1 Timothy 4:1-5

¹ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

• This is not a picture of a person who walks away from church, but instead this is a picture of a person who is led away from sound doctrine by a seducing spirit and doctrines of devils. This person will likely remain in a church, most likely an apostate church. For a long time I thought this was a singular mega church type situation that taught false doctrine. Now I believe there are many wide roads leading away from the true Word of God and sound doctrine founded upon it. The only single road here is the one that leads to salvation.

Notes: The departure from faith is where we remove our faith in the complete work of Jesus and place it on performative good works. It’s also performative worship and confirmation of the moving of the Holy Spirit on “feelings” and not on the word of God that says so. It supplants the authority of the Word of God and replaces it with self idolatry. Likewise, it does this by presenting a false way to be a Christian through works without repentance. This false Christianity allows you to live your “truth” with God’s blessing. To confirm the validity of this false belief, you engage in singing worships songs designed to move you emotionally. The worship leaders train people how to get into their feelings and teach them this is a sign of the moving of the Holy Spirit. This clever bait and switch now has people chasing these emotions, singing songs that have them as the center and God as a player in THEIR story…and now they are fully in idolatry. That is just one road to depart the faith. Another road out of the faith is to fully embrace works, to replace the position of Jesus in the life of the believer as the mediator with a Pope or priest. Do penance instead of repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus to completely wash our sins away. This path believes that Jesus’s blood isn’t enough to save the soul and wash away all of our sins. It has man acting as their own redeemer through performing certain acts like repeating a prayer over and over again to pay for a sin you committed, so again idolatry.
Whatever the path that leads away from Jesus as the only way, will take you to idolatry, which is the placing of yourself as your own lord and savior.
My personal thoughts are that there is coming a deception that will strike at the core beliefs of Christianity. Those who do not have a sound foundation in the word are going to be dismayed. Those are not my words, those are the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
I read as part of the eschatology of another religion that there was going to rise a false Jesus who would deny the virgin birth. He will also deny that he died for the sins of mankind and that he is the son of God. He’ll claim to be a prophet, so this won’t be some flat unbelievable performance, this will come with signs and wonders. If a person can’t put in the investment in studying the word of God, if they have a “ticket to heaven” relationship without intimate knowledge of God the father, Jesus the Savior and Lord, and the Holy Spirit. How will they know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit when they see them? As I write this the story of Elijah being taken to the mountain to experience great winds, an earthquake and a fire…none of which were the voice of God… God’s voice was a still small voice. God’s voice and his words are found in scripture. Once you have the good soil to plant the word into by repenting for your sins, asking Jesus to save you and wash your sins away, the word planted there in your heart grows. When the time comes that you need to hear from God, the Holy Spirit will bring up to your remembrance the word to answer the situation you are in. You can’t get this from listing to a podcast or even only listing to the Sunday preachings… you have to go into the word and learn it like your life depends on it… because it does. If you never spend time reading and studying the word, the Holy Spirit won’t have anything to bring to your remembrance. You can hardly blame God if you get swept away by false doctrine with all this time we have now to read and know him through his word.

² Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

• A hypocrite isn’t always someone who teaches others to do things they themselves don’t do, but someone who teaches things to others they don’t even believe themselves.

³ Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

• Gnosticism teaches that all sexuality is sin and to follow strict diets. This is another way that people get trapped performing works to maintain their salvation, rejecting the perfect liberty we have in Jesus where we are saved by grace alone through faith alone.
• Gnosticism is part of many religious structures…though the Word of God rejects gnosticism.

⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

⁵ For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.