The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

The Holy Spirit predicts apostasy. Many who claim to follow Jesus Christ would either cease to identify themselves with him, or even as they continue to assert that they are disciples, show themselves to be liars. The Bible tells us elsewhere that if a person truly departs from apostolic Christianity, then he has never been a real disciple in the first place. This is because, in true conversion, a person’s inner nature is changed so that he naturally – that is, as a natural effect of his new nature – believes and follows Jesus Christ with a sincere heart. This change of nature is entirely an act of God, which he performs in one’s soul apart from the person’s desire or decision, and which he subsequently sustains and causes to grow in strength and holiness. The unconverted person has an evil nature, and a person with an evil nature will not decide to change his own nature into good, since there is no good in him to make such a decision. There is a self-contradiction in the idea that an evil person can decide to be good. And even if he were willing to make this choice, he has no ability to change his own nature from evil to good. Conversion is a work of God, and the work of God stands. It follows that people who turn away from the Lord Jesus have never been his true followers. They have never been Christians, and have never been saved from sin.

The focus here is on the manifestation of apostasy, or a sign that it has occurred. Apostasy is a turning away from “the faith.” Both the context and the term suggest that Paul refers to a repudiation of Christian doctrines, and this turning away from the truth corresponds to a turning toward “things taught by demons.” We face two ideas that both Christians and non-Christians are often reluctant to accept. First, religion is doctrinal, and thus intellectual. Second, religion is spiritual, in that it has to do with spirits, or spiritual entities.

Religion is doctrinal and intellectual, and true religion is a matter of affirming with the mind a set of teachings revealed by divine inspiration. It is common to object that many people’s doctrines are thoroughly orthodox, but their lifestyles rival that of the demons. Surely they cannot be Christians? Surely, they cannot. But the complaint errs in that most people’s doctrines are not nearly as orthodox as they are given credit for, and then even where they are orthodox, their assent to these doctrines are often hypocritical, or only a matter of appearance. Christian doctrines demand holy behavior, so that true assent to a doctrine compels the behavior that the doctrine demands, and the behavior demanded is produced provided that the power is there to carry it out. This power is furnished by God through the Holy Spirit in those who truly believe. Thus true religion is doctrinal, which means that it is intellectual, and this in turn means that there is an objective aspect to it that can be examined, defined, and proclaimed.

Religion is spiritual, and in this context we mean that it has to do with spirits, or spiritual entities. Paul says that “the Spirit,” or the Holy Spirit of God, predicts apostasy from the faith in express terms. The Holy Spirit is an intelligent person who could speak to men in words. Paul also refers to the doctrines of demons. Demons are evil spirits that seduce men, so that they would turn away from the truth and follow false doctrines instead. If Christians are eager to affirm that the truth has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, although many of them minimize his continuing work in the world, they nevertheless seldom associate the spread of false doctrines with the design and action of demons. There is the claim that demons are restricted in their activities due to the triumph of Jesus Christ, who as Paul writes to the Colossians, has “disarmed the powers and authorities.” However, this had already occurred when the apostles encountered overt demonic opposition as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, and here he tells Timothy that the demons are still teaching people false doctrines. That Christ has disarmed all the powers of darkness means that his chosen people are set free from spiritual deception and slavery as we proclaim his victory. It does not mean that all traces of their existence have disappeared. In fact, the Bible tells us that the devil still acts like a roaring lion, and some people are enslaved by him to do his will. A minister who is allergic to the present reality of demons is like a squeamish pest exterminator. The demons have not retired, but perhaps he should.

Paul lists two specific things that the demonic doctrines entail: “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods.” As some writers have pointed out, it would be an anachronism to say that Paul has Gnosticism in mind, which did not come to maturity until the second century. However, it is possible that he is referring to something like it, or a precursor of the heresy. In any case, it is unnecessary to ascertain the precise background, since Paul’s exposition is sufficient for us to derive the doctrine, even without the historical context. The false teachers order people to abstain from certain foods, and the apostle counters this by saying that “everything God created is good,” and is therefore appropriate for consumption if received with thanksgiving.

Now, I am outspoken against the insane notion that everything that Paul asserts is a reaction to a contrary false doctrine, practice, or tendency in or around his readers. When Paul urges his readers to love one another, it does not necessarily mean that the believers have a special problem with discord or hatred. It is a general teaching that can be asserted at all times. So just because Paul counters the false doctrines with the reminder that everything God created is good does not necessarily mean that these false doctrines teach that God did not create everything, or that some of the things he created are not good, or that the physical body or matter is inherently evil. It is possible that the false doctrines teach this, but the text does not say this, nor is it a necessary implication of the text. Nevertheless, these false doctrines appear to arise from the idea that abstinence from such things as marriage and certain foods is either necessary for salvation, or at least required for an enhanced spirituality.

It might surprise some people that Paul condemns these doctrines with such harsh terms. Perhaps they would suppose that for a doctrine to be called demonic, it must be something on the level of a call to murder one’s parents to attain eternal life, or to burn one’s children to obtain favor with God. Certainly, these would be doctrines of demons. But when a doctrine tells us that there is some ceremony or some restriction that is foreign to the apostolic teaching, that if it is observed, would bring us closer to God, or that if it is not observed would prevent us from salvation, it is putting before us someone or something other than Jesus Christ to rule our conscience, when that is the exclusive right of our Lord. Only God has the authority to define for us what is fundamentally right or wrong.

When Satan told Eve that, although God said not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that she should eat from it anyway, and that no harm would come to her as a result, we can call that a demonic doctrine, since it was the devil himself speaking to her. On that occasion, the doctrine persuaded Eve to pursue freedom against a divine restriction. It was to set her conscience free to act against an explicit divine command. The widespread rebellion against explicit biblical prohibitions, both in the church and in the world, testifies to the effectiveness of this demonic doctrine. But the devil can seduce people’s unconverted religious sentiments in other ways. If our supposition is correct, here the demonic doctrine suggests that simple faith in Christ and thankful enjoyment of God’s creation is not sufficient. Rather, to attain the spiritual heights, a person must observe certain ceremonies, regard certain days as special and holy, or refuse natural bodily appetites. Then he will be saved. Then he will become an elite believer. This is a demonic doctrine. Although it appears to advocate discipline and a religious attitude, it is in fact a radical challenge to the authority of God and an attack on the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The tactic differs from Satan’s temptation against Eve, but its essence and its result are the same.

Doctrines of demons overrun some supposedly Christian communities. Even this particular manifestation of it is pervasive, that is, doctrines that subvert the Lord’s exclusive authority over the conscience, and the definitions of right and wrong. When they appear in churches, these doctrines almost always claim the moral high ground, and present themselves as spiritually superior ways to follow God. To offer only one of many possible examples, and one that closely relates to the context of our passage, there are those who advocate a “Christian” vegetarianism on the basis that it is spiritually and morally superior. It is impossible to establish this on a biblical foundation.

The question is not whether the doctrine has any merit, but it is how strongly believers are ready to condemn it. According to the apostle, we must not regard it as excess piety or mere fanaticism, but we must declare it a demonic doctrine. When a writer produces a book that advances this position, we should recognize that either a demon inspired him to write it, or at least acknowledge that the doctrine is of demonic origin, rather than to attribute it solely to mundane human errors. How many ministers would say this? Paul writes, “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ.” Many ministers will do little to nothing to combat such a doctrine, or to denounce it in harsh terms, because they are not good ministers. If a Christian wishes to slaughter a sheep, or ten, let him do it with confidence. If a Christian wants to eat a cow and the cow’s entire family, let him do it with thanksgiving. And if this offends you, the problem is not with the doctrine or with me, but it is in you. To the unclean, all things are unclean, not because the things God created are unclean in themselves, but because the person is unclean, and possesses not freedom in Jesus Christ. But to the person whose heart has been cleansed by faith, I say, “Kill and eat!”