The Proper Use of God’s World
Herman Hanko expounds 1 Timothy 4:3-4 to address the proper Christian attitude toward God's material creation, arguing against ascetic doctrines that view worldly things as inherently evil. The lecture emphasizes that believers should gratefully receive and use God's creation while sanctifying it through God's Word and prayer, rejecting the false teaching that abstinence from created things constitutes true religion.
Lecture delivered in Trinity Protestant Reformed Church on May 29, 2010 “…which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.” I Timothy 4:3b, 4. Introduction The letter in which the text is found was the first of two letters Paul sent to Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s spiritual son and minister of the church of Christ in Ephesus. While Paul instructs...