1 Timothy chapter 4. We did the first five verses last week. We kind of left a little bit of verses 4 and 5 hanging, so we'll spend a couple minutes on those. But tonight we're going to be looking at verses 6 through 10. 1 Timothy 4, verse 1, But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. for it is sanctified by means of the Word of God and prayer. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following, but have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women, On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness, for bodily discipline is only of a little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. It's a trustworthy statement deserving of full acceptance. For this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Well, Father, we, as always, give You thanks for Your Word. We pray, Lord, as we look into it tonight, You will give us understanding. Lord, we know that Your Word is the very instrument that You use to bring people from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is the very instrument You use to transform Your people into the likeness of Christ. And so, Lord, as we come to this Word tonight, we pray You would teach us by Your Spirit, give us understanding, and do a transforming work in us. In Christ's name, amen. So, I wanted to read one psalm before we started. And it's going to be Psalm 2. Very short psalm, but very weighty. Psalm 2. We're in a world that is just tossed the whole idea of Christianity and of the Word of God aside, and really stands opposed to God, to His Son, and to the only way of salvation. Psalm 2, why are the nations in an uproar? and the peoples devising a vain thing. The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give You the nations as Your inheritance. the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled, how blessed are all who take refuge in Him. What does an individual or a nation gain by opposing God and His plan? Nothing. Can human opposition succeed against the Almighty One who created the universe? Obviously, no rebellion has any chance to succeed, as the brother tells us. God's sovereign control will certainly overpower men's feeble attempts to wrest command from Him. But this is precisely what's going on. This is what is at the root of not only the unbelieving philosophies of men, but of strange doctrines in the church, of false teachers in the church. God laughs in derision at all of this because He knows the end from the beginning because He has ordained it. For chapter 1, 2, and 3, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, sent by Christ, writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, has been giving Timothy specific instruction on how things are to be conducted in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has urged Timothy from the very outset of this letter to confront myths and strange doctrines, and to confront those who are preaching these things. He set forth qualifications of the men who would serve as elders, overseers, teachers in Christ's church, and of those who would be chosen to serve as deacons in the church. Chapter 4. Paul began a new section in this letter. And though chapter 4 is not unconnected to what has gone before, Now Paul reminds Timothy again of the danger of false teachers in their midst. And he warns against the damage that will ensue because of that danger. The false doctrines that are preached by men as false teachings today. Paul calls them doctrines of demons and they lead people away from Christ and away from eternal life. So Paul writes, chapter 4, verse 1, the Spirit explicitly says in later times, and we're in the later times, they began with Pentecost, if not before, during Christ's first advent. And they will continue until Christ returns. Scripture is pretty consistent about that. And in these times, there are going to be people who are in and among us and who fall away, fall away from the faith. They're led by deceitful spirits who preach doctrines of demons. I mean, to say it's not necessary, it's not important to be part of a local church body. Is that a doctrine of God or is that a doctrine of demons? It has to be one or the other. Either it's of God or it's of Satan. And that's clearly a doctrine of Satan. Those who preach these false doctrines, Paul calls them here hypocrites, liars. Their consciences are no longer functioning as they should. They've been cauterized. They've been seared as with a branding iron. They've lost all sensitivity to right and wrong. So verse 3, Paul focused on two of these demonic doctrines. So we think of these religions who hold to these doctrines, forbidding clergy to marry, requiring people prohibiting them from eating certain foods on certain days. These are all remnants of an aesthetic lifestyle that has nothing to do with biblical Christianity. They're doctrines of demons. They have nothing to do with serving the cause of Christ or the spread of the gospel. No one can earn God's eternal blessing through these ascetic practices, through denying a person bodily things, or by any work any man does. That's not the way of eternal life. The only way of eternal life is to genuinely put your faith and trust in the sinless life and the atoning death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And any religion that requires its adherents to abstain from eating foods or forbids marriage is in direct contravention to the Holy Spirit's command here. This is not a minor matter. These religions teach doctrines of demons which flow from deceitful spirits. By prohibiting marriage and demanding abstinence from the food which God has graciously provided to us, they forbid what God has created for our own good to be received and shared in gratitude to Him. If we don't receive what He's given us, where's our gratitude going to be? So the remedy for this error is to realize everything that God has created and provided for us is good, and we are to receive it with prayer and thanksgiving. That's why we give thanks before we eat, because God has provided that food for us. God has provided this oxygen we're all breathing right now. So he says, "...for everything created by God is good, nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." And you know, some false teachers were actually urging abstention from meat as though eating it were something intrinsically wrong. And they had their battles over, should I eat this meat? Some pagan down here has offered it to an idol. Well, there is no idol. The idol doesn't even really exist. It's in someone's imagination. And Paul said, look, if that's going to be of a negative impact on a weaker brother, maybe you should hold off. But there's nothing intrinsically wrong with the meat that God has provided. Men, and we should all know this, you're free to choose what you eat and what you don't eat. And there's nothing wrong with deciding I don't like pork chops or whatever it is. But don't do it for some religious purpose because it gains you nothing. What's condemned here is the practice of those religions that demand abstinence from any particular food or abstinence on some particular day or occasion. And similarly, God may have bestowed the gift of celibacy on some, and He has. He bestows, this is a gift that God gives to some, singleness and celibacy. And the idea is, as Paul says, when you have this gift, it enables you to devote your full time to the service of the Lord. It's a blessing of God. But again, no man and no religious organization has any right to forbid its people, including its clergy, from marrying. That's a doctrine of demons. So the reason these two demonic doctrines are wrong is because everything created by God is good. And God, by the way, is the one who instituted marriage. Jesus affirms this. He says there are no longer two, Matthew 19, 6, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. God is the one who brings people together in marriage. So the purpose of God can't be set aside by human authority. And that's what's going on in all these cases. So joyful acceptance of these gifts. Now we come to really what's all this about. It doesn't lead to a blessed asceticism. It leads to and should lead to receiving and partaking of these gifts with thanksgiving. You're not gaining anything by denying yourself something God has provided you. And to follow and practice these doctrines is to reject the gifts that God has provided you. In short, such practices demonstrate ingratitude to God. And these gifts are sanctified, Paul says, by means of the Word of God and prayer. God speaks to people where? In His Word. And when we pray, what are we doing? We're speaking to God. His gifts are consecrated to us by His Word, and our thanksgiving is communicated to Him by our prayers. So for the Christian, and I don't know if you've thought about it this way, but eating and drinking are not purely secular activities. Why is that? Because it's provided by God. And so it's the receipt and exercise of a blessing that we've received from God. This food God gave us. So it's not just a purely bodily, material thing that we're doing. And this is why we give thanks. That's exactly why we do it. It's not just to do it. It's in recognition of the fact God is the one who's put the food there for us. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. You know, Paul could have said whether you're at work or whether you're at play. But what he said in 1 Corinthians 10, 31, he talks about eating and drinking, doing that to the glory of God. And God, you know, we talked last Sunday, maybe two Lord's Days ago, about worshiping in spirit and truth. God is not worshiped in spirit and truth when people follow the dictates, not of God, but of men. So you abstain from practices which God has blessed or refusing the blessing of foods which He's provided. You are not worshipping God in spirit and truth. You're worshipping God or attempting to according to the dictates of men. So by their man-made prohibitions and that's all these Forbiddings are. Men pervert and invent their own new ways of the worship of God. Let me tell you, when you're not eating that meat, when you're having that fish on Friday, you think you're pleasing God by what you're doing. When you light the candle, you think you're pleasing God by what you're doing. The priests who've been led into this celibacy and into this priesthood, for that matter, think they're pleasing God. I'm sure most of them truly believe that. So they're doing that which is neither commanded or ordained by God. And on top of that, then the organization itself and other organizations that do this require others to comply with their ideas. They assume dominion, in effect, over the consciences of others. Now, verse 6. Now remember, Timothy is not in Ephesus as a permanent pastor. He's there as kind of an apostolic representative of Paul. Paul sent him there, and Paul was there. And he said, I need you to stay here for a while until this work is done. And it isn't just Ephesus. Remember, there are seven, six other churches that we know of in that circular area there in Asia Minor. And so the things that Paul has just been teaching Timothy in this letter, certainly in the first part of chapter 4, but I think also back to the first three chapters, he is urging Timothy to teach these truths to the brethren. This is what you teach them. And this is what we're teaching here tonight and have been. And he's telling him, you've got to avoid these errors yourself, and you've also got to engage in godly self-discipline. You've got to take heed to both your public duties and your own personal piety. You've got to give proper attention to the divine truth that you've received. That's the call of every preacher of the gospel. And you've got to be an example to the believers, he tells Timothy. You've got to not neglect the gifting that God has given you. And this not only for your own good, but for the good of those to whom you minister. So in pointing out these things to the brethren, in submitting these things to them, Paul says you'd be a good servant of Christ. Now, these things refers certainly back to the things he's talked about in the first five verses, and maybe farther back. Maybe the instruction concerning the selection of elders and deacons and the role of women in the church. Timothy's got to teach these things. Paul's not just sending this letter so Timothy can have some information. No, here's what you teach. And remember, Paul is sent by Christ. And in doing this, Timothy will lay a sound foundation, a firm foundation under the feet of these Ephesian converts. And it is the duty of every minister of the gospel to teach sound doctrine. That's what every faithful servant of the gospel does. He works as hard as he has to, whatever it might be, to get to the truth and then share it with the people in his charge. This begins, of course, with the good news of salvation from sin and the penalty of sin through the gracious gift from God of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His sinless life and His atoning death and His glorious resurrection and ascension. And this means teaching that we're free from attempts to gain the eternal blessing of God through our own works or through practicing self-denial, as some were actually telling these people. Certainly, as believers, we must live in a way that is pleasing to God. But our living in a way pleasing to God is not a way of earning His salvation. And no denial of any earthly gift can earn salvation. So this letter is directed to Timothy, not really as a pastor, and it's not really even just purely a personal letter. It's written to him, and Paul addresses him as a servant of Christ Jesus, not as a deacon, although the word is pretty similar. as a minister of Christ. But the point is, these words, this message must flow through Timothy to the entire church. He intends, Paul does, that its contents be taught. And, you know, by the providence of God, these contents are still being taught. That's what we're doing here tonight. And the words of the faith that he used, that phrase he uses here, refers to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. They didn't have the Scripture. They were writing the New Testament as this was happening. And serving the Lord and adhering to sound doctrine, do you suppose it has a nourishing effect on those who teach it, who study it? Well, of course it does. It has a nourishing effect. When we study the Word of God, when we read the Word of God, when we teach the Word of God, It has a nourishing effect on all who do these things, all who serve Him, not just gospel ministers, not just elders or deacons. All grow in faith, grow in His grace, grow in an intimate relationship with God, grow in the knowledge of Him when we adhere to sound doctrine, when we fill ourselves, when we feed ourselves with the Word of the faith. When we live for His glory, when we serve Him, we benefit. Do you hear this? When we live for His glory, when we serve Him, we benefit. So Timothy and all of us must be nourished and fed by the Word of God and take every opportunity to serve Him, whatever that might be. And there are a thousand different ways that might take. Every minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ must be constantly nourished by the Word of God. And I don't think that Paul would ever want to restrict that statement to just ministers. I think it's important for every one of us to be constantly, daily being fed. And I don't mean five minutes with a daily bread, which is fine for all its purpose. You got to spend some time until God speaks to you and opens your heart to that day's activities, knowing that He is the one who is guiding everything you're doing. He's the one you're seeking to follow. The words here in verse 6, look what Paul says. He says, nourished by the Word of God, the words of the faith, which you have been following. Here we have affirmation from Paul that Timothy was following sound doctrine. And every gospel minister wants to hear that. He was following sound doctrine as he worked as Paul's representative in Ephesus. Paul's primary aim here, at least one of his primary aims, was to encourage Timothy to stand firm in the doctrine of God in Christ in the face of, not only just false teachers, but of ignorant and foolish men who were setting themselves up as teachers of the law, wanting to be seen as teachers of the law, who were spouting myths and genealogies. and who were led by deceitful spirits and purveyors and doctrines of demons in their midst. All of this was there. All of this is here today with us. And in verse 7, Paul again zeroes in on the need for Timothy to stand against the doctrines of men. Verse 7, he says, but have nothing to do with worldly fables, worldly myths. Fables here is the same word as myths in chapter 1, verse 4, when he talked about myths and genealogies. Muthos. have nothing to do with them. And he uses a colloquial phrase there. Worldly fables fit only for old women. And I suppose that phrase wouldn't go over very well in today's culture. But this is Paul's Word to us. And it's God's Word to us through Paul. And frankly, what this was, was a sarcastic epithet which was frequently used in ancient philosophical polemics. So in the back and forth, you might have an accusation as they're debating things, that this is just a character, this is just one of those worldly fables that's only fit for women who are now senile and can no longer think clearly, whose memories are gone. So, false teachings abounding. Paul's already teach Timothy, reject the myths, the genealogies, the fables that are both unhistorical and untruthful, that have no basis in Scripture. And here he characterizes them as both profane and unholy and fit only for old women. Well, the two adjectives that he uses here are both full of disdain. He's saying, basically, don't pay any attention to this stuff. Don't even bother discussing them with anybody. These things are profane. There's nothing sacred about them. They're unworthy of a sound teacher's attention and unworthy of any sensible person's attention. And that's what they're getting at with the unfortunate use of the term old women. Paul says, if it's false doctrine you're dealing with, then meet that false doctrine with truth. But if it's just religious folly, myths, genealogies, strange doctrines, doctrines of demons, doctrines put forth by people who haven't any real credential to be preaching the gospel, ignore that. Give it no mind. Pay it no mind. Don't take them seriously. Don't treat them seriously. Don't get into discussions with them. Don't argue with them. Have nothing to do, he says, with worldly fables fit only for old women. So there's a line we draw here. There are people who hold sincerely held beliefs that are error in our view, and maybe we need to discuss them with them. But when it comes to simply foolish talk, that we don't want to indulge. Richard Lenski commenting on this is, people who are fanatical in regard to some silly religious matter desire nothing more than to have you argue with them. These myths and fables lead to mere speculation and fruitless discussions, Paul said back in 1.4. And Lenski says to engage them is to leave the impression that the matter is worthy of discussion. That encourages their folly. Maybe they'll go discuss it with somebody else. And so, when one makes the mistake of treating that which is unworthy, that which is profane, and treating it seriously, they might cling to it even more obstinately. So he says, have nothing to do with worldly myths fit only for old women. So, Timothy's got to be ready to confront an awful lot. And he'd have probably felt right at home in the culture today, wouldn't he? He's got to be ready to confront these things. And what would you say is the best preparation to confront false teaching, myths, genealogies, fruitless discussions? What is the bet? Scripture. Amen. Sound doctrine is the best preparation. Now, is the Scripture just sitting on the desk going to do us any good? No. We've got to be in the Scriptures if we're to be able to be equipped to deal with these things. And we all run into error every day. Every single day we do. And so it's incumbent upon all of us to be in the Word of God regularly and to spend time there. And, you know, hopefully we all come to a point where we can't wait to get to the Word of God each day. That's my prayer for all of the people who come in here. So, we're not going to, he says, don't deal with these foolish talk, in other words. But then he says, on the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Now this word godliness takes in an awful lot of area here. And he kind of explains what he's saying here. He says, "...for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." So don't waste your time and effort with useless things, myths and worldly fables, one-verse doctrines. Those are so popular today. Here's one verse, and that disproves everything else that people will say, rather than try to understand how that verse fits in the whole context of Scripture. He says don't waste your time with the useless stuff. Rather, devote yourself to what really pertains to godliness. Where are we going to find out about godliness? Scripture. This is our treasure, folks. This Scripture is our treasure. It is what prepares us to deal with error. It is what prepares us and teaches us what godliness is. Timothy had a lot more important things to do than to argue with unlearned and shallow fanatics, which is what they were. His goal must be godliness, both for himself and for the people in the congregation. And what are we talking about when we say godliness? Well, a lot of different definitions you could come up with. I would say this, it refers to complete devotion to the true faith. both in mind, in what we believe, in what we think, and in deed, in what we do, in how we live. And that's both for the sake of himself and also for those whom he serves. You want to be godly. You want to know what godliness is and you want to live according to what God says. It means seek personal godliness and seek godliness in those in the congregation and teach about what is godly. and keep out everything that has nothing to do with godliness. A lot of things that you can talk about. This is, you know, this is the curse of the Internet. It's both a blessing and a curse. But you can find an argument or debate on just about anything on the Internet, on YouTube. What Paul is saying to Timothy is, leave aside all that that does not promote and foster godliness, both in yourself and in your people. So he uses this metaphor, athletic term. He says bodily discipline is only of a little profit. And the word here is gymnasia, from which we get the word what? Gymnasium. So he uses this metaphor of physical training and he's admonishing Timothy. Look, people train themselves in the gym. Bodily training. And it's, you know, bodily discipline. Well, He says, I want you to do that in your spiritual life. I want you to do that in your spirit. Yes, there's a benefit to bodily discipline. We'll get strong in all of those things. Maybe run faster. But discipline in spiritual matters is of far greater importance. Remaining firm in the teaching of God, both in one's doctrine and teaching, and in the way one lives, is profitable, he says, for all things. It's profitable for everything. Why? Because, he says, godliness holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. If you are living a godly life, you're going to be blessed in this life. You'll receive the blessing in this life, even though you struggle and suffer. And then you've got what lay ahead, that inheritance that God has prepared for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. Godliness is the course of one who's on the road to that narrow gate. That's what godliness is. In other words, it not only benefits one in terms of eternity, but it benefits you in this life. You're nourished by the Word of God, you're nourished by the truth, you live by the truth, and this in turn has this nourishing and blessed effect on you. And if you're not happier than you were before Christ, I hope there's nobody who would ever say that. If you're not more content than you were before Christ, I hope nobody would ever say that. Because in Him is our contentment, our joy, our peace. So godliness not only helps us persevere, is part of our perseverance in the faith on the road to glory, but it manifests itself in the blessings of this life. I used to go through life without knowing how we got here and where it all ends. What happens when we die? How do we really get here? I heard the Darwin version. Schools all taught that. And so I would say, so you're saying to me it doesn't really matter how we live. We're not going anywhere and we didn't really come from anything but a pollywog. That leaves a person purposeless. All that there is then is what? The desire to gratify yourself in as many ways as you can. Now Christ comes and dwells you, shows you, He's the creator of all things, and that those who trust and believe in Him will spend eternity in glory with Him. That's the promise. That's the promise. And godliness is receiving and taking in and believing and absorbing those truths and living then according to them. This is the purpose of preaching. The true Christian godliness in spirit, and mind, and soul, and body, in faith, in love. These are all Christian virtues, in all of them. To regularly exercise this godliness, this time with God, this time with the body, this time living according to Him, being taught by Him, is to great profit, Paul says. The reason that godliness is so rich in prophets is it holds this promise. I can't imagine someone not being blessed if they have truly, truly submitted and surrendered themselves to Christ and knowing that they have the glory awaiting them. Here's what Jesus said, Luke 18 29, He said, Truly I say to you, there's no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come eternal life. I hope that's been your experience. Jesus said, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. And you know, we know what the folks out there think. They think, well, if you're going to become a Christian, well, there goes any fun in this life, huh? There goes any joy in this life. So they forsake the joys of godliness in order to snatch some of this stuff out of the world that is so fleeting. One writer says, these things of the world are only apples of Sodom. Some permanently forsake godliness for what the world promises. Every man lives today either under the influence of myths, under the influence of the doctrines of demons, or under sound doctrines. It's the sound doctrine in which we find godliness. And godliness is not derived from myths or worldly fables, but from the words of the faith and the sound doctrine which Timothy had been following, the Word of God. And what is the essence and the content of the promise? It's life, it's fellowship with God, it's the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, it's the peace of God which passes our understanding. And the fulfillment of the promise of this joyful life, it doesn't stop at the grave, it only begins there in that sense that we can't even begin to grasp yet. So just as the man in the gymnasium now exerts himself as hard as he can, so we too must, by God's grace and power, spare no effort to attain this goal. Just as a man discards all the handicaps and everything that slows him down in order that he may run faster, we need to divest ourselves of all that hinders our walk with Christ. Just as a man has his eyes on a goal of bodily strength and speed, we should be constantly aiming at our spiritual objective. And that objective is that of complete devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. I promise it won't hurt you. It'll bring you greater joy than you can imagine. Godliness, godly living is itself a fruit of God's grace. It results in the increasing possession and enjoyment. That's why Paul says this, you're nourished by what God has provided. He says to live in a state of godliness is profitable for everything. And Paul concludes this point saying, this is a trustworthy statement deserving of full acceptance. So I, along with most, will attach verse 9 to what we've just read. not to what follows. Now, verse 10. For it is for this, godliness, the promise of life, both in this life and in the life to come, it is for this that we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, yes, He's living, who is the Savior of all men, and the NAS, and most translations have it, especially of believers. So what is it that moves us to toil and labor in God's vineyard? Well, it's the sure promise of God. The promise of eternal life and glory with Him for all who believe. And He's opened our eyes to know this promise is going to be fulfilled. And that for those who don't believe and surrender their lives to Him, it's going to be an eternity of horror. The end or purpose for which Paul and Timothy and all faithful gospel ministers are toiling and striving is the salvation of men, the calling of men from darkness and into the light of Christ. That's what we're doing. And to help us grow to know Him better. to be sanctified along the road toward ultimately conformity to the image of Christ. This labor and striving that he's talking about is a spiritual exertion that Paul was making. I mean, he had a very rough go of it, and yet you can hear and feel the joy that leaps off the page in his writings, even as he's talking about being beaten and jailed But this is why men labor in God's vineyard. And it's why we're all called to labor in some way, to serve in some way. I'm promising you there's joy in service to the Lord. So the ultimate ground for our toil and labor, as he calls it, and our striving is our hope, our certain expectation that God will fulfill these promises. He's a living God. And, you know, we have confidence in the work we do, even when we don't see what appears to be results. We have confidence because we know that God is at work. Our hope, our confidence is in Him. It's not in ourselves. God's living and so we can place our hope in Him who's living because He's the source and giver of life. Life doesn't come from some other source. A person cannot manufacture life in themselves by their own decisions. And I wish people in pulpits would stop saying that because they can't. Only God can bestow spiritual life on a person. And He's able to fulfill this promise He's made to us. The promises that we live by. So we have this phrase here. The living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Now I'll tell you at the outset, I don't believe that's correctly translated. And I'll also tell you that virtually every translation there is disagrees with me. This clause has given rise to a number of interpretations. I'm going to go through them and I'm going to ask you what you think of these interpretations. God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Well, some would say, well, God is the Savior of all men in that He ultimately, He actually saves every human being. Everybody goes to heaven. What do you think? No. Why not? That's universalism. Well, isn't that what Paul's teaching here is universalism? Isn't Paul saying, well, here it is. Everybody's saved. Everybody's going to heaven. No one's going to hell. How about those that are cast into that eternal lake of fire? Are they saved unto eternal life with God? Those verses alone in Revelation 19 and 20 are enough to say, well, wait a minute, everybody, Jesus said, it would be worse for you than it was for the people in Sodom and Gomorrah. Because you had a chance to believe and you didn't. Many, many places, 2 Thessalonians 1-9, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day. Everybody isn't saved. That is totally contrary to Scripture. Yes, Jim. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 9. Do not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous drunkards will inherit the kingdom of God. Now, if we decide we're going to spend the next hour finding such verses, we would find dozens upon dozens upon dozens of them. All right, let's try number two here. He actually bestows salvation unto eternal life and glory on all kinds of people. Is that what he's saying here? What's the problem with that in view of the context of the whole verse here? All kinds of people are saved, especially these who believe. So the implication then would be, well then these up here must not be those who believe. Could they be saved? He who believes has eternal life, but he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed. So when you put this, especially of those who believe, it can't mean that. Now, it is true that He saves. You know, there's no distinction. Jew, Gentile, man, woman, liberty, free, and slave. But that's not what He's talking about with this word especially. Third, some would say He desires all men to be saved. But in the case of some, His will is frustrated by obstinate unbelief. What do you think of that? What's wrong with that? God's will will be done. Amen. God's will will be done. You can't frustrate God's will. When He determines His ultimate purpose, that is going to be fulfilled. That's a pretty easy one. Now, the thought is, He's able to save all men. But though all can be saved, only believers are actually saved. What's wrong with that interpretation? This is pretty simple. What's He saying here? He says He's the Savior of all men. So now He's going to say only believers are actually saved? So that doesn't make sense either. Now, William Hendrickson, And I read Hendrickson almost every day of my life for the last 15 years or so. Because he's done commentaries on almost every book of the New Testament. And he's very good. He sees a two-fold use of the word Savior here. So Ron, you wanted to change the word from Savior to Lord. Hendrickson wants to find this word Savior used two different ways here. So he would say that there's a couple different ways this might happen. He says if you look in the Old Testament, you see God talking about Himself as the Savior of His people. Let me give you a couple of these here. And Hendrickson recites several Old Testament passages. Isaiah 63, 8, For He, God said, Surely they are My people, sons who will not deal falsely. So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and His mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. They rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. Therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy. He fought against them. So that's not salvation to eternal life. He's talking about God saving them in what sense? Yes. from physical conflict. And in Isaiah 43, 10, here's another one. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Sabah in your place. Now, what's wrong with then saying, well he's, see, he's the Savior of all men there too, but he says he's the Savior of all men. Is he the Savior of Assyria and Babylon and Egypt here? He's not the Savior of all men if you try to look at it this way. Only one more. The other thought is this, and it's based upon the idea that God has His reign to fall on the wicked and the just alike. And they would say that what He's really talking about here when He uses the word Savior is God extending His common grace to all men, providing oxygen and food to all men. And that He's saving them somehow in that sense. Causes His Son to rise on the evil and the good. Sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. So, in some sense, God is their Savior, but that He's even more gracious to those He saves eternally. What do you think of that one? When Paul's talking about God saving men, what's he almost always talking about? In fact, maybe always talking about. So, I can't accept any of those because it doesn't make sense. It seems to me that any way you look at that, you're contrary to Scripture. And Paul's subject here, and what this last one ignores as well, Paul's subject is godliness in the present life and in the life to come. His subject is the calling of people to faith in Christ so that they would be saved, not on God saving Israel from its enemies, not on God's providing food for the Assyrians. or the Babylonians or the Egyptians. Actually, rather than provide food for the Egyptians on the day that he led them out of there, what did he provide for the Egyptians the day Moses led the sons of Jacob out? Death. Was he saving the Egyptians? No. There is one other one here I'd overlook. That God causes His gospel to be earnestly proclaimed to all men. To men from every race and nation. And that's also true, but that's not what Paul's saying. He says God's the Savior of all men. Now, there's another, I believe, better explanation based on a different translation of the Greek word mellista here. The Greek word mellista is found 12 times in the New Testament. Every time it is translated especially. I looked at, I know at least 30 translations of this verse, and all but one translated this word especially. The problem with this is that it doesn't make sense. And if there is another way that's reasonable to interpret this word, we need to look at it. Now, I've mentioned this man to you a little bit earlier. His name is Theodore Cressy Skeat. He lived from 1907 to 2003. He's probably best known to biblical scholars as the co-author of the Fragments of an Unknown Gospel and other early Christian papyri in the British Museum. This man studied these old writings, both biblical and extra-biblical. And in looking at this verse, and of course having a great knowledge of Greek and all, and he would comment on passages in Scripture and on translations. This is what he did. He finds and he argues in an article called Especially the Parchments. Now before we go to Especially the Parchments, I want you to just make a little note here. We're going to look at 1 Timothy 5.8. 1 Timothy 5.17 and 2 Timothy 4.13. Now, there's also a translation that was concluded in 2011 known as the International Standard Version. And I'm going to read that translation to you. And this translation is, I believe, based on the work of Theodore Skeat. And here is how the International Standard Version translates it. And I think they're correct. I could be wrong. I'm not ready to die on this hill. But their translation is the only one that makes any sense in light of the rest of Scripture to me. To this end we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe." Now, is the rendering, that is, found anywhere in the Bible? The major translations for this word, melista, no it isn't. Is it found in the papyri? Yes it is. Yes it is. So, when we say, I'm going down to the park, especially, what's the name of that park down there by 8th Street? Okay, I'm going down to the park, especially Riverfront. Or I could say, I'm going down to the park that is Riverfront. That's what Skeets and the International Standard Version are telling us here. And I think they're right. And we have some other verses where all of the translations until the International Standard Version translated especially. And I want you to look at 1 Timothy 5.8. And I think you'll see that to translate here, that is, may well seem appropriate. 1st Timothy 5.8, But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is, for those of his own household... Now you see, especially of his own household. But do you see that that is, for those of his own household, has denied the faith, maybe makes even more sense. Because those of his own household are his own. It's a further way of identifying those who are saved. And now you look back to our verse here. We've set our hope on God who's the Savior of all people, and now by way of further identification of those people, that is, of those who believe. And again, I cannot make sense of this verse if I have the word especially there. Now, Skeets also directs us to 1 Timothy 5, 17. The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor. Okay? Those who rule well, they're to be considered worthy of double honor. Then he says, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. Do you suppose those who don't work hard at preaching and teaching are to be accorded double honor? No. So now we read it as the international standard would put it. The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, that is, those who work hard at preaching and teaching. Now one more example. Again, this word is used 12 times in the New Testament. everybody until this version was translating this word, following each other. And now we've got 2 Timothy 4.13. And here's another really good example. 2 Timothy 4.13. When you come, he writes to Timothy, bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. Let me ask you something. Did they have books with binding in those days? What were their books? Scrolls on parchment. Now let me read it with this translation. And again, this phrase was used. This was a way of translating this in some sources outside the Bible. When you come, bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus and the books, that is, the parchments. And I'm proposing that that's the way we should understand this verse we have here today. Now, as I said, I'm not going to die on this hill, but I could not find a way to understand this verse consistent with Scripture without looking into, is there a translation problem here? And I don't like saying that everybody's got it wrong, that every translation is in error, but they were following what information they had. So, I guess the belief here is that this word here, Melissa, is used to distinguish that which follows from that which has just been stated. But I think what's actually happening is it's providing a further definition and identification of that which had just been stated. and it's clarifying, it's a term that is used here to clarify, and of course many times it does mean especially. So, Skeat cited several examples from the papyrus letters that would seem to require this sense, this translation, and that would, in their particular cases, rule out any otherwise alternate sense. And if he's right, which now George Knight and I agree with him, as well as David Murray in Ireland, then the phrase should be rendered that God is the Savior of all men, that is, those who believe. And I encourage you to dig into your own study time on this. I'm not preaching this as uncontrovertible truth. I am preaching it as what I believe to be the truth and the best explanation of this passage. Well, Lord, thank you again for just stirring our hearts to want to know you, to want to grow in your grace and in the knowledge of you. Thank you, Lord, for stirring our hearts with the truth of your Word. Thank you for opening our minds to believe and to trust in every word you've spoken to us. Thank you for the promise of all that lays ahead. And, Lord, thank you for the Knowledge that one day we will sit with You in our midst in glorious fellowship with You for all eternity. For Your kingdom and for Your glory, in Christ's name, Amen.