Men Bible Study - 1 Timothy 4:2

Описание: Welcome again!

Thanks for joining, Here you can find the text I'm reading:

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1 Timothy 4:2, "Such teachings come from hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

Interesting points:
1. In this verse, Paul describes how many false teachers do not actually fully believe what they preach as demonstrated by their not subscribing themselves to the dangerous lies/untruths they propagate. There are two main points in this verse. The first is that these false teachers understand at some level that they are leading others astray from truth / righteousness (and will one day be held accountable). The second is that their conscience is numbed to their own sin.

2. Paul helps us understand the true character of the false teachers whose teachings he described in the previous verse as originating from “deceiving spirits and demons”. We better understand this harsh depiction when we realize that not only are these teachers aware of the Truth, as liars they do not speak of it. Instead they advance alternate ideology/teachings that divert their followers away from the Truth. Naturally, these teachers do not abide by their false constructs as they know better, becoming hypocrites even as they point others down the wrong path.

3. When our flesh has been seared – burned by extreme heat – not only is it scarred, it loses sensation. A conscience that is seared has become desensitized to the sin (of turning away from the Truth), but also indifferent to the trusting souls that he/she is pointing down the wrong path.

Application.
Brothers, if we can expect that the “later times” spoken of in the previous verse are that much closer to us than when Paul drafted his letter to Timothy, then wouldn’t it make sense that we would study the Word and help future generations do so for discernment as well?

Second Corinthians 10:5 reminds us, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” It is by deliberately studying, weighing, applying God’s Word to sift the words we hear/read or information we watch that we allow the Holy Spirit to give us the discernment between the truth and all manner of false teaching.

Lastly, let us be very wary when we identify teachings in direct or subtle deviation from God’s Word and/or notice hypocrisy from those who claim to speak the truth yet whose lives do not follow it.