12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. – 1 Timothy 4:12-16 NKJV
As I was reading this I know that it was from Paul to his disciple Timothy. But as I read it over and over, I noticed that it could very well be a letter from the Lord to me. It was that same heart that Paul had for Timothy, which the Lord has for all his children, and that I should pay close attention to these things. I started breaking the verses apart and uncovered some basic truths that I should start the year on.
12 - Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
I should not think that I am too young in the Lord to be used in mighty ways, and I shouldn’t look down on someone who is either. A lot of times our brothers and sisters in Christ can be quite discouraging, and sometimes they get to us in ways that would hurt our ministries. I can’t let others discourage me in doing things for the Lord. If I do, I am looking at them, or myself instead of looking to Christ.
Also, what kind of example am I being as a child of God? I need to be a good example to other Christians and the world in what I say (word), how I act (conduct), in caring for others above myself (love), in the power of the Spirit (spirit), in how I trust God with everything (faith), and in pure motives both in sexual matters and in thoughts (purity). But no matter if I do this or not, I am an example to others. What then do I want them to see me as. Example here is used as a die or mold which is used to make others. I want to be a good die so that others will be cast good too.
13 - Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Since I don’t know when the Lord will return, I need to give attention to reading and studying of the bible (reading); encourage and comfort those with what I learn (exhortation); and learn for my own benefit the teaching of God’s Word in my life (doctrine). Because if I don’t learn it for myself, I will have a very hard time sharing it with others, and if I don’t even read the bible, how can I learn it, and share it with others. The good thing about sharing with others and witnessing, is that it forces you to read and learn because you want to be ready, and it also helps to keep your life clean. How convicting is it when you are witnessing to someone who is involved in pornography, when you have watched some earlier on in the week. All these things go hand in hand and complement each other in our walk.
14 - Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
As Christians, God has given us each a gift to be used for His glory. God has equipped us for different ministries so that we as His church, the body of Christ can work together to achieve a common goal. The gifts He gave Timothy were leadership, teaching, and exhortation. We were all given a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). Also there are many other gifts in the New Testament like the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, working of miracles, prophecy, speaking and interpreting tongues (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). He has also given us gifts to be apostles or church planters, prophets speaking forth the Word of God, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-16). And let us not neglect the greatest gifts He has given which is love (1 Corinthians 13) and salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). These gifts which flow in us are to produce the life that God wants for us, and the fruit of that life will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-25).
15 - Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
Meditating on God’s Word is so important in a Christian’s life. It’s like how a cow chews the cud. As we eat the word (read it) and chew on it (meditate or revolve in the mind), we then swallow it’s truths. Then throughout the day we bring it up again in our mind each time learning more and more about what we are meditating on.
This also says to “give yourself entirely to them”. That is to say “be in them”. Albert Barnes, a Christian theologian puts it this way:
Greek “Be in them” - a phrase similar to that of Horace - “totus in illis.” The meaning is plain. He was to devote his life wholly to this work. He was to have no other grand aim of living. His time, attention, talents, were to be absorbed in the proper duties of the work. He was not to make that subordinate and tributary to any other purpose, nor was he to allow any other object to interfere with the appropriate duties of that office. He was not to live for money, fame, or pleasure; not to devote his time to the pursuits of literature or science for their own sakes; not to seek the reputation of an elegant or profound scholar; not to aim to be distinguished merely as an accomplished gentleman, or as a skillful farmer, teacher, or author.
This is all done so that our progress may be evident to all. This is to say that our growth and development as a Christian, whether good or bad, may be seen be everyone…Christian and unbelievers alike. No matter how we look at it, if we do these things our light will shine brightly, and if we don’t, it will be dim, if not darkened by the rest of the world. The world and our brothers and sisters will know if we are applying these principles to our lives. Meditate on God’s Word + Give yourself entirely to it = progress in your sanctification.
14 - Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
To have, hold on to or apply the doctrine to yourself and walk in it. We are not only to read the Word, but to live it out in our lives. It requires action on our part.
There are two things that we hold on to...things that are solid and things that are valuable. God’s Word is both those things. In this verse it talks about being saved. In this sense it’s leaning more if not all towards sanctification or the setting apart the Christian from the world. The Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It pierces our hearts and convicts us of sin, it teaches us what is right, corrects us when we’re wrong, shows us how to get right, and then teaches us how to stay right (2 Timothy 3:16).
Conclusion
This year the Lord has put it in my heart to commit to verbally witness to one person a day. If you think about it this is very small given we have 24 hours in a day to get it done. In order for me to do this, I need to order my life in a way that glorifies the Lord, and also continue to enhance the gifts that God has given me. That means reading, meditating, and applying the Holy Bible in my life. As the saying goes, “The bible will keep me from sin, but sin will keep me from the bible.”
If you are a Christian, please keep me in prayer so that I may not falter in sharing Jesus with at least one person a day. It’s so easy to get distracted from what I’ve been called to do especially living in America. Frankly, the reason I wrote this was because of the conviction in my heart that I need to sharpen the axe. Hope this was encouraging for you too. Have a happy and healthy new year.
