On this Monday morning, we jump right into the deep end to talk about the pathway from orthodoxy to demon theology. Heavy topic, one inspired by a text we find in Paul's first epistle to Timothy. Here's the question from a podcast listener named Leland. "Hello, Pastor John, and thank you for taking heavy questions on the podcast.

I have one of them." Indeed he does. In 1 Timothy 4.1, Paul writes that some professing Christians "will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." This seems like a very stark transition for once-professing believers. What does this look like? Can it really mean that Christ-worshippers become blatant demon-worshippers?

Or is this move far more subtle? Can you explain to me what's happening in this text? This is a good question for giving us an opportunity to clarify two things. First, can a true born-again worshipper of Jesus be led astray into the kind of demonic deception that Paul has in mind?

That's one. And second, how does this happen? Or what's going on here? Or does the departure from the church into involvement with demonic teaching happen suddenly or gradually? Now, the reason I raised that first question is because Leland's question, for me, has an ambiguity in it. On the one hand, he refers to "professing Christians departing from the faith to demons," but on the other hand, he asked the question about Christ-worshippers departing into demon worship.

So, it wasn't clear to me whether he was asking about genuine Christ-worshippers or whether he was asking about professing Christians who are not genuine Christ-worshippers deep down in their hearts. I think Romans 8, verse 30, teaches that those who are predestined are called, and those who are called are justified, and those who are justified are glorified, so that no genuinely called and justified Christian ever falls away into demon worship, not permanently anyway.

So then the question becomes, and I think this is what he's asking, what is happening when people in the church who've been in the church for years and are outwardly identifying as Christian and yet are not truly born again, what's happening when they are swept away into the teaching of demons?

So let me read the text that he's referring to. "Now the Spirit expressly says that in the later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to or paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." So what's going on here?

Well, first Paul says there are deceitful spirits. They would be manifesting themselves through people who claim to speak in the name of some supernatural being in some charismatic way, perhaps with a spirit of prophecy, the kind of thing that John referred to when he said in 1 John, "Do not believe every spirit." Do not believe every spirit.

So Paul's talking about spirits of demons here, deceitful spirits. This is the kind of thing John was referring to in 1 John 4, 1, where he said, "Do not believe every spirit." That's what Paul's talking about here, deceitful spirits. Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

So Paul is concerned that professing Christians will pay too much attention to deceitful spirits and not test them with biblical truth and be carried away into the teaching of demons. And then he says that through these spirits there arise cult-like practices which contradict biblical teaching that look religious. In this case, he's talking about forbidding marriage and forbidding certain foods.

And then he says that these cultic practices have advocates whose consciences are seared and who lie about what the Bible teaches and deceive people away from teaching the truth and away from living by faith in Christ. And when that happens, he says, you can see that these are teachings of demons, because that's what the goal of demons is, to lure people away from Christ.

And Paul points out that this kind of departure from the faith will be intensified in the later times. That's verse 1, 1 Timothy 4. The danger of seduction by deceitful spirits and teachings of demons is always present throughout this fallen age, from the time of Jesus till Jesus comes back.

They're always there. But there will be a greater temptation as the end of the age approaches and the Lord draws near. And Paul describes this in 2 Thessalonians 2. The people are worried that the day of the Lord may have come, and Paul says, no, no, it hasn't come, because first there has to be this great apostasy, this falling away, this rebellion, this deception.

A great deception comes first. Let no one deceive you. This is verse 3 of 2 Thessalonians 2. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. Then he says in verse 7, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

In other words, even though there will be a great deception of lawlessness at the very end of the age, nevertheless, the spirit of deception is always at work in some measure in this fallen age. And he describes it like this. Now, this is verses 9 to 12. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception.

That's what Paul's talking about in 1 Timothy. Deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

And Jesus said in Matthew 24, 12, "Because lawlessness," same lawlessness Paul's talking about in 2 Thessalonians, "because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved." In other words, the mystery of lawlessness will have a huge impact on nominal Christians whose love for Christ is shallow and unreal.

They will grow cold, their resistance to the deception of demons will give way, and they will not endure to the end. This may happen gradually as a church falls away from preaching the truth and the people's love for Christ becomes more and more perfunctory. You see this in churches.

It's tragic to watch. Just becomes perfunctory. They're just going through the motions, and all the former seeming passion and biblical faithfulness for Jesus is gone, and then come the deceitful spirits, and these folks are vulnerable to being swept away into a great deception and the teaching of demons. Or it may happen suddenly.

A satanic miracle worker comes to town with a ministry of signs and wonders like Simon in Acts chapter 8. He takes people by storm because their roots are so shallow. They're more dazzled by the deceitful miracles than by the beauties of Christ and his salvation and his teaching. Oh, the need, oh, the need for depth and rootedness in the truth in our churches.

This is a word for pastors. So this is why Paul urges us in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God that we might stand against the wiles of the devil and keep alert with all perseverance, praying earnestly to be spared this kind of deception. If we remain in the grace of God and treasure Christ above all, we will be kept.

That's 1 Peter 1.5. It's so precious. I love this promise. I put it on my mother's gravestone with my father's permission, in fact, kept by the power of God. But here's what the text says. By God's power, we are being guarded, being kept through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So that's our hope. Those whom the Lord calls, the Lord keeps. So precious. You mentioning 1 Peter 1.5 in the context of your mom, Ruth, and the testimony you take from her life, it reminds me of a previous episode where you talked about this a little bit more and the circumstances in which she passed into glory back in ABJ 1577.

Even more details in ABJ 1433. If you haven't heard that story, I commend those episodes to you. Thank you, Pastor John, and thank you for joining us today. You can find the ABJs 1433 and 1577 at AskPastorJohn.com. Speaking of parents, parenting teens is up next. Parenting teens can be very challenging.

And Wednesday, we're going to look at what Pastor John calls the hardest thing to do in parenting teens. The hardest thing to do in parenting teens. But it must be done. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We will see you back here on Wednesday. you