Skip to main content

Be Conscientious In Your Walking and Teaching of Faith

(Midweek Devotion - 1 Timothy, 16 August 2023)

1 Timothy 4:11-16 (NET)

11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity. 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress. 16 Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Today is quite important passage as Apostle Paul continue to give his apostolic instruction to Timothy, the young man that he is guiding in his conduct in the ministry that was given to him. I firmly believe that this passage is equally important for all of us, Christians who were given to ministry as well. As Paul have advise, these are to be commanded and taught by Timothy. Therefore, it is right to say that we should also follow the same. First, is to be taught of it. Then, to teach it to others.

Allow me to remind you then that if you are a Christian, Paul has instructed us these practical things to observed in our lives.

  1. No one look down on you because you are young. Our age in the ministry does not define our maturity in the ministry. Although maturity comes with experience in a considerable length of time, the quality of experience is not limited to it. Even if you are young in the ministry, as long as you walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit (i.e. Stephen in Acts 7), exercising your spiritual gift fully and without fail, walking blamelessly before the eyes of God; you are more than those who are mature in age indeed.

  2. Set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity. Walk the talk. Exemplify, exhibit, and manifest the Christlike image that was given to you by the Spirit of God in all aspects of your life. Paul enumerated these aspects which includes the manner of your speeches, your daily conduct, your exercise of love, your obedience to faithfulness, and your commitment to purity. These are few but touches all aspects of our lives such as our communications, our actions, our relations, our religion, and persons.

  3. Give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Live with Word. Christians are grafted to the vine of Christ. He commanded us to come, follow him, and learn from him. He commanded us to teach everything He commanded us. He explicitly said that we cannot do anything apart from Christ. Now we know why Paul require us to do the same in this epistle. As Christ always says, let those who have ears, let them hear. And the purpose of all these hearing for faith to come. Faith that is not dead but alive. Faith alone for our salvationa but that is not alone, for it produces repentance and obedience to Christ. We know and we learn. We know learn and we teach. We teach and we abide.

  4. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have. Gift is free, use it or spoil it. Paul wants you and me to not just simply give up the Spiritual Gifts that the Lord has given us. As what he mentioned, it was confirmed by the Elders who laid their hands on you. If you were given a gifts, confirmed by the elders - then you should not ignore it. Instead, use such gift greatly for such is useful for building up the body of Christ. Else, you are spoiling such gift not only that other have not benefited to it, worse is yourself who has a direct access to it and have failed to reap its benefits.

  5. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress. Preserved through persevere. Paul know that in following the list of things he enumerated requires pains. He knew that no pain, no gain. Christ pain is our gain for salvation. Our pain is other gains for their search for salvation. Paul even suggest to be absorbed with them, that everyone around us will see our santification and preservation as the true bride of Christ, holy and pleasing in the sight of God.

  6. Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Beware to Be Aware. As Christians, especially for those who lead a congregation or group of people, Paul gave us intructions to be diligent, efficient and profficient on how we live in this world in relation to what we are teaching towards the others. Both should have no disconnect or gap to each other but closely related and abide to each other. By doing so, you will inherit the benefits of it, to save yourself and the others. No, this is not the same with the salvation done by Christ. It only refers to your sanctification to avoid corruption of soul and spirit, and with the others around you as well.

This passage is so rich of wisdom. It is truly rich of many practical ways that every Christian should learn and abide. Every Christian were given to ministry, therefore, everyone should exercise them without fail and without delay. We are Christian who are active and living, not just alive in words and dead in action. Let our soul and spirit be strengthened, for the Spirit of God empowered us through His Gift and be useful into His ministry.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore The Most Read Post for the past year

Put Our Hope In God, not in uncertainties

(Midweek Devotions, 1 Timothy 6:17-21 - 25 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:17-20 17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  18  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  19  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 20  Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,  21  which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all. We are in the final last 5 verses in book of First Timothy, an important pastoral letter which is very helpful for any man of God called to this important vocation. Definitely, this book is by extension equal
Post a Comment
Read more

Sanctified - A Pleasing Servant of Christ

(Midweek Devotion - 1st Timothy 5:22-25, 13 Sept 2023) 1 Timothy 5:22-25 22  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.  23  (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)  24  The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.  25  So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. After we have been reminded of Paul's apostolic instruction to give honour due to our elders, especially those who work in preaching and teaching; Paul is now giving us warnings of the continuing influences of sins to each and every believers. He warn us of three things: (1) do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, (2) taking part in the sins of others, (3) and keeping ourselves pure. Laying on of hands is particularly referring to the ordination of someone to install in the position of lead
Post a Comment
Read more

Respect - To Serve Them Even Better

(Midweek Devotion, 1st Timothy 6:1-2, 27 Sept 2023) 1st Timothy 6:1-2 1 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. 2 Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. One of the great things about the Sacred Scriptures is that, it does not talk about God alone but also talks about His creatures behaviour, particularly human being, more specificallly those who are His people. 1st Timothy 6 gave us an idea of how both one who are UNDER authority and one who are IN authority should behave as bearers of the name of God. The Bible clearly values authority and how important one should submit to an authority over him. The Bible itself claims authority for Truth, thus, no wonder that th
Post a Comment
Read more

Paul's Description Of A False Teacher

(Midweek Devotion, 1 Timothy 6:3-5 - 04 Oct 2023) 1 Timothy 6:3-5 3  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4  he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5  and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. The bible is quite vocal in its warning against (1) a false prophet or false teachers, and (2) a false teaching or false doctrine. Jesus’ ministry had repeatedly criticise the Jewish religious leaders in their time and keep on correcting them in many occasions or warning the crowds or the Jewish people who follow their teachings. Paul in this part of his epistle to Timothy is similarly giving some warning to his child in faith and dealing with the spre
Post a Comment
Read more

Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain

(Midweek Devotion, 1 Timothy 6:6-10) 1 Timothy 6:6-10 6  But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. One of today’s common deception in modern Christianity movement is the use of the Gospel as a solution to life of prosperity. Though the Bible have shown us many great examples of people of God who received and accumulated great wealth in their obedience to God, that does not mean that we also have to focus of such things in our walk of faith. What does the Bible said about prosperities and how the people of Go
Post a Comment
Read more