I Timothy 4

“Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all” (4:15).  Paul didn’t tell Timothy and the other church members to “do more” or “work harder.”  In fact, Paul warned against people who thought holiness meant rejecting pleasure.  These people tried to forbid marriage and abstained from certain foods, focusing on an outward appearance of holiness. 

Trading the free gospel for a religion of hypocrisy is the “doctrine of demons” (v1).  We are to strive for godliness which receives God’s gifts with gratitude (v4, 10) and reflects His Son “in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity” (v12).