the correct sacrifices and offerings, and abstain from certain foods, but God can still say of those who aren't close to Him at heart, "These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." (Isaiah 29:13)
Regarding marriage, the Bible doesn't teach us that we are "holier" if we live a celibate life. The first human beings God created were a married couple. He joined Adam and Eve together in marriage and blessed their union. The first public miracle Jesus ever performed was at a wedding, and His presence at a wedding gave His blessing on the institution of marriage. Marriage is holy in the sight of God. The Apostle Paul lived a celibate life, and he told people that if they had the gift of celibacy they would be better off not to get married due to the persecution that was currently taking place against the church (1 Corinthians 7:26), but he also said marriage is worthy of honor (Hebrews 13:4), and he also said that if a person is not cut out for celibacy then that person should marry (1 Corinthians 7:9). The other apostles and the brothers of the Lord Jesus were married. (1 Corinthians 9:5) So if being married makes us less holy, then the apostles and the Lord's brothers would have been disqualified as leaders of the church. If you don't have the ability or the desire to remain celibate (and most people don't, at least not while they are young) then by all means go ahead and marry! But make sure you marry someone who shares your faith, for we are not to be "unequally yoked". (2 Corinthians 6:14)
We have to be careful not to appear righteous on the outside while being unrighteous on the inside. The Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul both referred to such people as "whitewashed walls". (Matthew 23:27, Acts 23:3) It was customary to apply whitewash to the outside of the tombs of well-respected people, but what was inside those pretty white tombs? Decay and uncleanness. Maggots and the stench of decomposition. I know this is graphic and disgusting, but the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul intended it to be graphic and disgusting. We are disgusting when we think we can do and say all the right things while at heart we don't regard God as Lord. My husband and I are about to get ready for church. We're going to put on our church clothes and we're going to sit in a pew and we're going to look like everyone else there. But what if, in our hearts, we didn't regard God as Lord? We wouldn't be justified at all by our church attendance. We'd be whitewashed tombs. We'd look alive on the outside but we'd be dead on the inside.
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