Let's look again at the 1 Timothy scripture
The epistle begins with Paul writing to Timothy to stay at Ephesus to help people by exposing and guiding them away from false doctrine being taught by false teachers
1 Timothy 1:3-6 NKJV
No Other Doctrine
[SUP]3 [/SUP]As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, [SUP]4 [/SUP]nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. [SUP]5 [/SUP]Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, [SUP]6 [/SUP]from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, [SUP]7 [/SUP]desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
Note here it says that they have strayed from sincere faith to idle talk, thus meaning they had sincere faith but were led away by these false teachings AND were teaching them to others. Secondly, Paul said to help these people is love by exposing the heresy and bringing them back to sound doctrine. As we know, there is a higher line of judgment for those called to be teachers by the Lord Jesus Christ. As they have responsibility over the flock they have been entrusted to, as the watchman dynamic shows us, they have a job to study to ensure what they give the sheep is indeed truth and not a fable.
Now let's look again at 1 Timothy 4:1-3 NKJV
The Great Apostasy
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, [SUP]2 [/SUP]speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, [SUP]3 [/SUP]forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [SUP]4 [/SUP]For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; [SUP]5 [/SUP]for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Once again, we have the concept of people in faith, departing from faith. You cannot depart from a faith you never had. If you never had the faith to begin with then you can't depart from it as one was never in that faith to begin with.
People may say that "Oh they were never saved to begin with," but this is a heart judgment we cannot make. If this chapter begins with Paul exhorting Timothy to bring people back who were in sincere faith but turned aside to idle talk, then what makes us suddenly believe that these people were never saved to begin with? As the ekklesia, we are called and exhorted to help a brother in sin or with doctrine that may not line up with the word of God in its entirety from OT to NT. As the ekklesia we are called to judge those who are inside the body of Christ and not outside, not by heart, but by doctrine, action, and belief. To give this truth is love as Paul writes in the first chapter of 1 Timothy.
So no, we do not comprehend that these are not saved people. They began with a sincere faith and have turned away to idle talk and fables. Thus Paul exhorted Timothy to instruct them and help them in their false teachings to bring them back. They may not depart from salvation, but they may depart from the Sanctification Process, our race of faith that Paul speaks about. Run so as to win the prize which is our Glorification. So I guess the real question is... can someone who is saved depart from faith and go to hell? I would argue that there are many examples in scripture that say it is possible. However, to say that one cannot depart from faith itself contradicts scripture.