“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscious seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
The Passion Translation of this says: “…at the end of this age, many will depart from the true faith one after another, devoting themselves to spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories.”
I ask HOW? How does a person get this far off?
The word conscious describes a person’s inner witness of right and wrong, and then the prompting to choose correctly. The word seared actually means to cauterize, or one definition is to burn the flesh to stop the bleeding. So a “seared conscious” essentially describes a person who has an inner witness that has become callous or hardened. In other words, they have no more conviction.
This explains a lot, but there’s more…
Philippians 3:19 says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame— who set their mind on earthly things.“
Setting our mind on earthly things is the starting point of all destruction. It’s how people become an enemy of the cross. It’s how people get off-course.
“Yeah, but that would never be me…”
“Really?”
“Are you sure?”
My observation after being born-again over 30 years and in full-time ministry over 20 years is that brand-new Christians rarely get offended– it’s the mature Christians who wrestle with offense. The enemy will tempt baby Christians into giving up and going back to the world, but older, mature Christians aren’t likely to fall for that— so the devil uses offense to get them off-track.
As I was praying and meditating on this (wanted to learn to guard my own heart), I was reminded of a book by C.S. Lewis called The SCREWTAPE LETTERS. In this allegory, an older demon admonishes a younger demon for failing to tempt his assignment (a Christian):
My dear Wormwood, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties... In the meantime, we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy's camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor.
Your affectionate uncle,
Screw tapeThis of course is satire but it also seems very accurate. From observation, it seems those who have walked with God a long time are the most prone to the trap of offense. But how does this happen?
First, they set their mind on earthly things. This is dangerous, yet happens easily. When Christians get caught up in the REASON REALM, it should be a red flag. To reason simply describes a certain action or line of thought. Therefore, the reason “realm” simply means to over-think.
GET BACK TO THE WORD
Instead of over-thinking, we need to set our mind on God’s Word. Paul said it this way: “Join in following my example, and note those who so walk…” and then he gives us several Spirit-inspired patterns to follow:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand [coming soon]. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).
First, rejoice IN THE LORD. In other words, delight yourself in Him (always). The Amplified says, “Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit).” Unfortunately, we live in a very self-centered world but as a believer, we should be different because the Lord is near (He is coming soon). It’s important to stay eternity-minded.
Secondly, be anxious for nothing. Resist being troubled. Don’t allow yourself to take thoughts contrary to what God has said. It might help to picture the enemy handing negativity to you– resist him.
The Bible actually says take NO thought (nothing from the enemy). And the result? “Do these things and the PEACE of God will GUARD your hearts and minds in Christ” (verse 7).
“Is it that easy?”
“A little bit, yes.”
If destruction follows setting your mind on earthly things, then peace follows the opposite.
Peace is the result of meditating on God and His way of doing things. Offense happens when we THINK on the wrong things. To be offended means to be upset, hurt, wounded, injured, insulted, aggrieved, affronted, pained, displeased, distressed, disgruntled, put out, annoyed, angered, angry, cross, exasperated, indignant, irritated, vexed, irked, stung, galled, nettled, needled, peeved, ruffled, resentful, in a huff, huffy, fed up. (Shall I go on?) You get the picture.
“Well, they should’ve known better” “That’s ridiculous”
“Who does that?” “Don’t they care?”
This line of thinking (these kind of thoughts) creates offense. And where there’s offense, there’s no peace. In other words, there’s zero peace in offense!
“I’m not offended.”
“Yes, you are.”
“If you’ve lost your peace, you’re offended.”
“The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Peace is the opposite of war and dissension (that inward struggle). The phrase “passes” means “rank” as in something that is above. Understanding describes a faculty of your mind or thinking (it is what precedes all action). The truth is, we think and then we act. But God promises peace that passes all understanding so when we allow our thoughts to align with His thoughts, we can avoid the trap set for us by the enemy.
In other words, when we let the PEACE OF GOD outrank our understanding (our natural thoughts), then our heart and also our mind, will be guarded! So be encouraged today that you have God’s Word to help guard your heart and mind if you’ll choose carefully what you meditate on.
The Bible is clear that in the last days, many will fall away, fall into various traps, but you and I don’t have to be one of them.
