CHAPTER 4 Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
6 If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto you have attained.
7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself rather to godliness.
8 For bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.
11 These things command and teach.
12 Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS 4:2 "I don't feel guilty."
People often don't feel guilty when they sin because they have "seared" their conscience.
They have removed the batteries from the smoke detector of their conscience, so that they can sin without interruption. The way to resurrect a deadened conscience is to go through each of the Ten Commandments, reminding the person that they know that it's wrong to lie, steal, commit adultery, etc.
Always preach the Law along with future punishment, then pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and cause them to be convicted of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come.
13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
15 Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them; that your profiting may appear to all.
16 Take heed to yourself, and to the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this you shall both save yourself, and them that hear you.
4:1 For more signs of the end times, see 2 Timothy 3:1.
4:1 Halloween. The celebration can be traced back to the Druid festival of the dead.
The Roman Pantheon, built by Emperor Hadrian in a.d. 100 as a temple to the goddess Cybele and other Roman gods, became the principle place of worship. In 609, Emperor
Phocas seized Rome and gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV. Boniface consecrated it to the Virgin Mary and kept using the temple to pray for the dead, only now it was "Christianized," as men added the unscriptural teaching of purgatory. In 834,
Gregory IV extended the feast for all the church and it became known as All Saint's Day, still remembering the dead.
Samhain, a Druid god of the dead, was honored at Hallowe'en ("All Hallows Eve") in Britain, Germany, France, and the Celtic countries. Samhain called together all wicked souls who died within the past year and who were destined to inhabit animals. The Druids believed that souls of the dead came back to their homes to be entertained by those still living. Suitable food and shelter were provided for these spirits or else they would cast spells, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals, and create terror as they haunted the living. This is the action that "Trick-or-Treat" copies today. The Samhain celebration used nuts, apples, skeletons, witches, and black cats. Divination and auguries were practiced as well as magic to seek answers for the future. Even today witchcraft practitioners declare October 31 as the most favorable time to practice their arts.
Many Christians use Halloween as an opportunity to reach out to the lost by giving candy and gospel tracts to those who knock on their door during Halloween. What other day do scores of people come to your door for gospel tracts?
4:3-4 Vegetarianism. One of the signs of the end of this age is that people would try to impose a vegetarian lifestyle on others, but the Scriptures tell us that every creature of God is good for food, and nothing is to be refused.
Vegetarianism is not always the blessing it is made out to be. In India in 1942, three million people died of starvation. Alongside the bodies of men, women, and children lay the carcasses of hundreds of thousands of "sacred" cows—potential beef-steaks. They were God-given protein that would have saved the lives of multitudes. See Psalm
66:15 and Revelation 22:3 comments.
4:7 The way to prevent injuries and pain is to keep yourself fit. Exercise. After warning Timothy to refuse false doctrine, Paul told him to exercise himself to godliness. Paul kept fit through exercise. He said, "Herein do
I exercise myself, to have always a