Paul's Counsel to a Preacher

By Ron Thomas
    The falling away, what is that (1 Timothy 4)? It begins when a Christian considers what is around him and chooses that which is around him instead of the Lord. It is amplified when this occurs with many Christians, thus, there is a falling away on a larger scale. This is what Paul gives attention to in his counsel to Timothy. He mentions some specifics concerning this falling away.    First, there are those who left the Lord by giving heed to doctrines of demons. What is that? Any teaching that has its source in man, for man is influenced by the “god of this world,” thus a doctrine of demons. As you look at verses 2-4, take notice of the prevailing problem: hypocrisy, lies, hard hearts, forbidding to marry, and a forbiddance to eat certain food, all such teachings that are existing today.    It will always be the case that man is a hypocrite to some degree, even the one who does his level best not to be, he too will fall into hypocrisy on occasion. Wisdom brings him out of it. Those who stay within its borders, hypocrisy is more than being inconsistent, it is another form of lying. Sometimes we lie to ourselves, sometimes to others. We have a habit of grading our lies on a scale (not talking about fairy tales and things of this sort); some lies are worse than others in our minds, but in the end they all amount to the same. Paul makes clear that with a child of God such ought not to be.    Second, concerning those who forbid marriage? This has application in any context, even the context of the Roman Catholic Church and their nunnery and priestly forbiddance. The Catholic Church, however, was not in existence when Paul wrote, so it appears to have more of an immediate application to ascetic practices of the Gnostics, the Essenes, and others (Robertson’s Word Pictures in the Greek New Testament).    There is another bit of counsel that Paul gives Timothy as a young preacher: in established congregations young preachers always have a harder time in their ministry because older folk just do not regard them the same as they would someone with many more years of experience than just a few. This is not to be unexpected. Because of this, Paul admonished Timothy to properly focus his attention on the things of God when he said, “exercise thyself unto godliness” (4:7). The importance of this cannot be understated. When a young preacher does as much, he takes his mind off outside distractions that can be debilitating, and he gives evidence to others observing him that he is to be respected and heard.    Finally, in my years of preaching, I have seen things coming from the mouth of preachers that have troubled me a great deal. A lot of that has to do with preachers, young and old, who are not secure in who they are, who do not have the Lord’s anchor firmly attached to solid ground. Because of this many of these preachers allow the brethren to manipulate and apply pressure to preach things they want to hear, rather than what the Lord says. Notice what Paul said to Timothy, “Till I come, give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching” (4:13). The emphasis is the Lord’s word, not one’s ability to preach eloquently, but to speak it plainly when even a child can understand it. “Take heed to thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee” (4:16). 

- Ron Thomas preaches for the Church of Christ at Rio Grande in Bidwell, OH. He may be contacted at etsop95@gmail.com. Visit the congregation’s website at: https://www.churchofchristatriogrande.com