A Good Servant 1 Timothy 4:6-16

-God Expects Us to Live as Good Servants

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott The Little Servant of an Illustrious Master

Hudson Taylor was being introduced by a Presbyterian moderator in Melbourne. He was the visiting missionary speaker. The introduction was effusive and ended with a reference to “our illustrious guest.”

“Dear friends,” began Hudson Taylor, “I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.”

A good servant of Jesus must…

I. Continue in Gospel Teaching vv. 6-7a

Paul continues his instruction to Timothy with a picture of the ultimate goal of any Christian: we are called to be good servants of Jesus Christ

I want us to camp out on this for just a moment. We are His servants, not our own

We are called to live in a way that pleases him, not seeking our own ends

It’s a big call, and we must understand how to live in a way that pleases Him

This begins with a command:

Put the Gospel in front of the people

Share the invitation to a life of liberty that it carries, of justification by grace through faith

There is a critical piece to this though:

We must be trained in the words of the faith; we must know what we believe and why

We must continue in the sound doctrine that is the established teaching of the church

We cannot be distracted by silly myths or irreverent teaching that discounts the Gospel of Jesus

Our focus has to be on Jesus, His message, and we must let it overflow into every aspect of our lives

It’s entirely possible that a lot of us are winning at all of the wrong things!

II. Train for Godliness vv. 7b-10

Second, Paul tells Timothy to train for godliness

It’s a picture of the ongoing pursuit of the character and mission of God

We want to have the character of Jesus

We want to participate in the mission of Jesus

This is contrasted with bodily training

Bodily training is profitable and it is good to pursue physical and emotional fitness

However, there is a distinction between these and spiritual fitness; the spiritual fitness lasts for eternity

It impacts both my life here and my life hereafter!

We can confidently pursue godliness because we are recipients of a promise:

The Lord is the singular and sufficient savior of all

This is not a claim of universal salvation, but it is a recognition

He alone is able to save and He is able to save

This salvation is experienced only by those who believe, but for those who believe, it is a certainty

What does the pursuit of godliness have to do with belief?

Everything!

A life that is lived in pursuit of godliness is the proof of a heart filled with faith!

You can pursue godliness wholeheartedly, confident that you will not be put to shame; it will be worth the cost!

I think this one of the questions that we all are asking ourselves: is it worth it? Whether it’s a personal exercise routine or a kid’s athletic activity, we are all wondering if it is worth all of the effort that we have put into it. And honestly, it can be really hard to know if all of our physcial training will be worth it or not. But, the training for godliness that Paul describes here is certain to pay dividends. This effort will never be put to shame!

III. Set a Good Example vv. 11-15

Paul goes on and addresses a serious challenge for Timothy, his youth

No one likes to be reminded that they are young, even if it’s true

Paul tells Timothy that he must not act like a foolish young person!

Instead, he must set an example for everyone in the faith

In his speech

In his conduct

In his love

In his faith

In his purity

He must lead the way in the ministry of the Word

Public readings

Exhortation to righteousness

Teaching

He must use the gifts that God has given him for the Lord’s glory

There is a serious danger here: a moral goodness without a practical service

Timothy must understand that God has given him gifts to be used!

He must practice his faith

There is a very real sense in which belief must be connected to action

All of us get this wrong at times, but our story should be a story of progress in the faith

They should be seeing us grow!

In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein's young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?"

"I devote myself to the study of physics," Einstein replied.

The girl looked at him in astonishment. "You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago."

IV. Watch Yourself v. 16

Paul issues a final instruction: watch yourself

There is a temptation that is present here, but it’s especially true in the life of a leader

We must not give all our attention to the spiritual health of others; we must consider ourselves

There is only one soul that you can really control: yourself

We must keep a close watch:

On what we teach and proclaim about God to others

On how we behave ourselves

When we watch ourselves, a profound thing happens

We save ourselves

We save those who hear us also!

James 1:22–25

[22] But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [24] For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [25] But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (ESV)

Are you a servant of Jesus?

Are you a good servant of Jesus?

What do you need to do about it?