1st Timothy 4:16, “16(A) Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save(B) both yourself and(C) your hearers.”

1st Timothy 4:16 sits in the context of 1st Timothy 4:6-16 which talks about how Timothy should be shaped by the Gospel. Both paragraphs in this section (verses 6-10 and verses 11:-16) open with a call for Timothy to speak certain truths to the congregation. The focus is on how Timothy by his teaching and lifestyle, can help the church preserve in the face of false teaching.

           
1st Timothy 4:16 teaches that Timothy’s perseverance in sound doctrine and practice will save him, meaning it will lead him to persevere in the faith, confirming his salvation. This type of ministry will be effective in preserving his hearers as well.

           
Paul in 2nd Timothy 4:1-5 tells young Timothy, “ 1(A) I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,(B) who is to judge the living and the dead, and by(C) his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;(D) reprove, rebuke, and(E) exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3(F) For the time is coming when people will not endure(G) sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and(H) will turn away from listening to the truth and(I) wander off into myths. 5As for you,(J) always be sober-minded,(K) endure suffering, do the work of(L) an evangelist,(M) fulfill your ministry.”

          
  The ministry is not a place for self-seekers, and self-glorifying people to take up residence to promote their ideas about God, or their “deeper” knowledge of the Bible. The Lord God gave Christians His message in the Bible which means that any message that man tries to superimpose upon Scripture violates the Scriptures which Paul instructed Timothy to preach and live. The Christian life is not a disjoined life whereby one may have “sound doctrine” and then no sound living. The problem is that because of liberalism, which disjoins theology from the Bible, people believe that theology is unimportant (or even worse not viable for a vibrant Christian life). In either case the Church is robbed of its authority because of people who make sweeping claims but cannot substantially their position biblically. The Emergent Village is an example of people who want to have dialogue on how to reach postmodern people but have no time to deal with what the Bible has to say about it. In discussions on how people should preach people ignore Paul’s command to preach the whole counsel of God by favoring dialogue preaching.

People today fall into two camps: those who love the truthfulness and sufficiency of the Scripture in the life of the Body of Christ, or those who reject it for their ideas which claim to be biblical but have no biblical substance to them. The second group of people is clearly those who Paul talks about in 2nd Timothy 4 who would rather have preachers “itch their ears”, because this is so common, it’s hard for people to figure out what is good sound theology. What a tragic hour the Church is in! There has never been a time in the history of the Church such as ours.

Labels along the lines of I’m of a certain denomination or network come across as “I belong to this fan club” rather than the fact that believers belong to Christ and are His bond-servants (See nearly every introduction Paul gives to his readers in his epistles). The real problem is that in the evangelical Church today people are more interested in what the latest “teacher”/preacher, etc is saying and soak up their teaching like it is authority. Some people even quote teachers, or Pastors like he/she are above Scripture. People who do so prove that they would rather follow a teacher than the Savior who died for humanity’s sins so that they could have the forgiveness of sins. No man or teaching is above the inspiration, authority or sufficiency of Scripture.

          
  The Church is suffering today from a disjointed faith where people say they believe in Jesus but then their lives do not match up to the claim of being a Christ-Follower. The reality is that popular culture teaches people to minimize Truth which means when people come to the Bible they will see it only as the “good book” rather than the Word of God. Paul told young Timothy in 1st Timothy 4:16, “16(A) Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save(B) both yourself and(C) your hearers.” While these words were written to young Timothy by his mentor the Apostle Paul the truth is still relevant for believers. Every believer should be on watch for both his life and doctrine. Not everyone is a teacher but every believer ought to be exercising discernment and “testing to see if these things are so” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).

The way popular culture minimizes Truth and salvation.  People have all sorts of needs and wants but they have only real need which are Truth and salvation. An undiscerning age never knows what it needs so it has no way of knowing what it needs in terms of Truth or salvation but it pursues both religiously. The Church is full of people pursuing Truth and salvation apart from the source of Truth.

         
   People in the Church pursue Truth and salvation in a number of ways. It’s popular to think of Christians in terms of groups or tribes. Its popular in Christianity to go by Baptist, Pentecostal, Reformed, etc, and whatever “church” you’re in. The only problem is that the Bible does not attach such titles to believers anywhere in the Bible. No believer is of Baptist, Reformed, etc, but every believer is of Jesus. Christians today have their favorite pet theologies which they emphasize. People love to emphasize end times, issues in the Church etc. While all of these issues are important and need to be discussed when believers focus on issues it should be through the lens of the Gospel which is first order theology. The Gospel is first order theology which means it is supremely important. If believers escape that Truth then believers walk away from Christianity and make the slippery slope down into liberalism.

           
Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15:3, “ 3For(F) I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died(G) for our sins(H) in accordance with the Scriptures,” Paul is using commonly recognized language for handling on, in tact, a body of information that one has received from others. What is important and vital is the Gospel the message that Christ died for our sins in humanity’s place and who rose again. The message of the Bible is the Gospel. The Lord gave the Gospel in Genesis 3:15 and the work of the Gospel continue till the end of Revelation when all the promises of God are fulfilled by Christ in destroying the enemies of God.

           
This means theology in the Church has run away from the Gospel only to find itself in the hands of some men rather than found in the Bible. The main problem is that when believers run to their favorite theology rather than to the Gospel it breeds division not unity. The Gospel is the means by which believers are saved, the means by which the Church is built up, and the means by which God draws sinners to Himself. In other words the Gospel is not just some message but the message, and the methodology from which believers are to use to win people to Christ and to make disciples for God’s glory.

          
  Believers should zealously guard not just their theology but their life. Paul says in 1st Timothy 4:16, “16(A) Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save(B) both yourself and(C) your hearers.” Paul’s teaching to Timothy relates to believers theology (watch on yourself) and on the teaching. It doesn’t matter the position or titles that one has in the Church every Christian will be held responsibility by Christ for how one lives. Every believer has a sphere of influence, which makes Paul’s words to Timothy relevant to every believer as every believer ought to keep a close watch on how they live and teach. By doing so every believer will persist in the faith and by doing so will save themselves and their hearers from double minded Christianity.

            The life that believers live can make an influence regardless of position or influence. The reality is that in order to make a difference in people’s lives believers’ theology and theology must match. When believer’s theology and life match their lives become Gospel centered and not man centered. Pray the Lord would rise up a generation of warriors for His name. Pray that the Lord would rise up men who will preach His Word. Pray the Lord rises up men to lead their families. Pray for marriages throughout the land. Pray about how the Lord would have you be involved in his work of advancing the Gospel. In every generation there are people who the Lord is preparing to serve Him but who never step forward to serve because of fear of man. Do not be afraid of man; step forward into the ministry of Christ. The words out of believer’s mouths ought to align with the theology they profess. When this occurs believers theology and life match which results in the advancement of the Gospel to the glory of God.

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Dave

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