1 Timothy 4:3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
In this verse we have examples of the rules of the hypocritical liars that Paul is warning will arise. One example is that They forbid people to marry. The most obvious example of that is the rule in Romanism that forbids priests to marry. It is sometimes found in other contexts too and is typical of false religion. The other example is the way such people order others to abstain from certain foods. Obvious examples might be Hindu vegetarianism, Jewish and Muslim avoidance of pork, Romanist rules about meat and fish, the Mormon veto on tea and coffee. This is again typical of false religion. The true believer knows the truth and does not forbid marriage to anyone suitably qualified and places no ban on any food or drink in and of itself believing that all such things were created by God to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. False religion may have a patina of sense with its rules about marriage and food but they fail to see that God the Creator gave us all sorts of good things to enjoy. Such religions are 'no' religions whereas the gospel proclaims a 'yes' message in every way. It is good for Christians to give thanks before they eat, as Jesus did, in acknowledgement of these facts.
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