1 Timothy 4

The mystery of godliness has been revealed to us in Christ: The One is united to the many, and in Him we have life. Some have not found that message to be sufficiently engaging. They have returned to old spiritual habits that will only distract the church from those things that are of first importance. While this is disappointing, it should not be that surprising to us. Jesus warned us about this, and apparently so did the Apostle Paul as part of his training of Timothy for the important work that he is doing in Ephesus.

We live in that period of time after the resurrection age has been revealed in Christ but before all of the blessings of that coming time have been experienced and fully enjoyed by all of the many who are united to our great King. During this period, we are following the Word of God revealed to us by the apostles and prophets of the first century church. They warned the church (and we have the evidence of their warnings in the gospels and letters of the New Testament) that imposters would lead many down false pathways, and that some in the church would depart from the faith and be devoted to lies that are promoted by demonic hosts. What would these evil powers be peddling? Would they seek to lead everyone into witchcraft or into abuses against themselves and others around them? That is not the warning of this chapter. Paul says to his younger associate Timothy that some would push forms of false spiritual and clean-looking behavior that involve the denial of the Lord's good gifts of creation.

These false leaders would be forbidding marriage, and urging people to abstain from the good gifts of food and drink. While there is no doubt that all of creation can be used in evil ways, that does not somehow make the creation itself evil. Restrictive rules of outward denial may appear to be spiritual as some measure spirituality, but the truth is that a well-cooked and well-presented meal, for which people thank God, and which is eaten with joy is far more spiritual than a philosophy of living that seems to demean the goodness of what the Lord has made for our enjoyment and health.

It is of great importance that Timothy, and others he is training, not see this kind of radical Christian asceticism as just one of many alternative ways of living faithfully in this world for the King who gave Himself for us. This philosophy of holiness is rejected as empty and powerless. The church needs to pursue ways of true godliness, of real self-denial, of actual Christ-likeness, and not the cheap substitute of an old branch of Greek philosophy covered over with new Christian wrapping paper. Any “gift” of that kind of false and showy monkishness is not just an alternative of Christian living, but a strongly-rejected false substitute for real self-denial.

Real godliness is about living a life where creation is valued as a gift of God, where people are treated with appropriate dignity, and where sacrificial love is expressed as the true living out of your faith. This is what self-discipline is about as a Christian rather than the promotion of the practice of saying “no” to everything that normal people find enjoyable. Heavenly-mindedness is entirely consistent with an appropriate use and enjoyment earth's gifts that come to us from the hand of God, and should not be construed as some strange rejection of the good things of this world as too worldly. Our efforts should be expressed in our service to those in need, especially in the Lord's church, but overflowing from the family of God to the broader community of people who are still image-bearers of God, even if they reject the Christian faith. Our God is the Preserver of all of creation, and the Redeemer of all kinds of people throughout the world who have come to call upon His Name.

A good minister must teach these things. He must hold to the true spiritual life of godliness that flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus, but he must also protect the flock of God from habits of life that will only distract them from the matters of first importance. The way to do this is through the reading, teaching, and preaching of the Bible. This ministry of the Word is neglected by those who have come to see the pathway of holiness as something that they are free to come up with on their own, or through the traditions of their community of faith. As we look at all the varied faith groups who confess together their belief in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and who love the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation, we will quickly discover that all the branches of the Lord's church have their own traditions. What they share in common is the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. These books need to be the source of our unity in ministry and teaching. Our traditions will divide us, but the Word of God, reasonably interpreted within the bounds of our most ancient statements of faith such as the Apostles' Creed, will unite us as we grow in our understanding of the Lord and of the mystery of godliness.

This way of living in the Word is not only for the people in the churches where we serve, it is especially for those who minister to these beloved members of the Lord's body. As long as we live in this world, we never graduate from needing God's Word contained in the Scriptures. If they want to be kept by the Lord, and to make real progress in godliness, it is only right that ministers should be reading and obeying the Word for themselves before they ever would claim to teach anyone else. This should be a regular check on our teaching. Do we believe what we tell others to believe? Do we do those things that we tell others to do? If we do not, we must not presume to speak to others as the Lord's representatives, laying burdens on others that we ourselves throw off. Let us teach and preach the freedom and power of the cross, and hear that word ourselves, and let us walk in the joy and obedience that Christ has won for us by the power of the Holy Spirit.