1 Timothy– Chapter Four III

by Ed Urzi

“But the Spirit says clearly that in later times some will be turned away from the faith, giving their minds to spirits of deceit, and the teachings of evil spirits” (1 Timothy 4:1 BBE).

While Christianity has always been faced with external opposition, we should note an important difference here in 1 Timothy 4:1. You see, the group identified in this passage is not comprised of people who were always outside the Christian community. Instead, this group is composed of professing Christians who will depart from a relationship with the one true God.

Before we continue with our look at this verse, it may also be helpful to first define our terms. For instance, this reference to “falling” or “turning” away from the faith finds its origin in a word that means “to desert, withdraw from one, (1)to cause to depart,(2) or “fall away.(3) So much like a tenant who leaves a home or apartment, this word describes someone  who departs, relocates, or moves away from a position that he or she once held.

We should also note that these definitions are not associated with the heretical leaders that Paul the Apostle mentioned earlier in 1 Timothy chapter one. Then, as now, those leaders identified their true nature by virtue of their false teachings. Instead, this verse describes the potential effect of such teachings upon those who are exposed to them.

This passage also goes on to identify “the faith” as the point of departure for these individuals. In this context, “the faith” refers to the historic body of doctrine that corresponds with the Word of God. As mentioned earlier in our look at 1 Timothy chapter one, true doctrine represents a teaching that aligns with what we read in the Bible. False doctrine corresponds with something else.

This leads to a difficult question regarding those who fall away from the faith. On one hand, we might identify these individuals as “…professing or nominal Christians who associate with those who truly believe the gospel, but defect after believing lies and deception, thus revealing their true nature as unconverted.” (4)

However, a second commentator offers a different perspective: “It seems quite clear that Christians can stop believing God (Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:32; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:8). [a] This does not mean, however, that they will lose their salvation, since salvation is God’s work, not ours (John 10:28; Rom. 8:31-39; 2 Tim. 2:13). One of my professors at Dallas Seminary used to say, correctly, I think, ‘I believe in the perseverance of the Savior, but I do not believe in the perseverance of the saints.'” [b] (5)

(1) G868 aphistemi Thayer’s Greek Definitions https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g868

(2) G868 aphistemi Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers

(3) See William Mounce, Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/aphistemi

(4) MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ti 4:1). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

(5) [a] See Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. “aphistemi, et al.,” by Heinrich Schlier, 1(1964):512-13. [b] S. Lewis Johnson Jr. Quoted in Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on 1 Timothy 2020 Edition [E. The problem of apostasy in the church 4:1-5] https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/nt/1timothy/1timothy.htm