Life and Doctrine

1 Timothy 4:15-16 ¹⁵ Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. ¹⁶ Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 

Christianity is a public belief system. It can’t be lived in a way that hides in the shadows. It is meant to be out in the open, easily seen by those on the outside.

And then if we watch the life of Christians over time, there should be change in the direction of holiness. Our lives should reflect the character of God more and more over time. We are designed to change.

This truth has been lost in recent years. I think this is because we as a society have lost the grounding in the Scriptures. There is no longer any objective truth. Everything is up for individual interpretation and application.

But this is not what the Scripture says about the way Christians are to live. We are responsible to grow in Christ. We can not stay the same. We must give ourselves wholly to following the Gospel. There can be no half-hearted efforts.

Christians should be at the top of their fields. People should see the believers efforts to glorify God and be convicted. The believer is to be someone who serves as an example to other people.

But one of the traits that seems to be lacking in the Western Church today is perseverance. We often have short attention spans and short obedience. But the Gospel demands from us a perseverance that spans time and circumstances. We are called to stick with it. We must not give up.

And we are responsible for this process in our lives. Paul tells Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely. It is not enough to have correct theology. We are not just thinking beings. We are beings designed for action. That is why Paul writes life and doctrine. Our lives must match our doctrine.

There is always believing and doing. They can’t be separated. We must watch both in our lives. Are we living what we are proclaiming? Is there coherence between our belief and our life? Or is there a mismatch? That is what we are supposed to be watching, every vigilant to bring the two closer together without compromising our belief.