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- Apr 25, 2006
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17 September 2008
1 Timothy 4:1-5
Now the Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the faith. They will follow spirits that lie and teachings of demons. Such teachings come from the false words of liars whose consciences are destroyed as if by a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and tell them not to eat certain foods which God created to be eaten with thanks by people who believe and know the truth. Everything God made is good, and nothing should be refused if it is accepted with thanks, because it is made holy by what God has said and by prayer.
False teachers have always been a threat to the Church. False teaching can come from a variety of sources, from those outside the church who are seeking to drag us from Christ, or from those inside the church, who subvert the gospel of grace and who do not follow the teachings of Jesus.
We may think that we would not be swayed by false teachings. But the last sentence of this passage - 'everything God made is good, and nothing should be refused if it is accepted with thanks, because it is made holy by what God has said and by prayer' - maybe shows us an area of our lives where we are guilty of following false teachings. We can be lured into a world-denying faith, where whilst appreciating God's gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, we ignore his gifts of creation. We forget that everything made by God is good and should be received with thanks. This doesn't give us the right to abuse these gifts - to be overly greedy and abuse the gift of food, to be unfaithful and abuse God's gift of love. Rather it implies that we should enjoy these gifts by using them to serve and honour God.
Have we thanked God for the gifts he's given us? Are we using these gifts for his glory? Or are we guilty of neglecting the giver of all good things?
Go through your day, making a conscious effort to thank God for the good things he gives you today - all the gifts of His awesome creation that are evident in your life.
Written by Gemma Clarke
________________________________
Word on the Web is provided free of charge as part of the ministry of Church Army.
1 Timothy 4:1-5
Now the Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the faith. They will follow spirits that lie and teachings of demons. Such teachings come from the false words of liars whose consciences are destroyed as if by a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and tell them not to eat certain foods which God created to be eaten with thanks by people who believe and know the truth. Everything God made is good, and nothing should be refused if it is accepted with thanks, because it is made holy by what God has said and by prayer.
False teachers have always been a threat to the Church. False teaching can come from a variety of sources, from those outside the church who are seeking to drag us from Christ, or from those inside the church, who subvert the gospel of grace and who do not follow the teachings of Jesus.
We may think that we would not be swayed by false teachings. But the last sentence of this passage - 'everything God made is good, and nothing should be refused if it is accepted with thanks, because it is made holy by what God has said and by prayer' - maybe shows us an area of our lives where we are guilty of following false teachings. We can be lured into a world-denying faith, where whilst appreciating God's gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, we ignore his gifts of creation. We forget that everything made by God is good and should be received with thanks. This doesn't give us the right to abuse these gifts - to be overly greedy and abuse the gift of food, to be unfaithful and abuse God's gift of love. Rather it implies that we should enjoy these gifts by using them to serve and honour God.
Have we thanked God for the gifts he's given us? Are we using these gifts for his glory? Or are we guilty of neglecting the giver of all good things?
Go through your day, making a conscious effort to thank God for the good things he gives you today - all the gifts of His awesome creation that are evident in your life.
Written by Gemma Clarke
________________________________
Word on the Web is provided free of charge as part of the ministry of Church Army.
