1 Timothy 4–6

False Teachers

4The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons. ²Such teachings are spread by deceitful liars, whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron. ³Such people teach that it is wrong to marry and to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten, after a prayer of thanks, by those who are believers and have come to know the truth. ⁴Everything that God has created is good; nothing is to be rejected, but everything is to be received with a prayer of thanks, ⁵because the word of God and the prayer make it acceptable to God.

A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

⁶If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed. ⁷But keep away from those godless legends, which are not worth telling. Keep yourself in training for a godly life. ⁸Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future. ⁹This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed. ¹⁰We struggle^g and work hard, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all and especially of those who believe.

¹¹Give them these instructions and these teachings. ¹²Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity. ¹³Until I come, give your time and effort to the public reading of the Scriptures and to preaching and teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you, which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵Practice these things and devote yourself to them, in order that your progress may be seen by all. ¹⁶Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Keep on doing these things, because if you do, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Responsibilities towards Believers

5Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat the younger men as your brothers, ²the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with all purity.

³Show respect for widows who really are all alone. ⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to carry out their religious duties towards their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents, because that is what pleases God. ⁵A widow who is all alone, with no one to take care of her, has placed her hope in God and continues to pray and ask him for his help night and day. ⁶But a widow who gives herself to pleasure has already died, even though she lives. ⁷Give them these instructions, so that no one will find fault with them. ⁸But if anyone does not take care of his relatives, especially the members of his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹Do not add any widow to the list of widows unless she is over 60 years of age. In addition, she must have been married only once^{h 10}and have a reputation for good deeds: a woman who brought up her children well, received strangers in her home, performed humble duties for fellow-Christians, helped people in trouble, and devoted herself to doing good.

¹¹But do not include younger widows in the list; because when their desires make them want to marry, they turn away from Christ, ¹²and so become guilty of breaking their earlier promise to him. ¹³They also learn to waste their time in going round from house to house; but even worse, they learn to be gossips and busybodies, talking of things they should not. ¹⁴So I would prefer that the younger widows get married, have children, and take care of their homes, so as to give our enemies no chance of speaking evil of us. ¹⁵For some widows have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶But if any Christian woman has widows in her family, she must take care of them and not put the burden on the church, so that it may take care of the widows who are all alone.

¹⁷The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. ^18*For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh corn” and “Workers should be given their pay.” ^19*Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or more witnesses. ²⁰Rebuke publicly all those who commit sins, so that the rest may be afraid.

²¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the holy angels I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favour to anyone in anything you do. ²²Be in no hurry to lay hands on anyone in dedication to the Lord’s service. Take no part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

²³Do not drink water only, but take a little wine to help your digestion, since you are ill so often.

²⁴The sins of some people are plain to see, and their sins go ahead of them to judgement; but the sins of others are seen only later. ²⁵In the same way good deeds are plainly seen, and even those that are not so plain cannot be hidden.

6Those who are slaves must consider their masters worthy of all respect, so that no one will speak evil of the name of God and of our teaching. ²Slaves belonging to Christian masters must not despise them, for they are their brothers and sisters. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their work are believers whom they love.

False Teaching and True Riches

You must teach and preach these things. ³Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion ⁴is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions, ⁵and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich.

⁶Well, religion does make a person very rich, if he is satisfied with what he has. ⁷What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! ⁸So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us. ⁹But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

Personal Instructions

¹¹But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. ¹²Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses. ^13*Before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who firmly professed his faith before Pontius Pilate, I command you ¹⁴to obey your orders and keep them faithfully until the Day when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear. ¹⁵His appearing will be brought about at the right time by God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. ¹⁶He alone is immortal; he lives in the light that no one can approach. No one has ever seen him; no one can ever see him. To him be honour and eternal dominion! Amen.

¹⁷Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. ¹⁹In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life.

²⁰Timothy, keep safe what has been entrusted to your care. Avoid the profane talk and foolish arguments of what some people wrongly call “Knowledge”. ²¹For some have claimed to possess it, and as a result they have lost the way of faith.

God’s grace be with you all.