3920 — The Falling Away
By Editor
Please explain in your "Question Corner" 1 Tim. 4:1-4. O. R. The passage reads as follows, from the Revised Version: "But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the Word of God and prayer." Note the following: First, it is not to "last days" that the apostle particularly refers, but to "later times" than when he wrote,—"subsequent seasons," some versions render it; that is, any time during the Christian dispensation these things shall be manifest. Secondly, the things of which he speaks shall be among those who fall away from the faith, those who turn from faith in the Lord Jesus, and try to work out by their own plans and schemes a righteousness which is accepted by God. Third, they are led to do this by seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, "through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron." That is to say, hypocritical men, for their own gain, will teach doctrines of demons, and so lead people away, those whose hearts have fallen away from the faith. To our mind, this has been met in the great apostasy of the Christian dispensation. One of the noted doctrines of demons is that man possesses life and immortality entirely apart from God. That is, he is immortal. It was taught by the master of all the demons in the Garden of Eden,—"Ye shall not surely die." This has been used to foster a belief in purgatory, and saint worship, and all the other related doctrines; and it has resulted in the building up of great systems, notable among which is that of the Roman Catholic Church. This does not mean that thousands of these people are not honest, but it does mean that the beginning of it was a departure from the faith, and a trusting in man and in man-made schemes, rather than the simple teaching of the Word of God. Fourth, among the teaching will be that of forbidding to marry. Note the celibacy of the priesthood. "And commanding to abstain from meats,"—literally, foods. Note the various fasts,—enforced fasts and mandatory fasts,—in the Roman Catholic Church. The word from which "meats" comes is "bromaton,"—any kind of food, food which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. Fifth, then the general statement follows, that "every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the Word of God and prayer." Now there may be souls that will take this as an indication that the child of God ought to eat anything, and has a license to eat anything or drink anything that the carnal soul may lust for; but the true child of faith will connect with this text just such ones as 1 Cor. 10:31, that "whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." He will study to know what God has sanctified, or set apart, in His Word as the best of food. He will want to know what will glorify God. This, in brief, is an explanation of these first four verses. See it much more fully expanded in the book entitled "Questions and Answers."