Barometers For Our Beliefs (4:6-16)
Neal Pollard
In contrast to the false teachers Paul addresses in the first few verses, Timothy was to be different. Note the imperatives in this lengthier paragraph (6-16): “Have nothing to do with” (7), “command” (11), “teach” (11), “let no one despise” (12), “devote” (13), “do not neglect” (14), “practice” (15), “keep a close watch” (16), and “persist” (16). The young preacher had much to concentrate on to help God’s house flourish and succeed. For Paul, helping others begins by strengthening our own faith. We cannot help others become what we are not. This is not just true of preachers, but all Christians. This half of the chapter contains some important barometers for our beliefs.
The content we should believe. Walk through the chapter and see how many words Paul uses to describe God’s Word. There is “the faith” (1,6). This is not talking subjectively about what we personally believe, but objectively about something outside ourselves that we can stay true to or abandon. Nowhere does the Bible endorse each of us deciding what we’ll believe and having our own set of beliefs. There is “the truth” (3), what is real and genuine and what is verifiable in contrast with what is false. There is “the word of God” (5), the source of truth. There is “sound doctrine” (6), healthy and fit teaching as opposed to bad and deformed. There is “teaching” (13,16), instruction in a formal or informal setting. There is “prophesy” (15), an inspired utterance from God. There are “these things” (15), the specific matters Paul addresses here. See how God has given us so much to help us know and understand His Word? Paul’s point is that God has made His word knowable, measurable, and identifiable. The outcome is powerful in our lives when we find and know these things.
We must concentrate on what we believe. One is not passive in the process of building faith. Throughout the chapter, Paul tells Timothy about the sweat equity he must put into it. This involves sharing our faith (6), giving attention (13), and being absorbed in these things (15).. God wants us to find the truth, but He also wants us to show Him we’re serious about it. Where does our study of Scripture fit into everything else? Every goal we find worthwhile and we desire to achieve, we work hard to get it. If we want what only God can give us through His word, we have got to “labor and strive” (10).
There are consequences to what we believe. By nature, we are inclined to want to know the payoff for our efforts. Are there tangible benefits that follow investing in our faith in Christ? Paul mentions five in this chapter.
The truth nourishes us (6). The more we take in, the healthier we will be. If we fill our minds with ungodliness, we will be ungodly. If we fill them with God’s nourishing word, we’ll be profitable to God and man.
The truth leads us to godliness (7-8). Nothing should replace God as our obsession, including things like bodily exercise. Disciplining ourselves for the purpose of godliness benefits us now and eternally.
The truth leads to hope (10). It seems like the world gets more hopeless and anxious each day. If we believe that this life is all there is, that there is no higher power we can appeal to, that we’re just an accident that the universe caused, this reaction is inevitable. But faith in God’s Word can keep us going in circumstances that might make most people give up!
The truth leads to progress (15). Paul says that if Timothy stayed with the Scripture, people would be able to tell the difference in his life. You can be around somebody for a little while & pretty much know what’s most important to them. Paul indicates that Timothy’s life was a progress report that others could look at & see how he was growing. When we are growing in our Xian life, people can tell–and that is tied to what we believe.
The truth leads to salvation (16). Paul wants Timothy to persevere in how he lived and what he taught. It was the way for him to be saved and for others who he influenced could be saved. It meant being an example of the believer (12). It meant not neglecting the abilities God had given him (14). What we believe is directly tied to where we live eternally.
All of us are living by some belief system. What we believe matters everything (Matt. 7:24-27)! Paul urges us to believe the truth.
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