 Today we're in 1st Timothy. We're gonna look at chapter four verses one through five as we continue our series in the book of 1st Timothy. And so what I'll do is I'll read to you verses one through five. We're gonna be looking at the subject of latter times and we'll see it especially in light of what Paul has to write here in chapter four of 1st Timothy. So let's begin reading 1st Timothy chapter four at verse one, we'll read to verse five and we'll get into our study. Paul writes, now the spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, 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 and prayer. Now as we've been going through 1st Timothy, we know that Paul has been writing to a young pastor by the name of Timothy who was dealing with some very pressing issues. One of the worst issues was the presence of false doctrine that had been introduced to the church by bad leaders. And so as we began reading and studying 1st Timothy, from the beginning of the letter, Paul had been addressing this concern. And as I've been pointing out, he already has stated certain things related to what these false teachers were presenting to the church. In chapter one, verse three, he had pointed out that they were introducing bad doctrine. In chapter one, verse six, he said that they were spouting worthless words instead of the truth of the gospel. And then again, in chapter one, verses seven through 11, he said that they have misunderstood the law of Moses as well as misunderstanding the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is such a severe concern for him that he actually names them. He actually mentions names. In chapter one, verse 20, he mentioned two of them, a man by the name of Hymenaeus, as well as another one by the name of Alexander, undoubtedly church leaders there in the church in Ephesus. It is necessary sometimes to mention names, he does it more than once. In 2nd Timothy, chapter two, verse 17, he mentions a man by the name of Phyletus. And in 2nd Timothy, chapter three, verse eight, he mentions the names of Janus and Jambres, two of the men who opposed Moses. He was very open to mentioning the names of those who were bringing bad doctrine or in history had done so in opposition to God. You see, he needed to name them because the church should know which teachings to avoid. And that's what teachers are supposed to do, not only teach the things that are especially true in terms of laying the foundations of truth, but also to expose error. And sometimes teachers even have the responsibility of mentioning by name those who are bringing error into the church. So the church should know who to avoid in order that they might not be corrupted by bad teaching. In 2nd Thessalonians, in chapter three, verses 14 and 15, Paul said, if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. So if you have a brother or sister in the Lord who's giving you bad doctrine and all, he said you're not to have association with him, not because he's a bad person in and of himself, but because his influence is bad and therefore you need to warn him concerning the things that he is saying. You don't treat him as an enemy, you warn him as a brother. But in Romans chapter 16, verses 17 and 18, Paul said, I urge you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people. So there is a rejection of false teaching that is necessary if you're gonna grow. So to deal with their ungodly influence, Paul actually began to outline, as we already saw, leadership qualifications. He said, remember in chapter three, verse two, when he was pointing out the pastor teacher, the elder, he said that the elder is to be able to teach. In other words, he's to divide the word correctly and he's to be able to communicate it clearly. Paul is making it clear that their error is not to be allowed to continue because it infects the church. And if they ignore the error, it ultimately will spread. It'll corrupt the purity of the body of Christ. It's been said, a lie repeated often enough eventually becomes the truth. And that's what happens when you're in a church service and the man is there opening up the word and you believe and you trust that he's teaching you the truth and sometimes error finds its way in and it can corrupt the purity of the church. And so Paul is concerned about this because false teachers are influencing and corrupting faith. And so as we've been going through first Timothy up to this point in chapter three, he concluded chapter three with what is called a creedal statement. A creedal statement is a system, a doctrine or a formula that outlines religious belief. A creedal statement is what is also called confessions or statements of faith. And so in verse 16, he had said in chapter three, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness and then he gave a creedal statement. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. And so he's giving a statement of faith. Now in the early history of the church, the church was under pressure by the unbelieving by the pagan world. Pagan intellectuals and pagan philosophers began to develop arguments against the gospel. And so the response to these arguments was the production of creeds. And the creeds were intended to establish what would be called biblical foundations. And so let me give you an example of two of the early creeds. And remember with me that the creeds or a creedal statement was supposed to encapsulate the essentials of the beliefs of Christians. So you have what is called the apostles creed. The apostles creed was first developed somewhere around 180 AD. The apostles creed is a very famous creed. As a matter of fact, I as an eight year old memorized this. So I've had this in my mind for a long time. And many of you also memorized this particular creed. The apostles creed. I believe in God, the Father almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from once he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. I was taught that as an eight year old. I believe in the holy Catholic church. The word Catholic in its original meaning is the universal church or the church worldwide. It wasn't speaking of a specific denomination. It was speaking of the universal church throughout the world. The apostles creed. And these are essentials. Later on in AD 325, there was another creed that became very famous. It's called the Nicene Creed. It was basically developed because there were those who were rising up in opposition to the Trinity. There was an individual who was saying that Jesus Christ was the first creation of God. And so the Nicene Creed was developed to speak concerning especially the essential reality of Jesus Christ being the second person of the Trinity, God in human flesh. And so the Nicene Creed around AD 325 says this, we believe in one God, the Father, the almighty maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day, he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life who proceeds from the Father with the Father and the Son. He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. These are called creeds. And Paul had just finished chapter three by giving what was called a creed. And Paul was writing that these were elements central to the Christian faith. And these are the kinds of things that the false teachers were denying then and to this day continue to deny. So when we get to chapter four, chapter four begins with Paul returning to the exhortation concerning false teachers. Their existence in infiltration was recognized as a primary sign of the last days. That's what he says in verse one, when he says the spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith. Now remember with me that when we were in Matthew's gospel, I pointed out that when Jesus was asked concerning the sign related to his coming, you find it again, Matthew 24. He had said, take heed that no one deceives you. So deception was from the lips of Christ and through the pen of the apostle is something that the church has been warned about as a primary sign that we're in the last days. And the fact is, is even during the time of the writing of 1 Timothy, there were those infiltrating, bringing in bad teaching. And so Paul is dealing with that. He says in verse one, the spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith. So he clearly states that God's spirit has revealed people will fall away. The spirit expressly says. So that gives us insight into the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. One other thing I want to point out, I want you to notice in verse one, how he says the spirit expressly says. You see, there are those today who teach that the Holy Spirit is simply power, kind of like electricity or wind. But the fact that people speak gives us evidence of there being a person. The Holy Spirit is a person and thus the Holy Spirit here is pointed to as one who says, he spoke. And so you see his personality revealed in the scriptures. In various times in the book of Acts, it's recorded that the spirit speaks. Remember with me Acts chapter eight verse 29, how in that passage it says, the spirit said to Philip, go near and overtake this chariot. Or in Acts chapter 10 verse 19, while Peter thought about the vision, the spirit said to him, behold three men are seeking you. Or in Acts 13 verse two, as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit directed, he spoke. It's the Holy Spirit who inspires the writers of scripture. In second Peter one, 20 and 21, it says this, above all, you must understand that no prophecy as scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And so he is the one who inspires. He's the one who directs. And in this instance, the spirit is inspiring a prophetic word about the end times. And notice what he's saying. He's saying, some will depart from the faith. Some people will voluntarily depart from the truth of the gospel. And he's saying that is inevitable. There will always be those who have what we call a temporary change of heart. They're there in a Bible study or a church service or a crusade or whatever. And they hear a message and they act as if there's something about that that causes them to say that they want to be born again. But it's a temporary change of heart that happens quite often. People who come forward at an invitation and you'll ask them for some basic information. You'll say, we want to follow up. We want to minister to you. And here's a sheet of paper that has a couple of questions so that if you don't mind we'll contact you and follow up. Oh yes, that's fine. And then they fill it out and they'll put in a wrong phone number or they put in the wrong address because they don't want people calling them. They don't want people writing to them. They don't trust people. And very often these are the same ones who later on just walk away. There's always been people who make a temporary change, a temporary change of heart that's not permanent. Jesus illustrated that. He did so in his parable of the soil and the seed. In Matthew 13 as well as Luke chapter eight Jesus gave a particular message. It was a parable called the parable of the soil and the seed. And in that parable it speaks of a sower who sows seed on four different kinds of soil. And Jesus speaks concerning the kinds of soil that the seed falls on. He speaks of the wayside. That's the hardened footpath that immediately rejects the seed. He speaks of the rocky soil which is the seed landing and immediately springing up but it withers because of no root and no water. He speaks about the seed that fell amongst the thorns. So the seed springs up but it's choked out. Jesus said by the cares, riches and pleasures of life. Then it falls on the good ground. And Jesus said it produces a wonderful crop. So there are always those who appear to embrace the gospel but do not remain. They don't abide in the things of the Lord. So if they walk away it's because they never committed themselves completely to the Lord. They've made a temporary change perhaps of mind but never a change of life because if they had been born again they'd have remained with him. Hebrews 314 says we've become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. So there are people who have temporary changes but they're not real changes at all. So he's speaking concerning the latter times. Again in verse one where people will depart he says from the faith. The latter times. The latter times refers to God's program with the church. The latter times began with Jesus's earthly ministry continues until his return. In Hebrews one verses one and two the writer said God who had various times and in various ways spoken time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by his son. So from the beginning of the church age to its end people will fall away. And this falling away will escalate in the days just preceding the return of Jesus Christ. He speaks in verse one in this way. Again notice he said some will depart from the faith. The word depart. There will be a deliberate rejection of biblical truth. There will be a deliberate rejection of Christian doctrine. He's saying people will follow deception that is propagated by demonic spirits who are the originators of all lies. In second Peter two one it says there were also false prophets among the people even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift destruction. This is a deliberate rejection of the truth. As mentioned when Jesus was asked what is the sign Jesus said deception. There's another word that is going to give us a clear glimpse of what the conditions will be in the last days. And that word will be denial. There'll be a denial. There'll be a denial that Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. Now that started very early in the history of the church but it continues to this day. There are those who will knock on your door. Call themselves Christians who deny that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Christodelfians, Oneness Pentecostals, the Unification Church, the Unity School of Christianity, groups like Dianetics, Islam all denied that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. All of them deny that. When you read first John chapter four verse three John said every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh is not of God. This is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. So one, there'll be a denial of Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Second, there's a denial of the value of a morally pure life. There will be those who will give you permission to continue in sin so that grace may abound. And Paul had been dealt, he had to deal with that in the Romans. What should we say? That we should continue in sin, that grace may abound and his answer was immediate. God forbid, God forbid how can we who have been set apart by Christ continue in sin? How can we continue in sin seeing that we've been set free by the grace of God would be his response. And there are people today who will stand up and say, you know what, all that matters is if you prayed this certain prayer and this and that. But problem is, is there basically teaching people that there is no need for you to walk in the spirit and obey the things of the Lord and they have made grace a blanket to continue in sin. There's a movement as I speak that you're all familiar with. There's a movement within quote unquote the church world to ordain homosexuals, to perform same sex marriages. There's a denial of a need to live a pure life. In Jude 17 and 18, it says it like this, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time who would walk after their own ungodly lust. And we have that today. There's a third denial and that's the need to study the word of God. There are many people today who think that Bible studies are boring and that we need something much more entertaining than just church as it is. We need something that is gonna appeal to us in a different level and all of that. But in 2 Timothy 4, 3, and 4, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. They shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned to fables. A denial from the need of the word of God. And then forth the denial that Jesus is returning which is interesting in that Jesus promised and the word of God promises that his return no less than 300 times. 300 times it's mentioned he's returning and yet people will deny that he's ever going to. In 2 Peter 3, verses 3 and 4, knowing this first that there shall come in the last day scoffers walking after their own lust and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. So the spirit of the age encourages unbelief as demons entice people to reject the truth. In verse one again, some will depart giving heed. The spirit of the age is so powerful that people voluntarily yield to its influence. And that's true. First time I ever went to Europe, it was 1975. I spent three months in Europe. And one of the places I visited was England, 1975. And England at that time was already moving downward in terms of its religious fervor. I've gone back since then more than once, teaching in churches and teaching in pastors conference. And I can tell you that England is post-Christian. I mean, we went on one occasion, we were in a building that was a, you know, well, as you went into the building, I didn't really notice it. And it had, you know, just plywood floors and all. And we sat down and we're having a cup of coffee with a pastor. And he says, you realize right now that you're in a sanctuary. And I said, what? He says, you're in a sanctuary. He said, this doesn't appear to be anymore, but this is once consecrated to the glory of God. This was a church. It's been turned into a coffee house. And I said, really? And he said, yes. He said, and he walks up to this panel, small, you know, three by three panel of plywood. And he lifts it up. And he says, look down here. And he lifted it up and I looked down and it was the pews. They had actually put the paneling over the pews of this church. So we were seated over the pews, drinking coffee in a church that was no longer quote unquote consecrated because it had been turned into a coffee shop. Then he began to point things out. We went by a dance, a place where they hold dances on Fridays and Saturdays. He said, you see that? Yeah, at that time it was disco. He said, that disco hall there? I said, yeah, that was a church. We went by other churches that had been turned into mosques and bookstores and you name it. So at one time England, and think about this for a moment with me, that England was the mission sending nation of the world. It was known for the missionaries that had been sent out. Some of the greatest men and women who ever served the Lord came out of England and then we go throughout the world. People like David Livingston, who went from England into the continent of Africa and lived his entire life. They're preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was mentioning just this last Wednesday how that he died there in Africa. And when he died, the Africans sent his body back to England but they removed his heart and buried it under a tree. And they told the British, you can have his body but his heart belongs to Africa. He was a great missionary who gave up his life to preach the gospel. He came out of England. And there were many who did that who went and they took very hazardous trips and they went throughout the world to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ. But now the nation of England, if you go is no longer anywhere near in any way, shape or form the nation that at one time was even 50 years ago. Because it's very quickly spiraled down, it's rejected its Christian roots and it's now basically given itself over to the spirit of this age. I don't know if you know this or not but the United States is the recipient of tremendous amounts of missionaries. That missionaries are coming from Korea and other foreign lands to the United States because they see the United States as a mission field, a lost nation. Did you know that? As many churches as we have in the United States, people from the foreign lands that we at one time were sending missionaries to evangelize are sending missionaries back to the United States to try and tell us once again about the glorious gospel that we've been ignoring as a nation. We are living in latter times. We are living in a time when people are departing voluntarily from the faith and they're giving heed. And that's what he says here, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. When he says giving heed, that simply means paying attention to or devoting oneself to or clinging to something. These are people who may understand some of the things of the gospel. They may even outwardly agree. I mean, if you tell somebody we need more love, they'll outwardly agree, yes we do. If you say we need more faith in this nation, we need to come back to faith. People will say, oh, you're right about that. But if you say we need to have faith in Christ, you're gonna have a problem. Because Americans today, when they're taking their various surveys and all, many will continue to mention that they have religion but they don't refer to themselves with a term like a Christian. What they say is they say we're spiritual. So they're open to spiritual things but they've rejected the gospel. They like certain things about the gospel. You can see that on talk shows amongst many people who will speak to you about those kinds of things and they'll say, oh, we need faith and we need love and we need, you know, kind. We need these things but we don't need the gospel. Well, he's saying the error originates with deceiving spirits, inspiring demonic doctrines. So the deceiving spirits are alluring, they're seducing people to wander away from truth and into error. The deception doesn't originate with liberal pastors, by the way, it doesn't originate with jaded university professors who like to argue about faith. The doctrines, he says, are demonic in origin but they are preached and embraced by men. And as he speaks concerning this, he goes on into verse two by saying, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Having the conscience is seared. But notice how he says this. It's not a result of a mistake. These are things that are knowingly taught and the people are bringing this, who are bringing this, he's saying, are hypocritical liars. He says, they appear righteous outwardly. They show a piety and outward holiness and that by the way is what is attractive to people. As they see these people who seem to live a life in another world in a different way of thinking. So they may walk by them in an airport with a saffron robe and we look at that robe and we say, boy, that's a symbol of somebody who's very holy or they may wear a certain kind of garb or wear their hair in a certain way. And we say they are definitely set apart because these are people who have religious outward appearances. They're in the time of Christ. There were people that were so outwardly religious that when Jesus said, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, well you basically have no chance. The men he was speaking to, the people he was speaking to at that time, they said, then who can be saved? Because when you looked at the outward religiosity of the people of his day, they were amazingly outward religious. Amazingly, they would stand on street corners and pray. They would give their gifts in an ostentatious way. They would fast and Jesus said they are seated in Moses' seat. They had this authority. Their scribes were intellectuals and scholars. The kind of people that were so well versed in what they believed that when Jesus came along, they couldn't listen to him. How does this man know letters and having never learned is one of the things they said about him? How does he know theology? See that he never went to one of our universities. He never attended one of our seminaries. He never was mentored by one of our rabbis. How does he know these things? How does he speak with such authority? Because when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, it was closed by them being amazed because he spoke with authority and not like one of the scribes. So Jesus had this amazing authority about him. He spoke things that caused people to wonder when the Pharisees on one occasion sent some of the officers to arrest him, the officers came back without him and they said, where is he? And their only response was no man has ever spoken like this man. There's no way that we can take this man. This man has got authority from God himself. Are you deceived too, has any of us believed in him? Was there only response? So Jesus Christ would speak during the day of his, as he was hearing and then the people would, they would see these religious people walking by and see that's the whole thing. I mean, even today, if somebody approaches you and they have a gravity about them, if they speak with eloquence, if they have an intellectuality, it can cause us to feel very intimidated. They must be sold out. I mean, they live in certain places in certain austere conditions and you can immediately embrace what they have to say. Well, look how hard they work and look at the things that they do and they must be real. They must be spiritual and that's basically what he's saying. They appear righteous outwardly. They show a piety. They have an outward holiness, but in reality, they're hypocrites. They're trying to gain the hearts of multitudes. In Matthew 23, verses 27 and 28, Jesus said it like this. He said, woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. So he speaks concerning this, speaking lies in hypocrisy, but notice having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. What an interesting phrase that is. Do you understand what that? Neither do I, let's just keep going. Having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. This refers to the practice of branding criminals and slaves on the forehead. They actually would brand them and you would know that this person was either a slave or a criminal. So the point he's making is they are unfeeling in what they are doing and they are literally slaves to their sin. He's saying their consciences are closed to conviction and they don't feel guilty for what they do. Their consciences are closed to conviction. Somebody knocks on your door or you encounter them at the store or somewhere. They approach you and they wanna hand you their literature and you begin to speak to them. You're well versed in scripture and you don't mind talking to them about their beliefs and they begin to present to you what they believe. And then you say, but wait a minute, what you just said doesn't line up with what Jesus said and you quote the scripture. And what do they do? They don't answer your question. What they do is they ask you another question, right? Have you ever had that? They will ask you another question. They don't answer your question. Well, the Bible says that Jesus is the first creation of God. And you say, no, wait a minute. No, in the beginning was the word. The word was with God, the word was God. The word became flesh dwelt amongst men. We beheld this glory. The glory of the only begotten Son of God. No, the scripture teaches that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Oh, well, what does it mean in John one verse one? You say to them and they say, well, you know, and then they give you another question. I've had that happen many times and many of you have too. How do I respond to that? Well, I will say this. I will say, they will ask a question. I'll say interesting question, but please, you need to answer the question I asked you first. What does this mean? Well, did you know, wait a minute. Let's not move from here until you answer my question. I will answer yours, but you need to answer mine. And they don't want to do that. And that's why I've had them many times close their book and walk out. They don't want to answer it. Why? Because they're trained to answer questions with questions. They are not trained to see what that scripture says. They have willingly closed their minds to the truth, willingly closed their minds to the truth. And so I will share with them as much as I can. I'm not going to argue with, I certainly don't want to fight with them. I will present what I believe is the truth is scripture and encourage them to go on to see that for yourself. But he's speaking concerning the fact that they are slaves to sin. Their consciences have been seared as a slave to sin. And what is it that they do? Well, notice verse three, 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. So what he does here is he gives two of their doctrine forbidding to marry, when he speaks of forbidding to marry, it would be physical pleasure as sin. And it's identified by marriage as well as by eating. So they teach that holiness is defined by what you do not do. So that's holiness. I don't drink and I don't chew and I don't date girls who do. That's outward holiness. That's what they're talking about. It's a legalistic effort to make yourself holy by your own strength. I am going to be holy. I am going to walk with a very humble face. I'm going to speak softly when I'm addressed. I'm going to have a nice heavenly smile and you forced yourself into this, even though on the inside, you're not feeling what you're showing on the outside. You're trying to force yourself into holiness and you're going to be holy based on not being married and not eating certain things. In Colossians chapter two, verses 20 through 22, Paul said, since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belong to it, do you submit to its rules? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These are all destined to perish with use because they are based on human commands and teachings. Now, looking at this in a basic way, again in verse three, forbidding to marry, well in some ways, practical ways, remaining unmarried does have its benefits. There's nobody who's married who would argue against that. Paul addressed that. You see, Paul was an unmarried man. He said, I would bet that you would remain even as I am. He was unmarried and thus he had the ability to go throughout the world proclaiming the gospel and he didn't have the responsibilities that a married man would have. So in 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verses 32 and 33, he said, I want you to be without care. He was unmarried, cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord, but he who is married cares about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, which is true. You have concerns in marriage that you just don't have when you're unmarried, but Christians are not commanded to remain unmarried. Singleness can be used by God, but we need to remember that God is the one who established marriage. And so it doesn't make you better if you're unmarried. It just means you have less cares that married people have. He also speaks about abstaining from certain foods. Okay, who's to argue against having a healthy diet? You know, I on occasion eat healthy once in a blue moon. You know, my wife is, she makes me eat healthy. See, that's the cares of marriage. She makes me eat stuff. She makes me drink stuff too. So gross, but it doesn't make me closer to God. There are many people who give you dietary laws. I've had conversations with those who believe that you are supposed to keep the mosaic a law as it pertains to not eating pork and this and that. You know, and they believe that it makes you holy if you refrain from doing those kinds of things. I was raised as a Roman Catholic. I don't know what your religious background was, but I was raised Roman Catholic and two of the things within the Catholic religion that stand out to me even as I read this passage is one, is that the priests were to remain unmarried and that too, that you abstain from certain foods. And so for me in my religious background, Friday would be a day that you only ate fish. We didn't eat meat on Friday. Actually, we did because it seems odd that our memories always kind of became faulty and we forgot it was Friday as we're eating that bologna sandwich, you know, and I was taught that the Lord will overlook that if you forget. So we were taught that some of you were too. Well, in 1 Corinthians chapter eight verse eight, food does not bring us near to God. We are no worse if we do not eat and no better if we do. So your diet isn't gonna make you closer to God. Now, if you have a bad diet and you're eating all kinds of fatty foods, you're gonna go see them quicker, but it isn't a way to make us holy. He said in verse four, every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it's received with thanksgiving. So God has declared all things to be clean for us. In Mark seven, 18 through 20, we read, are you so dull? Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean? For it doesn't go into his heart, but into his stomach and then out of his body. In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean. He went on. What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. And so if you eat pork or whatever, it doesn't make you unholy before God. And so these people who are bringing doctrine in to the church of Ephesus are saying, you shouldn't marry because that makes you more holy and you should abstain from certain foods that makes you more holy. And Paul's response to that is, that's not from the Lord, that's demonic. He says, every creature of God is good, nothing to be refused if it's received with thanksgiving. It is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. I still remember my pastor Chuck sharing with us one time how that he went with some guys after a Bible study. They went to a place that sold pastries and they were about to eat. And they had these very rich desserts in front of them and one of the pastors turned to Chuck and said to him, well, should we pray over this? And Chuck looked at him and said, you know it's bad for you, let's just eat. It doesn't make you holy. It doesn't. You see, these teachers are rejecting the word of God. So the only thing they can give is their opinions. And the result is people will search for truth outside of the Lord Jesus Christ and in doing so, they leave themselves open to lies. See, later Paul would command Timothy to preach the word. He says in second Timothy chapter four, verse two, following, he said, preach the word, convict, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will no longer embrace, they will no longer hold fast to the truth. He said, they're actually gonna heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears and they will be voluntarily turned aside from the truth and turned unto fables. The sign of the last days is they depart from the truth and embrace lies. That's why he'll tell Timothy in the second letter to Timothy in chapter four, preach the word. Because it's the word of God that convicts the heart of the listener for them to come to faith in God so that their lives can be transformed through his redemption, through his forgiveness, for the blood that cleanses them from all sin. It's a word of God that promises us that we might receive the power of the Holy Spirit, the one who will reside within us. It's a word of God that teaches us that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life. It's a word of God that reminds us that Jesus Christ said, I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again, receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. It's a word of God that will hold fast because forever his word is settled in heaven. It's his word that we have embraced because wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed there to according to thy word. Thy word hath I hidden my heart that I might not sin against thee. It's God's word that we need to preach and embrace. It's God's word that transforms our life, being born again by the word of God which is living and it abides forever. You see, it's the word of God that we need to preach and embrace and that's the word of God that we are to receive in church whenever we show up. And I'm aware of the fact that we're living in a time when people want entertainment much more than God's word because people will no longer endure healthy teaching. I'm aware of that. I'm aware that people are caught up so much into the moment and the emotion that they're unwilling to grow through the things that will make them into the people of God that they claim that they so desire to be. I'm aware of the fact that there are churches that preach a lot of emotion and not enough word. I'm aware of that. That people will stand in line to get in to be lied to because we're living in a day when they will no longer endure healthy teaching. They will line up to hear the false teachers lie to them. I'm aware of the fact that if you wanna be cool, you get some skinny jeans and a swoopy hair and you will be listened to. I'm aware of that. You would hate to see me like that, I promise you. So I made a promise to God in 1973 that every time I come before anybody, I will give them the word of God because it's the word of God that sets you free and that's what we need today, the word of God. We teach the word of God because it's through the word of God that we mature, it's the word of God that we learn discernment. In Ephesians 414, Paul had said that God gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry. He said in Ephesians 414 that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness by which they lie and wait to deceive. He said, we need to know God's word. And he told the church of Ephesus that Timothy was the pastor of the church that received Ephesians, the largely Ephesians and he said it to them again and again and again. And finally you see the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 where Jesus says, oh, you have a great reputation for so many things, but this I have against you, you have left your first love. Remember therefore where you have fallen, repent and return because they began to move away from the truth. And Paul was warning Timothy in chapter four and letting him know the spirit expressly says in latter times, some will depart from the faith. That's why when Paul had his final conversation with the Ephesian elders, he said, men will arise from amongst yourselves and will draw people to themselves. It's not just the wolves he said that will enter in, it's men from among you that will rise up. So he warned them from the beginning and Jesus said, unless you repent, I will take your candlestick and guess what? You can go to Turkey today, you can go to where this church of Ephesus existed and it no longer is there because they didn't listen. May God help us to hear what the spirit says to the church today.