1 Timothy 4–6

4TH CHAPTER

A Prophecy about the Last Times

¹The Spirit says clearly that in later times some believers will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive, and they will believe the teachings of demons. ²These people will speak lies disguised as truth. Their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red-hot iron. ³They will try to stop others from getting married and from eating certain foods. God created food to be received with prayers of thanks by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks. ⁵God’s word of God and prayer set it apart as holy. 

Guidelines for Serving Christ

⁶You are a good servant of Christ Jesus when you point these things out to our brothers and sisters. Then you will be nourished by the words of the Christian faith and the excellent teachings which you have followed closely. ⁷Don’t have anything to do with godless myths that old women like to tell. Rather, train yourself to live a godly life. ⁸Training the body helps a little, but godly living helps in every way. Godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. ⁹This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. ¹⁰Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 

¹¹Insist on these things and teach them. ¹²Don’t let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech, behavior, love, faith, and purity an example for other believers. ¹³Until I get there, concentrate on reading ⸤Scripture⸥ in worship, giving encouraging messages, and teaching people. ¹⁴Don’t neglect the gift which you received through prophecy when the spiritual leaders^aplaced their hands on you ⸤to ordain you⸥. ¹⁵Practice these things. Devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress. ¹⁶Focus on your life and your teaching. Continue to do what I’ve told you. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you. 

5TH CHAPTER

Guidelines for Dealing with Other Christians

¹Never use harsh words when you correct an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Talk to younger men as if they were your brothers, ²older women as if they were your mothers, and younger women as if they were your sisters, while keeping yourself morally pure. 

³Honor widows who have no families. ⁴The children or grandchildren of a widow must first learn to respect their own family by repaying their parents. This is pleasing in God’s sight. 

⁵A widow who has no family has placed her confidence in God by praying and asking for his help night and day. ⁶But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead although she is still alive. ⁷Insist on these things so that widows will have good reputations. ⁸If anyone doesn’t take care of his own relatives, especially his immediate family, he has denied the Christian faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 

⁹Any widow who had only one husband and is at least 60 years old should be put on your list ⸤of widows⸥. ¹⁰People should tell about the good things she has done: raising children, being hospitable, taking care of believers’ needs, helping the suffering, or always doing good things. 

¹¹Don’t include younger widows ⸤on your list⸥. Whenever their natural desires become stronger than their devotion to Christ, they’ll want to marry. ¹²They condemn themselves by rejecting the Christian faith, the faith they first accepted. ¹³At the same time, they learn to go around from house to house since they have nothing else to do. Not only this, but they also gossip and get involved in other people’s business, saying things they shouldn’t say. 

¹⁴So I want younger widows to marry, have children, manage their homes, and not give the enemy any chance to ridicule them. ¹⁵Some of them have already turned away to follow Satan. ¹⁶If any woman is a believer and has relatives who are widows, she should help them. In this way the church is not burdened and can help widows who have no families. 

¹⁷Give double honor to spiritual leaders^awho handle their duties well. This is especially true if they work hard at teaching God’s word. ¹⁸After all, Scripture says, “Never muzzle an ox when it is threshing^bgrain,” and “The worker deserves his pay.” 

¹⁹Don’t pay attention to an accusation against a spiritual leader unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. ²⁰Reprimand those leaders who sin. Do it in front of everyone so that the other leaders will also be afraid. 

²¹I solemnly call on you in the sight of God, Christ Jesus, and the chosen angels to be impartial when you follow what I’ve told you. Never play favorites. 

²²Don’t be in a hurry to place your hands on anyone ⸤to ordain him⸥. Don’t participate in the sins of others. Keep yourself morally pure. 

²³Stop drinking only water. Instead, drink a little wine for your stomach because you are frequently sick. 

²⁴The sins of some people are obvious, going ahead of them to judgment. The sins of others follow them there. ²⁵In the same way, the good things that people do are obvious, and those that aren’t obvious can’t remain hidden. 

6TH CHAPTER

¹All slaves who believe must give complete respect to their own masters. In this way no one will speak evil of God’s name and what we teach. ²Slaves whose masters also believe should respect their masters even though their masters are also believers. As a result, believers who are slaves should serve their masters even better because those who receive the benefit of their work are believers whom they love. 

Guidelines for Living a Godly Life

Teach and encourage people to do these things. ³Whoever teaches false doctrine and doesn’t agree with the accurate words of our Lord Jesus Christ and godly teachings ⁴is a conceited person. He shows that he doesn’t understand anything. Rather, he has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words. This produces jealousy, rivalry, cursing, suspicion, ⁵and conflict between people whose corrupt minds have been robbed of the truth. They think that a godly life is a way to make a profit. 

⁶A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have. ⁷We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can’t take anything out of it. ⁸As long as we have food and clothes, we should be satisfied. 

⁹But people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin. ¹⁰Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief. 

¹¹But you, man of God, must avoid these things. Pursue what God approves of: a godly life, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight for the Christian faith. Take hold of everlasting life to which you were called and about which you made a good testimony in front of many witnesses. 

¹³In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony in front of Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴I insist that, until our Lord Jesus Christ appears, you obey this command completely. Then you cannot be blamed for doing anything wrong. ¹⁵At the right time God will make this known. God is the blessed and only ruler. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶He is the only one who cannot die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has seen him, nor can they see him. Honor and power belong to him forever! Amen. 

¹⁷Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. ¹⁸Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share. ¹⁹By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves which is a good foundation for the future. In this way they take hold of what life really is. 

²⁰Timothy, guard the Good News which has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless discussions and the claims of false knowledge that people use to oppose ⸤the Christian faith⸥. ²¹Although some claim to have knowledge, they have abandoned the faith. 

God’s good will^abe with all of you.