1 Timothy 4:6 (ESV)
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
One of the points of emphasis sometimes lacking today in broader Christian teaching is a commitment to obedience. We have come to a point in history in which the culturally accepted death of objective moral truth & meaning has
produced a radical individualism that over-emphasizes the importance of feelings. This overemphasis on emotions collides with a consumerist philosophy of life that emphasizes individual satisfaction. In such a cultural setting, obedience to God has pushed down the list of venerable values worthy of pursuit.
But one of the fundamental truths of Christianity is that “life is not about me and my satisfaction.” God didn’t create us to consume as many experiences as possible to fill our cups of satisfaction to the brim. God created us for a purpose—to love God and be loved by Him. There is no higher goal or meaning of life than this (Ecclesiastes 12:13; Psalm 34:8). And in the process of living for God’s glory and purposes, we discover a paradox—that living to please God as the top priority is more fulfilling than living to please ourselves (Galatians 5:22-23). Of course, unless you commit to this kind of life, you will never discover this truth.
Considering 1 Timothy 4:6, Thomas Lea makes this excellent point. In it, the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy:
“to continue to nourish himself on the truths and teaching of Christianity that he
had always followed. . . .
Paul commended Timothy by suggesting that he had ‘faithfully’ followed this teaching. As a disciple of Christ, he had made a past commitment to Christian obedience and had been consistent in his practice. A Christian can receive no higher compliment.
Much Christian teaching involves reminding ourselves and others of beliefs and practices we know but ignore or forget. Paul commended Timothy’s obedience and implied that he was to continue more of
the same,” (Thomas Lea, 1,2 Timothy & Titus, The New American Commentary, p. 134).
Historic Christianity, which is based on the Bible rather than catering to cultural trends, teaches that one must commit to obedience to God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to receive Jesus’ gift of salvation. That’s what repentance is all about, turning from sinful living to righteous living. A sincere commitment to godly obedience won’t bring perfection, but it will produce a life that looks quite different than that of the average person who swims with the cultural stream.
Unfortunately, some influential modern churches only emphasize obedience to God in limited measure. Some are more concerned with creating an enjoyable experience than disturbing people with the inconvenient talk of repentance and obedience. After all, too much conviction of sin might contribute to lower attendance.
Some are more concerned about their image and standing before a secular world than about faithfully teaching the obedience aspect of the historic Christian faith. Exhorting people to obey God can be controversial. It’s not that these churches don’t teach church members to follow the scriptures at all. Instead, they limit their teaching to uncontroversial topics or instructions about which the culture approves. Helping others is in vogue; explaining God’s plan for human sexuality is not.
Yet God calls us to both help those in need and pursue personal holiness in our obedience to God. The call to sexual purity is just as important as the call to help those in need. And the call to purity of speech and being gracious with others is not negated by the call to pursue justice.
Let us then commit to a life of obedience to our Creator. None of us will do so perfectly. God’s grace will cover us when we fail. Yet, an appreciation of God’s grace shouldn’t allow us to be lax in our commitment to obey our Creator. As Thomas Lea said in his commentary, “A Christian can receive no greater compliment” than to be recognized as a person who commits himself to obedience to God.
