1 Timothy 4:1 – Keeping course

Now the spirit is saying explicitly, that in subsequent eras some will be withdrawing from the faith…

When reading the word “some” in the above verse, one might be inclined to shrug at the seriousness of Paul’s warning. If only some are moving away from the faith, doesn’t that suggest that most are staying with the faith? The answer is: no, because this passage is about teachers who distance themselves from (sound) faith and are therefore able to mislead many. Just as previously foretold in Acts 20:30: “And from among yourselves men shall arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

What Paul foretells in this passage is not about “the last days,” but about “subsequent eras.” Eras that would come when the apostles would no longer be present. Paul made this prediction for the first time, just at his farewell (Acts 20). The masses of professors would allow themselves to be carried away by ‘influencers’ who speak the wrong things. But thank God, “sound teaching” has been recorded in black and white for centuries, so that anyone who clings to that word can stay the course. An infallible compass. Going against the current!

Delen: