Warnings of Apostacy (1 Timothy 4:1-5)

If you have your Bibles, hope that you do, if

you'll turn with me the first Timothy, First Timothy, chapter four.

This morning, as we return into our study, and Timothy,

you ever notice in your life? Your life is full

of warnings. Every day you receive a warning of some sort.

You wake up to the news and you get a

warning that the pollen count is high today from the

news anchor. You get a warning from the news that

gas prices are going up again. You get a warning

in your car that you're someone's in your blind spot.

You get a warning maybe from your child that day

may not have done very well on that exam that they.

Took last week.

Your boss warns you of a deadline that's coming. You

get a warning from your email that a bill is

coming due. Your face every day with an onslot of

different warnings from the warnings from the news, warnings from

your email, warnings from your car. You're bombarded with warnings

every day. Even yesterday, Chloe had a flat tire and

she has I have a little tyre inflator, and I

got a little tire inflator out and pumped up her tire,

and I noticed as I looked at it inflator. There's

a little yellow tag on the inflator and as a

look at it says warning, warning, warning, this device may

get hot upon you. Well, I thought, well, what's the

point of the device If it's going to get hot,

I can't touch it. There's warnings everywhere we face that,

do you know?

The Bible is full of warnings.

And as we come to First Timothy chapter four, we

see this morning Paul's warning to Timothy young pastor's pastoring

your church of Ephesus. There. You know, as we've been

walking through this study this over the last month or so,

last time we looked in this passage, we saw Paul

telling the church and struggling the church on how to live.

He says that Paul says he wrote the letter of

First Timothy that he might teach the church, or explain

the church on how they ought to behave how they

have lived their life. And only he tells them that

he also tells the church and only there's certain way

that you should live your life. But also the church

should be a pillar of truth. It should be a

place where truth is proclaimed. But only should be a

place that the church truth is proclaimed. But it also

should be a place that truth has lived out from

among its believers. So chapter three he explained how elders

should live their life. He explains how deacons should live

their life, and furthermore, he concludes the chapter explain how

church members should live their life. As he comes to

chapter four, now he now explains the contrue. The contrary is,

there are those who are not living the gospel. There

are those who are not living out the truth. And

today he wants them to understand a warning about apostates.

You know, if you think about the little warning that

you receive from your car, from the news, from your email.

Every warning wants you to know something right. It wants

you to recognize something, to be alert of something that

might happen. It wants you to know that a paul

encount is high. It wants you to know that your

tire is low. It wants to know you to know

that that bill is due this morning. Paul wants Timothy

to know about apostas apostasy. Now, what is apostasy? Michael

Fink is that a scholar he writes in a book

called The Holeman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, and he defines apostacy

as this the act of rebelling against forsaking, abandoning, or

falling away from what one from what one has believed,

the idea of pul For Paul, Paul understands that, and.

He wants a church to understand that He's going to encounter.

People who fall away from the truth, who fall away

from the Gospel, who fall away from the truth that

the church proclaims, falls away from faith. He's going to

encounter these Timothy the church, and Paul wants them to

know some things about apostasy. So this morning, as we

come to God's Word together, understand this was not only

a word for Timothy. This is a word for us

as a church that the Bible wants us to warn

and wants to warn us about apostasy. There's things that

Scripture wants us to know about apostasy. It also wants

us to know some things about false teaching and false teachers.

So this morning, let's understand what God's word how it

warns us about apostusity. Would you stand with me, Let's

read together God's word. If first Timothy chapter four, starting

in verse one.

Then we'll read through just verse five.

The Bible says, now the spirit expressly says that in

the lighter times, some will depart from the faith by

devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and the teaching of demons,

the neincesty of liars. Those who conscience are seared, who

forbidden marriage are a require absence. For food that God

created be received with thanksgiving and by those who believe

and know the truth. For everything created by God is good,

and nothing is to be rejected if it's received with thanksgiving,

for if it's made holy by the word.

Of God and prayer. Just pray together.

Father, we thank you Lord for Lord bringing us in

this place today. God, we thank you Lord for already

what we've seen, the testimony of five believers today declaring

their faith in You.

God. We give you praise for that. Lord.

We see you're already at work in this service. And God,

we pray as we continue and worship through the through

understanding your word. Lord, I pray that your spirit, as

it's moved already, may it move in us now.

Lord.

May you feel me as your your speaker, just as

you feeled young Samuel when God called him to speak

your word. Lord, I pray you would fill me with

your spirit, with your word and Lord, what I would

declare would not be my words, and that would be

my thoughts.

It would be yours Lord.

Today I pray as we hear today, we would hear

Lord your spirit. We would hear your word, and Lord

I pray today we would respond Lord to your word. Lord,

you know I'm a broken man. Lord, it's desperately need

of you today. So Lord, I pray, fill me, pour

me out, or may you use me now, Lord as

your instrument in your name, we pray, Amen, you may

be seated.

So what to know?

This is a warning about apostacy. What does Paul, what

does God's Word want us to understand about apostacy? First,

know that apostacy is prophetic. Apostacy is prophetic. So this

idea that there will be those who will depart from

the faith, Paul wants us to understand very first that

this is prophetic. This is something that has been prophesied. Now,

if you look at the very beginning of this verse,

the verse starts, the chapter starts with a word.

Now.

Now the spirit expressly says the word. Now, there is

a conjunction. It actually could be used as another term

we would use is. However, what is Paul saying there,

why is that important? Why does that do I even

bring that up? Is because Paul has just explained and

that what we just saw. He told the church, now,

there is a way that you ought to live. There's

a way that you as a church, as uish church members,

as leaders, as deacons, but also the church body. There's

the way that you ought to behave as believers in

Jesus Christ, and your behavior should model truth and the

church should be the foundation. He used the term if

you go back with me in verse fifteen, if I delayed,

that I might know how one ought to behave in

the household of God, which.

Is the Church of the Living God.

And hear how he describes a church a pillar and

buttress of the truth. He says, listen, the church should

be a pillar of the truth, and only the church

should be a pillar of truth that stands for truth.

But your ash church members ought to live in light

of that truth. Now, he says, however, there are those

who don't stand for truth.

However, there are those.

Who not only don't stand for truth, there are those

who don't live for truth. And now he's contrasting what

you should be as a church, and he's contrasting that

with apostates who've turned away from that truth. He've turned

away from the truth that the churches stood for, the

truth that the Church has proclaimed. Now look at what

he says, he noly describes now, but now he explains something.

He explains that this is a prophecy. Paul wants them

to know that this was prophetic, that this was a prophecy. Now,

we've seen all times in scripture, there's all kinds of

prophecies about becoming of Messiah, becoming of Christ. We've seen

prophecies fulfilled. Now Paul points out that there's a prophecy,

and there's a prophecy that declared that there would be

those who depart from faith. And now look at the

passage now and the Spirit expressly says, in latter times,

some listen to this will depart from the faith. I

think it's important as you look at this prophecy, who's

the source of prophecy?

Was it Joel?

Was it one of the prophets of the Old Testament. No,

Paul declares that the one who prophesied about the apostacy

is the Holy Spirit.

Says this spirit, that is the Holy Spirit.

He says, the Holy Spirit has prophesied there would be

those who would depart from the faith. Now there's that

term apostsey that I defined earlier. It comes to Greek,

there is APOSTI say, it actually is where we get

the word apostasee. It's it's used from the language of

departing from the faith.

You see that, that's the verb there.

It's used throughout scripture. In the New Testament, we see it.

There's not a lot of occurrences, but there's many, and

then there's general ideas from different places. In Acts twenty

one twenty one, Paul is actually accused of being apost apostate,

and he's accused of being apostate of Judaism. Paul was

once a Jew, and he's accused by the Jewish Pharisees

and leaders and Judaizers that he's leading people to abandon

the Law of Moses. So they say, Paul, you're leading

people to apostate. You're leading people to leave it apart

from Judaism. So he's accused of being apostate of Judaism.

And second Thessonians, Paul warns apostates of those who's who

are declaring that the second Coming of Christ has come already.

He said, some of you are turning away from truth,

and that you're you're declaring that the second Coming in

Christ has come. And Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews, describes

and warns about apostates who departed from the faith. They

were in the church, and they were involved in church,

and they have turned away from Christianity, and they're turning

back to Judaism and their offering sacrifices for the forgiveness

of sin.

They're returning to Judaism.

And Paul warns in this past of scripture for these apostates.

He warned that they that they're no longer remained a

sacrifice for them in Christ, nor repentance was available for them.

Why because they've turned away from the faith and they've

turn to the works based salvation. In One Timothy chapter one,

verse twenty, we saw earlier he mentions two apostates, Hymenaeus

and Alexander, who described as departing from the faith. So

we see this idea of those who have departed from

the faith. But I want you to understand something about this.

And only does Paul.

Explain that these apostates, I think it's very clear it's

important to understand. For Paul, he he understands.

That these are not believers. And I want you to.

See this as the passive scripture First John. John the

Gospel writer, writes this at First John two eighteen. He said, children,

in the last hour, very similar language. We're going to

see in this passage, as you have heard, the Antichrist

is coming, and now many Antichrists have come. Antichrist, there

is a term of false teacher. He also describes maybe

a greater Antichrist to come. He says, therefore, we know

that in the last hour they went out from.

Us, but they were not of us.

Would they would have continued with us, but they went

out that it might be become plain that they are

not of us.

For Paul, it's.

Clear that these apostates who've departed the faith, who once

were seen as if they were seeking truth or not

truly believers, they have turned away. We think about the

parable of the soul, right, those who quickly flourish and grow,

but the enemy comes and what takes the seed and

departs with it, they're not true believers.

I think it's important to understand.

And only Paul says that this is a prophecy. He's

a prophecy from the Spirit. But he also says something

else I think is very important. In this verse, he says,

now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times

you heard of these You ever anybody ask you, are

we in the last days? You know? Right now, with

all kinds of things are happening in Israel and across

the world, and war with Iran, we in the last days? Well,

the answer very simply of that is yes, We're in

the last days?

Do you know?

The offet Joel prophesied about the last days, and in

the Prophecy of Joel of the Last Days, he declared

that in the last days the Holy Spirit would be

poured out in people, that there would be a great

movement of the Last days of the Holy Spirit being

poured out in people, and that people will come to

know the Lord of that and Acts chapter two, at Pentecosts,

Paul declared, when the Holy Spirit fell upon people on Pentecosts,

that that was the beginning of the Last Days.

So I understand this.

For Joel, last Days was a description of an outpouring

the Holy Spirit of.

People coming to Christ.

Paul understood, or Peter understood in Acts that that began

at Pentecost. Well, now for Paul and Timothy, he gives

another description of the last days. Joel said, in the

last days there will be an outpouring of spirit, Paul

says in Timothy, another characteristic of the last day is

there will be also a movement of those who depart

from the faith. So I think you understand if you

want to look at last days. Yes, we're in the

last days. It began at Pentecosts. And two characteristics of

the last days. There will be those who will come

to Christ, and there will also be those who turn

away from Christ. Actually, Paul would mention second Thessonians too

that in the end and the last days, it will

become an intense time of evil, of those seeking things

of evil and turning away.

You ever heard of Ted Turner? You know who Ted

Turner is.

Ted Turner was the one who built the franchise of

tn T and TBS television stations to if you ever

if you watch March Madness of the Last few Days

or the last few weeks and you saw those games

on TBS and T and T, that's Turner Broadcasting Network

or what I think that was the acronym, But that's

Ted Turner. He's the one that started those networks. He's

from Atlanta area. Did you know Ted Turner grew up

in a Christian home. He actually grew up in a

very devout Christian home. He actually tells an an article

came out by the Atlanta Constitution and that he grew up

in a Christian home. He actually Atlanta Journal and Constitution

was the newspaper that mentioned this.

Grew up a Christian home.

He even says the testimony he was saved six or

seven times. He believed he was so devoured at one

point that he really felt like maybe God was calling

him to be a missionary.

Ted's sister got very sick.

And he prayed and prayed and prayed that God would

heal her, and she died. From that moment on, Ted

Turner turned away from Christ. He said to in his

article to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. He said that

Jesus would probably be sick to his stomach at the

things that are happening in the church in Christianity.

He said.

In that article that he turned away from his faith,

and ever since his sister died, he turned away from

his faith. And he says he's never felt better. Ted

Turner an example of apostate who was in the church,

who tasted the things of the church, who tasted the truth,

who's evolved in those things and departed from the faith,

departed from Christ, and is living a life now apart

from Christ. I think there's probably not one of us

in this room that's not no A family member, a friend,

a neighbor, a classmate that we've seen, maybe grew up

in the church, involved in church, maybe liked Ted, profess faith,

maybe like Ted, went on missions and did different things

in the church, but they've turned away, they departed. I

think of a being a pastor, being in the ministry

as as many years as I have. I can think

of a lady that was in my church, young lady.

I married.

Her and her husband are active in our youth group.

She talked on the teenagers, the Young Ladies Bible Sunday

School class, very active there every Wednesday, every Sunday, every morning.

She went through a hard time in her marriage, her

marriage ended, and she walked away from the Lord. Today

she declares that she's agnostic, doesn't believe in faith at all.

I tell you, I don't know about you, but my

heart breaks for her. I think of a lot of

church members through my past, a lot of ones I've mentsed,

But it's those who walk away that haunt me the most.

And I bet you today for those who you've seen

who've walked away from the faith today, who've departed from

the faith, it is those who haunt you today today.

How do you pray for their return to the Lord?

How do you continue to exemplify what it means to

live for Christ?

For them? How do you continue.

Today for those that you love who've turned away, who departed?

How do you continue to call them back to Christ?

What to know about apostate A know apost to see

is prophetic. It's coming, whether we want to recognize it

or not, It's going to happen. May we continue to

pray for those who've departed. May we pray that they

return to Christ. May we continue to stand for truth?

What you see?

Second thing that Paul wants you and I to know

about apost to see this morning, Know that apost to

see is prophetic. No. Second that apostlecy is Apostates are deceived.

Look what it says now the Spirit expresses says in

latter time some will depart from the faith by listen

to what it says, by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits

and teaching of demons. If you continue with the verse

and you see here, you see this passage or this

part of the vers, it's ex explaining how they've fallen away. Now,

if you think about something for a moment, here, you

think about those who depart. They're not devoted. They have

turned away from the church. They've left the church. They've

left to truth. They departed from the faith, they departed

from Christ. This departure is the departure from faith. They've

departed from living like Christ or living for Christ. Their departure,

listen to this demonstrates their lack of devotion to truth, faith.

And to Christ. You see that.

So what Paul now shows if they're not devoted to Christ,

they're not devoted to truth, they're not devoted to faith.

What are they devoted to? And Paul shows what they're

devoted to. They're devoted to Scripture says, he uses that

actual term there devoting themselves.

What are they devoted to?

They're devoted to First, they're devoted to deception. They are deceived.

Apostates are deceived. They're devoted to this deception. Now, it's

very interesting how Paul describes this deception. They're devoting themselves

to deceitful spirits. It's really important for you to see this.

And I think many times we minimize the demonic, we

minimize the evil.

Spirits are in our world.

Paul says, we don't wrestle against flesh of blood, but

we wrestle against the evil and the principalities of this world.

Paul is using that same idea here and says what

they're devoted to is deceitful spirits. There is, for Paul,

in the last days an outpouring of the Holy Spirit

for those who will receive Christ and come to Christ.

In the same way, Paul says, there were evil spirits

that will be active in the last days, and their

activity is what to deceive people, to deceive church members,

to lead them astray, to lead them away from the faith. Actually,

in First Sessionians, chapter two, Paul talks about the man

of lawlessness. This is a scene as a false teacher.

This is maybe some would say that this is the

great Antichrist to come, but I think it's very important

as you look at this Antichrist or this false teacher.

In the end, he describes this the coming of lawless one,

is the one by the activity of Satan with all

power and false signs and wonders, with all wicked deception

for those who are perishing because they refuse to love

the truth and be saved. So here's the idea of

what Paul has saying, even in the last days, this

anti Christ to come, he is what. He's empowered by Satan.

He's empowered by this evil spirit that's giving him power

to what to deceive. And these who apostates, they're.

They're deceived, and they're they're.

Devoted to deception, deception of these evil spirits.

I think.

Secondly, I think you see the second part of the

devotion is they're devoted to deceitful spirits, but they're devoted.

To the teaching of demons, you understand.

For Paul, just to be as clearly as I can,

for Paul, all false teaching is demonic. I remember as

a kid back in the eighties and the nineties, there

was Wigi boards, you remember those, and you know you'd

hear these friends and there's a group of friends in

your in your school, and they would get these They

would come together and they would get these Wigi port

boards and they would play with them and do different

And I tell you, I never mess with those things.

I think Daddy told me one time, or Mama told.

Me the son listen to me, you don't play with

that stuff.

That's sort of stuff with Satan. That's and I tell

you this gear me to death. And I tell you

I would not touch those things.

I would not do anything with those I was afraid

of those, right And I didn't want to have you

anything to do with anybody. And my friends start talking

about we boys, I'm out see later. I don't know

if we can hang out anymore. I was afraid of

those because I saw that they were demonic.

I want you to understand that's the.

Same attitude Paul has a false teaching. It's demonic, it's

from Satan.

Hear me.

For Paul, Satan and his demons are the source behind

all false teaching. Just understand that for Paul, these are

these apostates, They're they're devoted to deception by these evil spirits,

and the source that these evil spirits are feeding these

apostates are demonic teachings that are false teaching, and we're

going to see an example Paul gives in a minute

of what false teaching their teaching. I think as you

think about false teaching, I said this a few weeks ago.

I just think it's important to be reminded when.

We think about false teaching.

Many times, if we're church goers or we're avid in church,

we think about false teaching, we initially immediately think about cults.

We think of Mormons, we have witnesses, we think of

just cults that are out there that we think immediately

false teaching there. But I also think you have to

understand false teaching in two forms.

There are those.

Who who are false teaching and that they want to

add to scripture.

Right, scripture is not enough.

It was corrupt through church history. Therefore we need another book,

the Book of Mormon, or we need more writings Jehovah witnesses.

But there's those who are false teachers and they teach

false teaching that adds to scripture.

Scripture needs more.

I'm a prophet, and God's going to declare to me

words that you need to have in addition to scripture.

That is false teaching. And many times when we think

of false teaching we think of only that, But you

have to understand there's false teaching those who want to

add to scripture.

But there's also faults teaching of those who want to subtract.

And that's those who say, you know what, I know,

the Bible said that back then, but that's not really

for today. And you know there's the Bible is full

of errors, and you can't trust this is truly God's words.

So you can't believe everything you said, or believe everything

you say. I mean, everything you says. There's things that

scripture we just have to subtract. And that's where we

really come to liberal theology who says the Bible is

full of errors and there's certain things that don't apply today,

like homosexuality and different all kinds of different things. That's

the Bible doesn't speak to those things. So think about

about that in two ways, two forms of false teaching,

those who add, but also those who take away. But

I want you to understand, for Paul, regardless of whether

it is whether it is those who want to add

or those who want to take away, the source of

it is demonic. Satan is behind it all. And I

think many times as I was thinking about this in

preparation for today. We really, if we're really honest, a

lot of times in the church, we really minimize Satan's activity.

He's really not that powerful, He's really not that at work.

Can I tell you if you read Paul's letters, it's

very clear for Paul that Satan was behind the attacks

of God's people. That Satan attacks marriages, Satan attacks through truth,

through false teaching. Satan was attacking his health, Satan was

attacking his all kinds of things.

So understand behind this.

Apostates they are it is prophetic, but they're deceived, and

they're deceived through the evil spirits of deception, but they're

deceived by.

The teachings of demons.

I read an article just this weekend about a man

named Samuel Bateman or if you ever heard of him.

Samuel Bateman is a was a self professed prophet. He

led a church as a f l d S Fundamental

Latter day Saints. He had a church and on the

West side of the United States. He declared himself to

be the successor of another prophet of the f LDS.

That prophet was a guy by the name of Warren Jeffs.

If you know anything about Warren Jeffs. In twenty twenty

one or twenty eleven, Warren Jeffs was arrested and convicted

of sexual assaulting under age followers. He had as many

as eighty spiritual wives, and many of those who were

under age. Samuel Bateman said after Jeffers went to jail,

he declared that he was Jeffers's successor and that he

was the next prophet ordained by God to lead the

Church of the FDLS, and he too had what twenty wives.

He was arrested in twenty twenty two for also committing

sexual acts to minors. If you think about this for

a minute, we hear things like this, and we say,

how you look in the news and you see things

like this, and you say, how can some how can

a church follow a man like that?

How can a how.

Can these these these people fall victims two men like this?

How can they follow this deception that they would think

he's a prophet? And the answer to us, as we

hear this today, is that they were to see, even

by evil spirits and the teaching of Jeffers and the

teaching of Bateman, although they stood up and declared that

they were prophets, sent by God. Listen today. The source

of their teaching was demonic. It may have been used

in the name of God. They may have tried to

use some scripture, but it was deceptive and it was

done by evil spirits. And their teaching is the teaching

of demons. And here's the thing for us is we

hear stories like that and we think, not me, not me,

not uh, not me. I would never fall for anything

like that. And the danger is, yes, you may not

fall for something like that, but you may feel fault

for another one of Satan's lives. It won't happen to me,

It won't happen to anybody in my family, won't happen

to our church.

Can I tell you today? Satan is active.

We are in the last days, and evil spirits are

continually to deceive. Paul even say, and then the latter

times things will go from what from bad to worse?

We must be on guard.

How you say, pastor, how do we get a guard?

How do we protect our families? How do we protect

our church? I think we do that, but we must

be reading our Bibles. We personally must be pillars are truth.

We personally need to be active in in Bible studies

examining what is true, so we can.

Just detect what is false.

We need to be active in reading our Bibles and

active in bibles to active in church, active growth groups.

And I think another thing that we need to do

is we need to active in putting false teaching away.

You know where false teaching is growing today? Social media, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram.

It's spreading like wildfire. How are you today recognizing there's

some things on. There's some things on TikTok I need

to stop or maybe I need to get rid of.

TikTok oh pastor it makes me laugh.

I don't care if it makes you laugh, if it

leads you away, you don't need it. There's things in

our life we need to remove. So not only we

need to seek and we need to grow in our

own walk with the Lord, growing truth, but there's things

that we also need to put away. Want to see

what do we know about apostacy? Apostacy is prophetic. I

want you know the apostates are deceived, but lastly know

that false teachers are liars. Paul turns his attention from

apostates to see what has led these apostates away and

in verse two through four. He kind of he describes

in five as well. He describes these false teachers who've

led these apostates astray, and he gives an example of

their apostasy. Now, I think is very important for us. See,

let's look real quickly. When he describes these false teachers,

he describes in the verse the end of verse two

or into through the sincerities of liars who conscious or sere.

First thing that he first way he describes these false

teachers describes them as insincere liars and sincerity of liars.

In the New American Standard, which is another translation of

the Bible, it describes it this way by the means

of hypocrisy of liars. The very simple understanding of this

is is they're simply these false teachers are simply.

Saying things about God's words that they're not true.

And not only they just simply are liars, they're spreading

lives about the Bible. They're spreading lies about God's word.

But secondly, they really don't believe it.

It's really just for show.

They're they're doing that to gain an audience, to get followers,

but they don't really believe what they teach their hypocrites.

They they're hypocritical liars. Another thing that he says about

these false teachers is they're conscious or seer. You ever

had a you ever gotten a steak and you want

to see it?

What do you do it? When you turn up the.

Pan really hot, you get as hot as you can,

and you put that steak on it, and that steak,

which once was real soft, when it sears that.

It's hardens it. Right.

That's actually the term that Paul's using in the Greek here.

He says, these false teachers their souls are hardened. That

means that they can commit sins, and commit active sins,

and they're not convicted anymore. They're not bothered by what

they're doing. They're not bothered how they're abandoning the truth

or abandoning the faith or abandoning Christ.

Their hardened, their conscious of theeared.

No one the Bible tells us that uh describes these

false teachers. That describes it. Their teaching. Their teaching is

built upon errors, lies about the Bible, but errors about

the Bible. This is what says in verse three. Here's

the things that these false teachers. In Paul's in Ephesus,

they were teaching, it says these false teachers again, false

teacher two forms.

You either add or subtract.

Right, the cult like Jeffers, they were adding things, right,

they're adding here. What is that they're adding. They're they're

forbidding marriage and requiring abstinence from food that were created

by God to receive. So these false teachers saying, hey,

you don't really need to get married. You don't need

to get married at all.

You don't have to do that.

And the second thing that they were for or were saying,

if you really want to be a man a woman

of God, you don't. Really, you don't have to get married.

But number two, you you could, you don't. There's foods

that you don't need to eat. And they were teaching

us spirituality based upon abstinence, abstinence from marriage, abstinence from food.

But what Paul explains here, I think is very quickly

as we look at here, Paul.

Is saying this is an error.

And then he he uses the their their teaching about

staining from foods.

He uses it. He doesn't do both, he just does one.

But he uses the food as an example of what

God really says about food. Look what he says in

verse three, he says, who forbid marriage and require absence

from food that God created to be received with thanksgiving.

Paul in turn says he responds to their faults teaching

to abstain from food. Two reasons why Paul declares that

food just be eaten. First, God created the food. God

created food to be received. We know the story of

Peter Wright seeing all the animals come down, all some

clean and unclean, and he says, what don't call anything

unclean that I have made? What clean? God created food?

He created all food to be received. So Paul says, listen,

they telling you you're gonna in order to be really spiritual,

really have a relationship with God, you should stay from

marriage and for food.

But I'm telling you God created food and God created.

It for you to be received. But secondly, it's to

be received through thanksgiving. What he says, And God created

food to be received by thanksgiving by those who believe

and know the truth.

Look at verse four.

For everything was created by God is good.

God created it and he created it to be good.

He created to be received.

Listen to that part next part, and nothing's to be

rejected if received with thanksgiving. He says, if we as

believers receive food that God created, knowing God, you created it,

and the second part, as we receive it thanksgiving, you

have a blessing. As little kids, we even our kids

here at our academy, we teach them to pray over

their food. God is great, God is good. You know,

let us thank you for our food. Right, we're teaching

them at a very young to pray over their food.

Do you know every Jew growing up would pray over

every meal. It was also a foundational teaching of the

early Church that everyone would pray over their food. Even

in second century the Jews would teach they would forbid

Jews from receiving any meal without first giving thanks for

that food. So it was a common part of faith

was to thank God for food. And Paul was saying, listen,

you don't have to stand from food. God created it,

and you're giving God thanks for that.

And with those two things.

God bless us. He uses the term sanctifies or makes

the food hoiesus listening says verse four. For everything created

by God is good, and nothing's to be rejected if

it's received with things giving, for it's made holy by

what by.

The word of God.

The word of God is that God created it, and

the prayer is the prayer of thanksgiving. God makes it

holy so we can receive it because it's from Him,

you know. For Paul, there was example of false teaching.

It was here was an abstinence in scripture. There's all

kinds of different forms of false teaching, many different shapes.

It was abstinence, and First Timothy, it was the second

the belief in Second Testsonians or the Church and Tessonaika

that the Second Coming has come, that was a false teaching.

It was immorality in First Corinthians. What was Paul's response?

What was Paul's response to these the lies of the

false teachers. Paul's response, declare truth. This is what they're saying,

This is theirs, this is their lives, This is what

God's word says. As you and I think about today,

how do we respond to apostasy, how do we respond

to false teachers in our world today? More than ever,

it's important to declare what the Word of God says,

stand for truth, proclaim truth, and live out truth.

I really believe.

As we close and I asked Tanner to come, I

really believe. Paul followed the example of Jesus. You know,

in Revelation, Paul wrote a letter to churches, just like

I mean Paul. Jesus wrote a letter to churches just

like Paul wrote the letter to the church at Ephesus.

He wrote seven letters.

Jesus did to seven different churches, and in these seven

letters he would tell many times things that were doing good,

but also things that they needed to do better. In

one letter that Jesus wrote, he wrote to a church

called Thyra Tyrah. For thy Tyra, it was a church

of apostasy. In Thirotyr, there was a woman in the church.

She declared herself to be a prophetess, and she was

leading church members astray, to give themselves into sexual morality

and to eat food sacrifice to idols. Jesus wrote a

letter to the church, and he declared for her to repent,

to turn away from her sin. Not only did he

clear her to repent, but he called her followers to

repent of their sins. Listen what the Bible says. I

have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel,

who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing

my servants to practice sexual morality and to eat food.

Sacrifice to idols.

I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to

repent of her sexual reality. Behold, I will throw her

into a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with

her I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent

of their works.

What was Jesus' response is the same response of Paul.

He spoke truth, He stood for.

Truth, and he called those who've turned away to repent.

Ask you today, who do you know today that's turned away?

Who do you know that's departed from the faith. Maybe

today is the day that as we end this service

and have a time of invitation, you come to this altar.

Maybe you in your seat, you pray for those that

you know have departed. May you pray today that they

would know the truth. May you pray that they repent

and return to the Lord. Maybe you're here today, Maybe

it's you. Maybe there's a time that you just you've

walked away. I don't know what the circumstances, what.

This issue is.

But today listen, your God, your savior, your Lord loves you,

and he calls you to return. Would you return? I

love the words of Joel Joel chapter two, verse twelve,

even now declares the Lord, return to me with all

your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with mourning, and rend

your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord

your God, for he is gracious and mercy, slow to anger,

and abounding and step ask love, and he relents over disaster.

Can I tell you today that.

God is a forgiving God, and he calls us to

return to Him in the ways that we've departed.

Will you pray with me? Father?

I thank you Lord for your word today. I thank

you Lord for the power of your word.

God.

I thank you Lord that you send us warnings.

Lord. I know this is a hard message. Lord. I

know it breaks my heart. I know it breaks the

heart of your people.

When we see loved ones, we see friends, we see neighbors, coworkers, classmates,

depart from the faith.

Lord. Today we call them by a name and God,

we ask.

Lord that you would bring them back, Lord, that they

would repent from following the lives of the enemy, and

they would return back to your spirit Father and turn

back to you.

Lord.

We pray, Lord, if there's someone here today that has departed,

have turned from you, Lord, I pray there'd be those

today that would return to you, Lord, just as your

word says, and find that you are slow to anger

and abounding in stead fast life, Lord, that you want

to forgive and heal.

Or I pray, Lord, that'd be those who do that today.

Lord, I pray for those today never put their faith

in you for salvation.

Lord, Today would.

Be the day that they maybe they've been believing the

lies of the enemy. Today the day that they want

to put their faith in you for salvation.

Lord.

I pray, Lord, if that's Lord them today, I pray

there'd be those who put their faith and what you've

done for them on the cross, and they would admit

that they're a sinner. They believe that you came and

died on the cross, the Lord. They confess their need

for you today, and Lord, today may put may they

receive Lord's salvation in Lord you and what you've done

for them. Lord, we love you, We thank you Lord

for this word. In your name, we pray am