“These Things Command and Teach” 1 Timothy 4:1-11

1 Timothy chapter 4. I have written down as the beginning sentence of my introduction the importance of words. You know, Pastor Ryan, as he taught the Sunday school this morning, he talked about Jonathan Edwards and preaching the sinners in the hands of an angry God. And I appreciated the comment about we don’t really know if it’s true, because I questioned it. I have always questioned. when it says that he tried to be as monotone and everything. I don’t know how you can read dangling over the spike with a spider web over the flames of hell. You know, how do you read that monotone without emotion or the song that we just sang?

You know. That Mr. Wayne Sutton, who leans forward just like Larry did and wants us to sing is see Mary weeping. I mean, you know, how can you and then read that and, you know, and hear that and see him and he goes for the emotion of the importance of words. And important enough, words are important enough that Jesus said it’s not, you know, or what’s really what really shows is in the heart of man is because of what what comes out the mouth. And how important words are good. and bad.

And when we come to first Timothy chapter four and this continuing of the apostle Paul giving wisdom words to this young preacher Timothy and we’re not going to get to verse 12 that says let no man despise your youth. He was the young boy and going into the ministry and given a big assignment. And then you got Paul the old guy and giving words of wisdom and what to do. This comes right after Paul gets out of prison. He’s going to come see them. And we pick up from this from this book, those important issues of what’s important in the first in the first century and for the perpetuity of the gospel, meaning the passing of the gospel from generation to generation. What’s important that we don’t forget in the local church?

And we’ve seen some very, very important and very practical things, he says in Chapter one, He makes mention of the fact of the teaching and the preaching of sound doctrine or of healthy doctrine. And that’s going to come up again, both today and, Lord willing, next week. Which shouldn’t be a big surprise. You got to have the gospel and important teaching of the word of God if it’s going to be important. You know, what did the apostles teach and the apostles doctrine? And we pass that on. Commit thou to faithful men who can preach that doctrine to others, and that’s how we get to the truth of God today. And so we have this importance of words and sound doctrine. We have chapter two, the idea of, well, how do you conduct yourself in the house of God? And he talks about that we, you know, the importance of prayer, the role of men and women in the service. And I’m not going to belabor that. We’ve seen that. preached through that we went through chapter three and it talks about qualifications of elders that term elder for our day and age.

That is the same elder bishop pastor. And we’re going to find out another word today minister although in our culture we use minister. I’m a minister of Jesus Christ. Most people think that is just for pastors but technically that’s for all of us. You included if you know Christ. But in the passage here, he’s going to use that word. We’ll see that in a minute. And so he gives those qualifications of pastors and of deacons. And that’s why we believe there’s only two offices in the local church, that of elder, pastor, overseer, deacons and deacons. Those are the two positions.

We sometimes in church constitutions throw in a third called trustees but we usually have a second sentence and the deacons shall act as the trustees because articles of incorporation kind of you know lawyers they like their special words and so we use that term trustee that’s not a Bible word but we equate those with deacons. And so the importance of words and the order of what he is wanting to go through here.

But in our passage today, he is going to talk about doctrine again. He’s going to talk about practice. And it’s interesting. The sermon today has two points. What does it mean to be a bad minister? And what does it mean to be a good minister? But he’s going to talk about that basically because of a particular word. that is probably the worst word that could ever be uttered in a Baptist church.

Now, I know, so we have some retired pastors and everything, and I know they know what this word is. And I’ve not shared with them. And I don’t know. And the words not in the text per se. It is in the buildup of the word of what this is about. But the nastiest word, the most vulgar word, the most powerful, ugly word in a Baptist church is the word change. People hate that. Oh, we’re going to change the color of the pews. I’m leaving this church. whatever, you know, we’re going to trim the trees. I can’t believe we’re going to we’re going to change the form of the church. We’re going to change the the the the the pulling into the the traffic flow into. Oh, we can’t. And there’ll be accidents and there’ll be this and the word change. We’re going to change and we’re going to do church first and Sunday school after. We can’t accept that kind of change.

Change is such a terrible word. But there’s one. area, that it does become a really wicked, vulgar, it’s a terrible word. And that’s if there is a change in doctrine. That leads to a word that appears within this particular passage of scripture, which should have the attention of anyone who teaches or preaches the word of God. You know, we can change in positions and we can and understand when we struggle over something. We heard this morning about George Whitfield, but then also John and Charles Wesley. Christian people, but they had some changes in doctrine and how embittered that they became. and what that can do. But there’s a word that would be true that no matter what the side that you’re on, on doctrines of grace or whatever, but this is the word apostasy. To change literally what you think about what you previously held and knew to be true, but you’ve changed your mind on. I am I would say that is one of the scariest things that I see going on within some contemporary Christian circles in denominations. Their change of knowing what the Bible says about maybe a lifestyle or say something about, you know, a particular teaching or so forth or what was a sin. But now it’s OK, really. That’s to apostatize. Now, to apostatize means to fall away, to depart from, to remove oneself from a position once held, to stray from it. And this was a thought that Paul had in mind. If you would, turn with me to 1 Timothy 1 and look at verse 1.

Well to read get read into it verse five and six. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart from a good conscience and from a sincere faith from which some having apostatized really that some having strayed from have turned aside to idle talk. not preaching God’s powerful, inerrant, sufficient word, but to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. So it’s to apostatize, it’s to change in a very, very negative way in that way. It was something in verse 19 he went on and he gave names to. A lot of people don’t like naming those who apostatize. Sometimes you have to do that to sound the warning.

Look at chapter 1 verse 18. This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you. that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, there’s that one, they’ve rejected, they’ve changed. They knew the truth, they had the truth, and then they’ve come to the point where they reject the truth. Some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered, and here’s the word, shipwrecked. of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander. And to show how important this all is. Whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. I’ll let him go to Satan. Church discipline, you know, just turn him over to Satan.

Now, some would just say that’s terribly hateful and everything. No, he offsets that, that they may learn not to blaspheme. The same purpose for church discipline. You do this to bring them back to the sense of reality. But if a person truly apostatizes, I don’t mean to lighten it up, but to add a little bit of lightness because of how bad it is. If a person refuses to come back, they’re in big trouble. They are in truly big trouble. So words become important and change becomes extremely important if it’s a change from truth to error.

Second Corinthian. I’m sorry. Second Chronicles in the Old Testament. Twenty five. Amaziah was one in Chapter 25, verses 14 through 27. We have time this morning to read that passage. But a couple of times that he had some some changes but unfortunately it wasn’t the true change of a heart. Judas saw a big change and God let Satan enter into him in the upper room at the end of that three year ministry. I mean, he went around, look at the change in Judas’s life as he apostatized. They let him carry the money and he changed. Demas in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10. I do want us to turn to this one because we are looking at both of these epistles pastoral epistles but in chapter 4 of 2nd Timothy and verse 10.

Well, you know, Paul’s wrapping things up, so let’s look at verse 9 and 10. It says, be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me. Having loved this present world, he has departed for Thessalonica. And then he goes on and mentions some others. Those that have had major changes and not changes for the good. And First Timothy, where he mentions those two guys as well and mentions those that have come to shipwreck. Change.

Well, in this passage of Scripture, in chapter four, after having gone through the qualifications of the elder, pastor, bishop, overseers, that group, those who lead the church. After he gives the qualifications of them and of elders, elders and of deacons, and then as he does writes about the purpose of the book. I write that you may know how to be how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar in the ground of truth. Chapter three, verse 15.

Now notice in verse chapter four, verse one. He introduces the next topic and the thing that he wants to talk about. And he does so very, very carefully. Notice what he says. Now, the spirit expressly, and that’s an interesting Greek word, it means explicitly. The spirit with ump. Now, he’s not saying that there’s more portions of Scripture or more things of the Spirit of God that are important than other things. I mean, all of scripture is inspired. The scripture is fully inspired to all of it and equally the same. But he just says this. This is a section that the spirit is given and you really need to pay attention to it.

Now, the spirit expressly or explicitly says that in the latter times, some will depart the faith. That’s apostasy. They’re gonna change. They were in the faith and they’re gonna depart the faith that they were in. Serious business. And he introduces that in this unique way that the Spirit expressly mentions this. Now, Paul does that a couple of times in this letter because the letter has a sense of urgency. It has a sense of importance that needs to be conveyed in this. Look back to chapter one, for example, and verse 15. He says this, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ came into the world to save sinners.

So he could have just said Christ came into the world to save sinners. That has a nice punch to it anyways. But he just says, you really need to listen to this. Jesus did this. This is kind of a Jewish thing where they like to get your attention first. And it might be something like this. Verily, verily, I say unto you. Okay, in the original Greek language, all that is, is amen, amen. And when a person says that, it’s like, oh, I gotta listen. I gotta grab a pen. You know, what is he about to say? I know of a young family in our church, I won’t embarrass them, but they have a child of challenge. How’s that? A child of challenge and has an extremely short attention span. And it’s sometimes to know if there’s connection between you and that child.

Now every family, I know who that is. Oh, is he gonna talk about me? And there’s several going on here. This is a good illustration. And you don’t know. And I have seen one parent just literally grab the face of the child and hold it, look into their eye, say their name, then talk to them.

Now, when they do that, what do they want? They want to make sure that they’re listening to what you’re going to say. That’s what the word means when it says there. It’s a faithful saying or in chapter four, verse one. when it says that a word about now the Spirit expressly says or explicitly says. It’s the same that is actually found in chapter three verse one. This is a faithful saying that if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.

Now again, it’s just Paul to the readers, not so much to Timothy, because I think Timothy was hanging on every word that Paul was writing. But to those that would read this and all the way down to this day, this is a faithful saying, oh, I want to know what a faithful saying is. What is it? Well, if a man wants to be a bishop or a pastor, that’s a good thing. Well, you know what? That’s also the beginning thesis statement of the rest of the well, the next eight, seven verses on the qualifications of a bishop. And so that’s how Paul was writing concerning all of these things. It’s not the only time he does it there. Even look at Chapter four and verse nine in our context of what we’re going to look at today. Verse nine. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.

Now, that’s what you call a slip in. Don’t only listen to what I must say, what I’m going to say. You need to accept it because it is true and it is real and necessary. Then in the in Chapter five of First Timothy, verse 18, Notice, this is like the epitome of it all. If you read, he’s going through several things. He’s talking about honoring elders. And it says, let the elders, verse 17, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially, especially those in word and doctrine. For the scripture says, now that time he doesn’t start off the whole section, because he’s, for the scripture says, and so he’s gonna quote scripture. You know, well, the Bible says now, if you hear me say something like that, you know, once I tell you what the Bible says, it’s not open for debate. You know, if you don’t like what I say that the Bible says and I just read the verse and quote it. Tough beans, you know, it’s you can hate my guts if you hate my guts because of what the word of God says, cool. You know, I’m good with that.

Now, if it’s my opinion and you hate me, you might have, although I don’t know. My opinions are always right now. Yeah. You know, but it’s it’s like, you know, if it’s my opinion, yeah, that’s open for debate. But but the Bible says, for God so loved the world. And if you don’t like that, I’m tough. One, he made it and you’re part of it. And I don’t know why on earth you would want to disagree with that. But the idea there. But the Bible says. And so that becomes truly, truly important.

So this passage that we have now in chapter four, that’s just showing you how he’s going to introduce it. But in chapter four, the spirit expressly says. Now, what does the spirit say? Well, it says the same thing that is also found in Acts chapter 20. Verses 29 through 22, and also in Second Peter, Chapter three, verse 23. The days are coming, and so are the scoffers. You know, we all think Jesus is coming pretty soon, and if we say that in public, they’ll say, well, where is the promise of his coming? And we just say, well, just because he hasn’t come yet doesn’t mean he’s not coming. It just means we’re closer to it. And that should be our response. But scoffers, they don’t, they think that we’re just brain fried and that’s it. We’re gonna find out in the passage that they’re the ones with brain fry. I even actually printed that, that’s on my notes, but we’ll get to it in a minute.

So this warning, the spirit expressly says, has been a warning given all the way back to Acts chapter 20, Things are getting worse and it’s going to be in the latter days. Now. While that concept is included in what it says there in the latter times, some will depart from the faith. It’s an interesting way. He doesn’t say the latter days. He says the latter times. The Greek word there is the word that would could be translated in the latter seasons. There can be a season and then it can come and then it can go and then it could come and then it can. You know there does seem to be times of hot and cold within church history. We heard about it this morning. I mean.

I was away on vacation and Pastor Ryan was teaching and he had read that book about or he suggested the book of Defenders of the West and I mentioned that I think even last week and I got that book. It’s on Hoopla and I listened to that book on the beach and I went through that book and that is a terrible book. This is gonna sound funny but you know the crusade day, those were bad. That it was a far worse than what I ever thought. And if you think today this is the worst the world has ever been. Yeah you need to do some more reading because that was just bad bad stuff bad bad bad bad. But then it was you know not long after that. And then you get the Puritan movement and then you get you know how things become bad Bloody Mary and then you get the Puritans and then you get them over here and then you get great revival and then you get the Wesleys and the Whitfields and then they can’t get along with each other. And yet God’s bringing a great revival and seasons and pockets of things good and bad that goes on. That’s really what he is going to say.

There’s coming time, Timothy, when there will be seasons like this. Well, like what? When there will be those who will change from the faith. And that gives us a basic principle. that within Christianity. Challenges and wickedness. What do I want to say? Departure from the truth come from two places. From without governments and things like that, especially back in those days when the government and the church were the same bad deal. And then but then also the other place of tremendous change comes from people within. the diatrophies, the New Testament’s full of it. People that come, Demas, Judas, these guys that come in, Hymenaeus and Alexander, people in the church that don’t get their own way, and then they create all kinds of problems, or they change the position they originally held, they apostatize, and it becomes very, very wicked.

So that’s kind of what now he is saying. This is what the spirit wants for our attention, This is what comes and it’ll come in seasons and it’ll be there and it will not be there. Now, with this, he then compares this. And what I’m going to do today is just quickly look at the two kinds of ministers and the service. And this comes from the text. Look at verse six. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister. And in verse 11, He then wraps up the section and yet it’s kind of a segue between the first 10 verses and the verses that follow these things that I’ve said and I’m about to say command and teach.

So we’re only going to Lord willing get to verse 11 and that one is just going to say look both ways and verse 6. It’s about instruct and this tells them what to do. But the bad ministers he discusses in the first five verses So to be a bad minister, and the word minister, there in verse six, you will be a good minister. That is actually the Greek word deacon. So may I just say, we’re looking at the guise of that pastors, elders should be good ministers also. It’s not limited to ministers or pastors. This is for everyone. But pastors are included in this. And that’s no doubt how Timothy would have read it.

Well, what does it say? And when we come to this, it’s going to address this issue of apostasy. Some will depart the faith. And this is what they’re going to do. They’re giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with Thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God in prayer. It almost sounds like he’s talking about this terrible thing of apostasy and everything else. And then he’s talking about, you know, praying and thanking God for your food. Like, how does all this tie together and what’s the meaning here? Well, let me divide it up in certain ways. If you look at the overall what he’s talking about, I think it’ll begin to make sense.

Number one, very clearly in this passage of scripture. He is talking about the certainty of apostasy. They will. There will be some. There will be seasons when some will depart, apostatize from the faith and they will fall away. And that that word was used even geographically. They’re going some other direction, not someone who was struggling to believe. But this is one who willfully abandons the biblical faith once professed. Abandoning the biblical faith of the apostles that was once delivered to the saints. The certainty of it all. Then he looks at the timing. It’s the latter times but not equal to the last days. It’s a seasons of time that come and go. The source of the apostasy then is where he goes. That they will give heed to deceiving spirits. They’ll start listening to other sources of authority. And those authorities are not God, but rather Satan. And that can come through Satan and the demons and their minions. When people wanna change the gospel because of what is politically correct, who cares what politics says about truth? I wanna know what’s the truth.

Now that’s just one area, but it can come from my opinion. Oh, and here comes a good one. But that’s not how I feel. I don’t want the Bible to say that there is a hell and that people go there. We had that series on hell a while ago, beginning of the summer. People have abandoned the doctrine of hell. To them, annihilation is better. So hell is just a euphemism of changing the doctrine of hell. That is from the pit of hell and it’s the doctrine given to you by demons. Because God’s truth says there is a hell and people outside of Christ go there to suffer.

Well that sounds so negative. It’s not said to be positive. It should be said to scare you into heaven. But you see, those are giving heed to deceiving. It’s not truthful. Deceiving spirits, demons, and the doctrine of demons. And that’s not, you know, if myself or Pastor Ryan wants to preach a series on demonology that we’re giving over and we’re apostatizing. It’s not talking about the doctrine on demons. It’s the doctrine given by demons. The doctrines that they would affirm. As he even said there, as deceiving spirits. And this is how it comes. Speaking lies, that would be non-truth. In hypocrisy, that is that they know what the truth is, but they continue. having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. That’s an interesting, that’s very expressive.

The term seared there means to cauterize. They’re doing a lot of surgeries and you can do them with laser and you cauterize as you cut. Because what the truth is, is if you have cellular damage, you’re supposed to bleed. But if you cauterize, you don’t get that right response. You burn the ends of the blood vessels so that they don’t let blood flow out. And this is people that have had their conscience closed up, as it were, with a hot iron. And then he gives two illustrations. It’s interesting, the two that he gives. Forbidding to marry and the commanding to abstain from foods which God, so it’s marriage and food. It’s interesting, a lot of people, of course we tend to read a lot in reform circles, and so they all jump on the Catholic Church on this one. You know, the forbidding of marrying of the priests, that’s a doctrine of demons. There’s a lot I could say there, but I’m not going to.

And then the other one is, is the forbidding of foods. Now, but it’s a season. You know, when I was growing up in Dayton, Ohio, in a Catholic community, of course, I looked forward to Fridays because that was the day to eat fish. I like fish, so no real problem on that. But what did the Bible say about that? As a hot dog or a good steak on Friday night at Outback, that’s a sin. But you see, it’s that kind of, but historically, it is considered a lot of things. Historically, you got the Essenes and the dualism, matter is bad and it can’t be good, Gnosticism, that somebody got hidden knowledge and now I know it’s true. It all boils down to, and I’m gonna wrap it up because the hour is just so fleeting. But let me put it this way. The doctrine of demons basically abstaining or flogging yourself Martin Luther before he was saved John and Charles Wesley and George Whitfield and they’re trying. They were all trying to gain righteousness apart from Christ. And may I just tell you that’s not the gospel.

The gospel is. I am a sinner. Completely. I need righteousness. I have none. There’s none righteous. No, not one. I need righteousness. I’m doomed. But God provides righteousness. In fact, the only righteousness that God accepts. And that’s the righteousness of his son, Jesus Christ. That’s why I must have Christ as my savior because he gives me his righteousness when I give him my sin. Go figure. Now that’s a savior. The great exchange. That’s the gospel.

And all of that is not accepted and is not wanted to be perpetuated by demons. You’re not that bad. Oh, you can work. You can give up those sins. You see, there’s a difference between giving up your sins. So that you can gain righteousness and giving up your sins, or at least to have a desire to give up your sins. because you’ve already been made righteous. And now those sins have lost their appeal. I have died to sin, Paul would write in Romans and other places.

So we’ve got the substance of this apostasy. They were forbidding marriage and the abstinence of food. It is the changing of the revelation of God’s concerning Christ, getting righteousness somewhere else. Now, if you want to be a bad minister, you go that way. But then he goes on and says, however, if, and so no doubt, Timothy’s ears have perked up. If you instruct the brethren in these things, well, what things? I’m about to tell you. You will be a minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith, the words of the true word of God. You’ll be nourished in the word of God and of the good, healthy, sound, the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

So in other words, it’s about faith and having good doctrine and that you’re living them and you’re following them. That’s gonna be a twofold key and we’re gonna get more into the instructions of what he wants for the Apostle Paul next week in the second half of this. But notice when he said, but reject. So a good minister, Oh, pays attention to the word of God, sound doctrine, living a godly life, and follow those things which are sound doctrine and the gospel. But there’s also, the flip side is, is a pastor’s gotta know what to reject. What do you reject? Reject profane and old wives’ fables. Reject silliness. It is silly to think you can live an ungodly life and still receive the eternal rewards of a righteous life. It just doesn’t add up. It’s an interesting phrase.

You know, I have taught the congregation that there are words in the Bible that are only found in the New Testament once. and then that’s it, and those are called a hapax legomenon. I came across a new thing, and I thought, oh man, I can’t wait to tell the congregation this, and this is that this phrase, to reject profane, old wives’ fables, that little phrase, old wives’ fables, that is a hapax phrase. That whole phrase is not found. anywhere else in the reject silliness, reject that which is just simply no good. In other words, have discernment. A good minister instructs the brethren with words of faith, with good doctrine, with warnings of error. Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 through 16. I wish we had time to read that, but it’s a that the apostle Paul wrote. to the church at Ephesus, he said, he talked about, I’m going to go ahead and read it. It’s too good to miss.

In Ephesians chapter four, where he talks about this, and this is what he says. And he gave some apostles and some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers. That’s who we’re talking about now. For the equipment of the saints, for the ministry of the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer, and this is why you do it, so that the congregation no longer be children tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men. The trickery of silliness. The trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. That’s old wives tales. But speaking the truth and love may grow up into all things in him who is the head, even Christ.

So we become disciplined, good examples. And he continues on when he says for bodily exercise profits a little. Now, for those of you that want to sleep in seven days a week, shame on you because you’re misapplying that verse. It doesn’t say it profits a little, therefore don’t do it. It says it does have profit a little. It’s good to be healthy. But how much more? It’s an a fortiori kind of an argument. But how much more? But godliness is really profitable for all things. You know, when a man is dying, I’m going to get that sermon by Jonathan Edwards. When a man is dying. And he says, you know, what do you what are you sorry for? I wish I wouldn’t have wasted so much life.

Well, you’re not. If you if you get some good healthiness, that’s good. But if you’re dying with godliness, all you’ve achieved, even though you might not be able to even to feed yourself. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. You may be able to bench press, and I don’t lift weights, so I’m not sure what a good bench press is, but you can get real high up into that. On your deathbed, that doesn’t mean much. But you walk face to face with Christ. Oh, now that baby counts. or as some would say, that dog will hunt, to know Christ that well. Because you have eternal life and the promise of that which is to come. And then notice, he does this, verse nine, and this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance. What? For to this end, we both labor and suffer reproach. because we trust in the living God. You see, Paul’s telling Timothy and all who minister in the name of Christ, some things count and living and serving Christ is what and where it all counts.

Now, the rest of that verse, I stopped because I think the thought can stop there. Wednesday night, I’ve been taking and looking at seems like every passage has something controversial in it. And I’m going to approach the rest of that verse this coming Wednesday night, because notice what it says. He said there, because we trust in the living God and this living God, who is the savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Now that has led people to doctrines of demons in saying God saves everyone. Well it says that he is the savior of all men. And may I just say yeah. And it also says especially of those who believe. How do you make sense of that. We’re going to talk about that Wednesday night.

But let me just kind of wrap this up. Paul writing to young Timothy. and saying, there’s gonna be pockets in time when there will be those who believe right, but then they will reject it all. You need an objective truth. Where is that found? It’s in the word of God. Preach Christ, preach the word. If anyone says anything else, let them be anathema. That’s why in the book of Galatians, he would say, if anyone preaches to you any other gospel, Well, if you didn’t catch it this time, he said, let them be accursed or anathema.

Let me say it again. If anyone preach you any other gospel, then that what you receive from us, even though they speak with the tongues of angels. Yeah, it’s angels, but they’re not good ones. They’re bad ones, fallen ones, demons. Let them be accursed. Why? Because the gospel is worth it. The church is worth it to have good ministers of Christ. and they should preach it with perseverance, because he says, verse 11, these things command and teach. The Puritan Baxter, John Baxter wrote, the purpose of a pastor is to, quote, screw the truth into the brains of believers. First Timothy chapter four and verse 11. Well, I’ve tried to do that today. I hope you don’t have a headache.

Let’s pray. Our Father in heaven, what a privilege to be in ministry, to be a minister. Father, may we be found faithful. May we be found watchful. May you keep us from apostatizing. Help us, Father, to know your truth. to commit to the truth and persevere in the truth until death separates us from our body. Thank you, Father, for the privilege in Jesus’ name.