ON SECURITY

 

  Paul’s first letter to Timothy could as well be called, “KEEP THE FAITH” because within the letter are several warnings about not taking faith for granted; in other words, the faith of Christians is not secure.

  Indeed, this commentary is controversial, but the Words are not mine; they are Paul’s words that the Spirit inspired Paul to write, to wit: “The Spirit speaketh expressly” (1 Tim 4:1). Like everyone, my wish is that my faith is secure, but that depends on me.

  Just what is “faith?” Paul defined that for the Hebrews who questioned it, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). What is the “hope” of the Christian? “We are saved by hope” (Rom 8:24). Therefore “hope” is “salvation.”

  What then is “salvation?” It is “raised up on the last day” (John 6:44), and those who are raised up, “will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 7:21).

  Of course, rebirth is “saved from sinning” as is written, “He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (Jas 5:20). Rebirth is not salvation; it is conversion from a lost person to one with the hope of salvation. Hiding those sins, is no longer holding them against the sinner. Jesus propitiated His blood for “sins that are past” (Rom 3:25). Repentance is a continual cycle of conviction, guilt, contrition, repentance, and God forgetting those sins. When and if that cycle is not forthcoming, then faith gradually diminishes with neglect. That cycle is one of trust. Christians sin and trust God for pardon. If a Christian no longer feels guilt when they sin, then the Holy Spirit cannot Comfort.

  “Saved from sin” is conversion at rebirth. No longer is the person chained to sin, but freely choose not to sin. They have liberty to sin, but if a disciple of Christ, will choose not to sin. The Holy Spirit changes the nature of people.

  Satan, to diminish God, has one avenue to do that; to snatch Christians away from the Holy Ghost. Of course, Satan still uses deception to do that, and the most obvious is for Christians to believe they are secure when they are not. Anyone that feels secure and continue in sin are the most vulnerable to the wiles of the Devil. They think as if they are already saved from the Devil, but the Holy Ghost of Jesus has them safe but not secure. Only when the Devil can no longer persuade people to blaspheme the Holy Ghost are they saved from sin, and that is why Paul wrote, “To die is gain” (Phil 1:21).

  Death, for the Christian, is gain, as Paul wrote because Satan can no longer snatch you away; only Jesus can snatch you up. That is called the “rapture” of Christians, both those dead in Christ and those still alive at that time. Physical death is when the soul is saved. The rapture is when the flesh is saved and made new. Hence, care must be taken as to what and when salvation occurs.

  Obviously, Christians are not secured from sin because they still sin. Unless they continually repent their faith is doubtful because doubt is what is lacking in faith. God alone “knows that He knows that He knows” as many say, but Christians must trust what has not become reality. The M.O. of Satan is to increase doubt to the extent that there is no faith. Even a little faith, by grace, is enough.

  Paul was worried about the security of the Churches in Asia and wrote a letter to Timothy, apparently with “cc’s” to all the Churches there.

  A false doctrine was circulating. I have written before that the doctrine of Simon Magus was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” that was for, “the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Cor 12:7). By then, not only was Satan buffeting Paul, but the other ministers. Why would that be? Gnosticism, founded by Simon, was “secret knowledge” to be saved. Paul wrote, not about secret knowledge to Timothy, but “the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16).

  Gnosticism buffeted the entire apostolic Church and almost won out! Gnosticism, or Simonism, attempted to dissuade Christians from their faith. Why would Satan buffet Paul and other Christians if they could not fall? Now examine Paul’s many warnings about the buffeting the Body of Christ (The Church) was taking: 

·         Regarding bishopric candidates, Paul wrote, are ,“Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim 3:6)

·         Regarding regulations that they cannot themselves keep, Paul wrote, “The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim 4:1)

·         Regarding good doctrine (3:16), Paul wrote, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (1 Tim 4:16)

·         Regarding stewardship, Paul wrote, “If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Tim 5:8)

·         Regarding young widows when they grow wanton, Paul wrote, “When they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith” (1 Tim 5:11-12)

·         Urging young widows to marry, Paul wrote, “Give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan” (1 Tim 5:14-15)

·         Regarding believing bondservants, Paul wrote, “Count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the Name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed” (1 Tim 6:1)

·         About those who love money, Paul wrote: “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith” (1 Tim 6:9-10)

·         To Timothy himself, Paul wrote, “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith” (1 Tim 6:20-21) 

  Blasphemy is denial of the Holy Ghost. That seems strange, but remember whose “Ghost” that IS. Jesus gave up the Ghost; the Spirit of God in Him who suffered death and replaced the sin of all mankind. Denying the Holy Ghost is taking the crucifixion of Jesus vainly. The Third Commandment warns of that, and even provides the penalty for blasphemy: “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain” (Exod 20:7). That corresponds with, “He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation” (Mark 3:29).

  Vanity would be taking the death of Jesus without value. That is what Bonnhoeffer called, cheap grace.” Unbelievers are blasphemous because they do not trust that truth. Christians can blaspheme by taking it vainly by forgetting. If that happens it is as if crucifying Jesus afresh (Heb 6:6).

  Satan endeavors to prevent conversion by making sinners feel good in their sins. Satan undermines Christians by persuading them that what Jesus did was in vain or did not even happen. Gnosticism promotes the notion that only a phantasm was on the Cross, and that Jesus did not die because He was not really on the Cross. They would support the thesis that the Holy Ghost shed the blood and water, but only Flesh could do that.

  Hard as he tries, Satan is satisfied that Christians forget Jesus — that they do nothing in remembrance of Him! How can anyone forget the Savior? By disregarding His Will for us to walk His Way — in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23), not according to some secret knowledge.

  “Erring from the faith” is not understanding the provisions of faith. Faith is a gift, but a gift that must be used. If faith is hidden away and forgotten it is not faith. Keeping the faith that God gave us is a responsibility; a sacrifice of our own flesh as Jesus did his. Paul called living a holy life, giving our self for Christ’s sake, and referred to it as a “reasonable service” (Rom 12:1). If Christians are not living for Christ, they are dying for the Devil.

  Pride in Christians, just as with the angel Lucifer is, “fall(ing) into the condemnation of the devil.” What happened to the Devil? “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer” (Isa 14:12). Lucifer fell from grace, and if Christians return to their father the Devil in pride, they too will fall!

  Then Paul wrote, “In the latter times some shall depart from the faith.” They will not lose their faith but depart from it. That is knowing the faith, having received the Holy Spirit, but committing presumptuous sin. That type of sin is presuming that a Christian shall be saved through belief only, without trusting Jesus for it. Forthcoming salvation, “in the last days” is forfeiture of that hope.

  Paul wrote to for them to take heed and continue in the doctrine of Christ. He elaborated on that doctrine in 1 Tim 3:16. The mystery knowledge is revealed there. It must be believed and trusted in, not just one time at conversion, but continually. The hope of salvation is dependent on a continuation of what a Christian once believed, to wit: “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom 13:11). Christians become nearer to their salvation. They are not yet saved but kept safe until that time. Not continuing in the faith is forfeiting that safety.

  Paul wrote about those who have “denied the faith.” They once had faith, then later denied what they once believed and trusted. Paul said that an infidel would be better off than denying what was once believed.

  Then Paul wrote about the widows that, “have cast off their first faith.” Note that the Holy Ghost comforted them in the faith, and did not remove that comfort, but the young Christian widow could cast off their own faith.” They essentially were in danger of throwing away the gift that God gave them by grace.

  Some of the widows has already, “turned aside after Satan.” They had abandoned their Savior for His adversary. They had turned away from their first love to another. That is fornication against God and is a violation of the First Commandment.

  Lastly, Paul warned in that letter to, “keep that which is committed to thy trust.” Keep the faith! It is a gift from God; do not throw it away!

  How can anyone consider eternal security when Paul makes clear throughout the letter that Christians were wandering from the faith, and that they were in danger of losing their hope? He said, that some already had, and Gnosticism was buffeting them from the Church to damnation!

(picture credit: "Christianity")