1 Timothy 4

¹But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.

²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

¹Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

¹⁸when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”

³Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.

⁴He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

³Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

¹⁹Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

¹⁸For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³⁰Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.

²⁸Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

¹⁵Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

⁴Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

⁴For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,

⁶He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

¹⁶Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.

³⁰If I partake in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

⁸But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.

²⁵Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,

¹⁴I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

²³“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying.

²⁵As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

⁷Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’

⁸‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

³They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

⁴But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

⁴¹But give as alms the things that are within you, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

³¹And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

⁸and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

¹Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking

²by recalling what was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

⁷Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.

⁵²Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

¹But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

¹²It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

⁴or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

⁹But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels about the law, because these things are pointless and worthless.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

⁶Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

³Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

²³The fear of the Lord leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.

⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the Lord are wealth and honor and life.

²¹“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?

²²These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.

⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.

⁶who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

¹⁵that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

²Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

¹⁵Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

⁷Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach.

⁸This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

²²Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

¹⁵Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

¹You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

⁴and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

¹⁵Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

¹⁶Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

¹¹Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

¹⁵Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

⁹Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

¹⁰As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

¹⁸Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,

⁶They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

²²Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

¹⁹Do not extinguish the Spirit.

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands.

¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

⁴⁸I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I meditate on Your statutes.

⁴and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁹He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

⁷In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

⁸Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.

⁹Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

¹¹For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

⁷As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.

⁸If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.

¹¹so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.