‍Forbidding priests to marry is a teaching of demons (1 Timothy 4:1–3)

  Gary Hoge  ·  November 6, 2026

‍Let’s take a look at what Paul said in context:

‍The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 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.

‍For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1–5)

‍So who were these “hypocritical liars” who forbade people to marry? According to the Protestant New International Bible Commentary:

‍Probably it reflects the Gnostic heresy which regarded matter as intrinsically evil, and which found specific expression in recommending avoidance of marriage and abstinence from certain foods.¹

‍Some early Christian movements regarded the material world as evil and consequently rejected marriage and certain foods. Whether Paul’s opponents belonged to one of these movements or some other ascetic group, his reason for condemning them is clear: “Everything God created is good.” They were rejecting things God had created as good, not simply choosing to abstain from them for a religious purpose.

‍The Catholic Church certainly agrees that marriage is a good thing. In fact, the Church recognizes marriage as one of the seven sacraments. But recognizing marriage as good doesn’t mean everyone must marry.

‍Foregoing marriage in order to better serve the Lord is something Paul definitely approved of. He wrote:

‍I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. … I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. (1 Corinthians 7:7, 32–34)

‍Likewise, Jesus pointed out that some “have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven.” And he added, “The one who can accept this should accept it” (Matthew 19:11–12).

‍So both Jesus and Paul approved of remaining unmarried for the sake of serving God. Neither considered marriage sinful.

‍But doesn’t the Church forbid priests to marry?

‍The Catholic Church doesn’t forbid Catholic men to marry. It generally requires men who wish to become priests in the Latin Church to remain unmarried. That’s a condition of entering a particular vocation, not a declaration that marriage is sinful.

‍And the requirement is a Church discipline, not an unchangeable doctrine. Paul himself recognized that Church leaders could be married (1 Timothy 3:2), and the Catholic Church agrees. In fact, many Eastern Catholic Churches permit married men to become priests. Even in the Latin Church, exceptions are sometimes made for married Protestant ministers who become Catholics and are ordained priests.

‍Ordinarily, a man who has already been ordained cannot subsequently marry, but the existence of married Catholic priests demonstrates that celibacy isn’t an intrinsic requirement of the priesthood.

‍The Church generally requires celibacy of Latin Church priests because it considers celibacy valuable for their particular vocation, not because marriage is sinful.

‍Conclusion

‍Paul condemned people who rejected marriage as something evil. The Catholic Church honors marriage as a sacrament while recognizing that some Christians choose to forego it for the sake of God’s kingdom.

‍Whether the Church should require most of her priests to remain celibate is a legitimate subject for discussion. But that’s a different question from whether Catholic priestly celibacy is the teaching Paul condemned in 1 Timothy 4.

‍It isn’t.

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^‍1 Alan G. Nute, “1 Timothy,” in New International Bible Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 1480.