I Timothy 4:1-3, Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created …
The Holy Spirit emphatically issues a warning of three dangers facing God’s people in last days.
#1. Don’t become an apostate – willfully departing from the faith – from the basic truths of Christianity. Don’t turn from God’s truth into wandering and straying – many will!
#2. Fear deceiving spirits – harkening to dead men or “angels”, rather than letting the Bible and God’s faithful pastors give wisdom and direction; people will turn to powerful, influential, dynamic, impressive people who seem to have had God’s favor. Beware!
#3. Fear the doctrines of demons – harkening to lies, logic or life examples from those whose conscience is not supple to God. They are powerful “preachers” who proclaim “doctrines” as commands and demands while they themselves live wonton lives without guilt (conscience seared). Furthermore, they claim that what is material or of this world such as food or marriage is evil or non-consequential. They propagate a warped take on separation and holiness.
BEWARE of teachings that might cause apostasy, deception and wrong doctrines such as:
Tolerance – love the sinner, go the second mile, forgive, embrace all men. Love and let live! God is incredibly tolerant with all men, so should we be. We should love, receive and accept those steeped in sin. Jesus hung with publicans, sinners and tax collectors, so should we.
The truth is that we are to be Egalitarian with people and we are to be Elite with ideas. We stand tall for truth and we love all – Ephesians 4:15.
Relevance – in order to win them to Jesus we need to look like, talk like, live like, be like them, else they will think we are weird and will never come to Jesus. So, we do church like a casino, like a concert, down dress, approve drinking, use edgy language and/or skip using divisive language like Hell, sin and divorce.
Isolation – cut out Christians who are “too narrow” or too traditional. Put people into groups by age, social status, color, gender, etc. Old people are of no concern and are actually a turn off to Gen. Z.
We should be egalitarian toward people (equal) and elitist about ideas (doctrines matter).
We saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him…Jesus said, “Do not forbid him,” Mark 9:38.
Jesus was accused of being demonic (Mark 3:22) and John was accused of having a demon (Luke 7:33).
Lies – the end justifies the means and for fear of rejection we don’t tell all. George Orwell’s thought police – the Disinformation Governance Board – so guided by what people or the public thinks.
Rather, we should give the whole counsel of God, Acts 20:27.
II Chronicles 18:15, The king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?
Anger – thin-skinned and easily offended. If not happy or fulfilled or compatible, it is OK to leave. Thus leaving a church, a marriage, or a team over shallow reasons leaves any number of people angry, even for generations.
Rather, we are to forgive, pray for, and sacrifice for as Jesus to us.
I Timothy 4:6, If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed… 10-11, For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach.
a PK Musing 
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