1 Timothy 4:7 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Timothy 4:7

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What is meant by ‘profane’ here is irreverent fables. Irreverent because they are against God? No, because actually they were in favour of God. It was for the promotion of religion that these fables were being taught. They weren't irreverent because they despised the Lord; they were irreverent in the sense that human beings had made them up, so they were irreverent to Scripture. God's revealed word towers above all human knowledge, and yet here are irreverent human minds making up their own doctrines, and substituting fables for the word of God. That is what makes them profane. How dare we ever develop any kind of teaching for ourselves, when God has told us all that we need to know! So they are unhallowed, godless things. Fables were tales, fictional things, myths that were told in a good cause. That is the significant thing about a fable: it’s not just a lie; it's not just a piece of gossip; it’s a fiction told in a good cause, and there were many of them in those days. They were so far-fetched. Teachers in those days used to take portions of the Old Testament; they used to take certain famous characters, and then they would tell stories about them. What the Scripture left out, they would presume to put in. They would say, ‘Now let's tell you what happened to such and such a patriarch between this event and that event’, when the Scripture is silent, and they would make up a most elaborate story, and the idea was to teach things to Christian people, and these fables had a pious intent. They were to promote religion, but they were profane, because we have God's word and that alone is our authority and that alone is to be taught. ‘Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.’ These things contrast with each other. It is easy to listen to a fable; it's easy to listen to somebody's tale of experience. Growing in the Christian life in understanding and in depth is much harder than that, says the apostle. The word ‘exercise’ is the same as our English word gymnasticize. Train yourself unto godliness, and the context is learning God's revealed will. We have got to apply ourselves to this. We have got to learn the teaching of the Scripture. We have got to put forth the utmost diligence to get things right. This is what the scripture commands us to do. We are not talking here about salvation. The Scripture never says, by diligence, by study, by hard work, apply yourself to get salvation. You cannot earn salvation. We are talking about growing as Christians, about avoiding wrong practices and false doctrine, about keeping ourselves in the way of the Lord as converted Christians. There may be those who are blessed with considerable knowledge of God's way, but do not necessarily obey it. They may know what they should do as Christian people, but they do not do it. Sadly, this may happen among younger people. This is a matter of exercise. In sporting pursuits, in training, it means you have got to summon the will. You have got to determine in your mind to follow a certain regime, a certain program. Then, when you're tempted to lie in bed instead of going out training, or tempted to eat things which you mustn't eat, by an act of will you have got to do the right thing. It's a matter of self-discipline. That is what godliness is about: Finding out what is right from the Scriptures, learning the doctrines, learning the methods, learning the duties of the Christian life, evaluating every practice in the light of Scripture. Training is all about self-denial, and so is the Christian life. Separating from what is wrong, separating from worldliness, denying oneself these things.

Application

We are into the days of fables again. We are into days of fictions or stories which are told in a good cause among Christian people. We are into a period when testimony counts above Scripture. We have it pre-eminently in the Charismatic Movement. There are so many stories of healings and wonderful things, so many testimonies. You ask, are all the people who tell these testimonies lying? Oh no, but they are fables in this sense: they have got a certain amount of truth in them, and then they are explained in the way that the person, who had this or that experience, personally wants to explain it. There was some great coincidence: something happened, or they think something happened, and it's garnished and exaggerated and explained. All in a good cause of course! All to try to encourage piety and belief in God, but nevertheless it's a fable because the telling of experiences has become more important than God's truth.

Many a Charismatic would think along these lines: ‘Why do I believe in signs and wonders for today? Why do I believe in healings by the power flowing down through the cuffs of gifted people today? Because I've heard people say that they have seen it. I've heard this, and I've heard that, and I've heard something else.’ So testimony is now teaching them doctrine. Experience, people's opinions and ideas and reports of what they think they've seen and how they explain it: these are teaching people truth. So we are back to the days of fables. Now they are impious. They may be well meant, but actually they are godless and profane and irreverent, because how dare we draw conclusions about faith and doctrines from things we think we've seen, when God has authoritatively told us everything?

Of course fables had much to be said for them. Fables were fascinating, fables were enthralling. If the preacher tells you a personal anecdote, there will be a sudden hush and every eye will be on him. They are very easy to listen to, much easier than exposition of Scripture or doctrine. The point is that they are alternatives to God's truth. You mustn't learn from what people tell you they think they've seen, and how they want to explain it. You must learn from God's word alone. And all these stories and experiences and fables are to be refused. Reject them, set them aside. It is a matter of discipline. We are to say, ‘I'm not going to be taught doctrine by what somebody thinks they've experienced, by what somebody thinks he's seen. He may be a very sincere person; he may really believe in this, but that is not the way to learn doctrine. I learn it from what God has said, from God's word. That is what leads to true godliness.’

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1 Timothy 4:7 Commentary and Bible Study