Doing Church Righteously in an Age of Deception.
Critters of the Darkness & Today’s Disposable Covenant
We are living in an age of deception where The world wants a disposable covenant, but God demands character and endurance. The sacred is treated as temporary and the culture presses us to conform. But the Word remains clear and unchanged: we must stand firmly in the light of the Lord, guard our families, and fight the good fight. Check out today’s Daily Redemption broadside to dive deep into doing church righteously.
### **Warmest Greetings to all God’s saints!**
* **Critters of the Darkness:** We are diving into **1 Timothy 4 through 6**, which is a completely AI-free zone. The first couple of verses in chapter 4 talk about the modern teachers on cable TV—and similar critters of the darkness—who teach wacky, ungodly things.
* **The Disregard of Marriage:** They have contributed to a culture where people disregard marriage, viewing it as a disposable luxury instead of a sacred covenant between two people and God. They throw a difficult marriage out like garbage and even murder the fruit of marriage.
* **A Culture of Unrighteous, Unholy Sacrifice:** If you wonder where the Bible stands on abortion, you can start with the Ten Commandments (which in Hebrew means “words”). Look at what God thought when nations, and Israel itself, took to child sacrifice—except today, the idol being sacrificed to is the individual’s idea of their own life. Remember also Jesus’ warning about “little ones” and “millstones.”
* **Good in the Public Square:** As God said in Genesis 1, everything He created is good, and we are to receive it with prayer and gratitude. Paul tells us to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture. I used to sit in common areas like the Lynnhaven Mall or the library to read the Bible so people could see a person reading Scripture in public. It’s a good practice, and I may go back to doing it.
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## THE LESSON
### **Perseverance and Honor**
* **Pressing On at the Open Mic:** Paul tells us to live pure lives, be diligent, and persevere. Some will chastise us for it. I encounter a handful who fit that category at the open mic on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Sometimes I ask myself if I’m doing any good singing about the Lord in a bar, but when someone shouts *”Give ’em hell!”* as I walk up, it gives me a reason to stick it to them and give them something to think about. That kind of lash-out is just fear-based resistance to the truth sinking in. So, I keep pressing on.
* **Honoring the Workers:** Those who help and honor church leaders by providing services, talents, advice, videos, and observations (not gossip) are to be honored in turn. If anyone is helping your pastor by providing a service to the church, that should be appreciated. We should all honor and respect one another.
* **Nothing is Truly Hidden:** Scripture reminds us that no sin is ever truly hidden from God. This is why I sometimes publicly broadcast my own sins and concerns. When we screw up—which I do daily—it shouldn’t be hidden, but repented and offered to the Lord like a burnt offering. It’s like burning something to say, *”I have no value in this anymore, Lord,”* while we seek our true salvation in Jesus.
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## THE CALLING
### **Pursuing the Gift of Righteousness**
* **Conceited Teachers:** In 1 Timothy 6, Paul warns that anyone who teaches contrary to these words is conceited and understands nothing—even if they put on a good show of being wiser than everyone else. They love to stir things up, creating a stench that most people can easily perceive.
* **The Root of Evil:** This is where Paul notes that the *love of money* is the root of all kinds of evil. However, in addition to that, some people are just evil for its own sake—not for financial compensation, but just for ungodly kicks and giggles.
* **The Final Send-Off:** Paul tells Timothy to flee from all of this. Instead, actively pursue:
* **Righteousness & Godliness**
* **Faith & Love**
* **Endurance & Gentleness**
Prayer For Whomsoevers:
“Lord help us lead the righteous life. When we go to church show us the godly way so we may love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us be guided by Paul’s words to Timothy. When we are in the world keep us involved but not absorbed and amp up our discernment, Lord, so we may guide others as you would have us do so. Let our thoughts and actions always be in Your Favor. In the name of Jesus all the people say “Amen!”
* **See You in Church:** Build these into your character and give them to others as a gift, following the perfect demonstration given to us by Jesus in the sight of God.
How did I do? This was generated straight from my own intelligence and interpretation of what Paul had to say. As Paul ends the letter: **Grace be with you all, and peace be with you.** See you in church—don’t be late!
Corresponding Scipture:
**1 Timothy 4:1** — *”In later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits.”* **(Discernment)**
**1 Timothy 6:11** — *”But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”* **(Character)**
**Ephesians 6:11** — *”Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”* **(Armor)**
**Romans 12:2** — *”Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”* **(Transformation)**
**2 Timothy 4:7** — *”I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”* **(Perseverance)**
**James 1:27** — *”Keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”* **(Holiness)**
**Matthew 7:13–14** — *”Enter through the narrow gate… narrow is the way that leads to life.”* **(Narrow Way)**
