Watching our Life and Teaching
Notes
Transcript
Warren Brosi
September 21, 2025
Dominant Thought: Our life teaches about our Savior.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to understand the choices we have in following Jesus.
I want my listeners to feel challenged to align their life and teaching with Jesus our Savior.
I want my listeners to reflect on what our lives teach about Jesus our Savior.
I want to thank everyone who helped make our church at the fairgrounds a success last week. We had a record setting day at least in one way. We set a record for the hottest temperature recorded for the year last week in Springfield according to channel 20. It was great to join together as one church to worship Jesus, invest in our children, support a worthwhile mission of Lake Springfield Christian Assembly, among other victories.
After the service, I received a coloring page from a couple girls from the kids boxes. It’s a coloring page of the preacher for the day, me and Anthony Bliss. I didn’t know that was in their boxes. The sweet girl showed me the picture they had colored. Then she said, “I colored your hair black because their wasn’t a gray crayon.” Sometimes the truth hurts. I’m content with my gray hair.
Earlier this year, I was renewing my license at the same time Weston was receiving his driver’s license. We were at the counter in Jacksonville. The lady had my expiring license and was updating the information: height, weight, eye color… Then she looked up from her computer and me and said, “You still calling your hair brown?” I told her I thought I had changed that a couple renewals ago. Sometimes the truth can be painful.
In 1 Timothy 4, Paul continues to give Timothy the truth. He wants Timothy to focus on what is truth because this world has plenty of lies and deception.
In 1 Timothy 4, we are given three sets of choices to anchor us deeper into the truth of Jesus.
First, are we abandoning or thanking (1 Timothy 4.1-5)?
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times, some will abandon the faith” (1 Timothy 4.1). To abandon is the word for depart or move away. Jesus uses this word to describe one of the soils in his parable. The word of God, represented by a seed lands in rocky soil. Jesus describes what happens in the rocky soil in Luke 8:13, “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”
Paul warns Timothy that the Spirit says in later times people will walk way from the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Those are scary ideas. We have already seen some of the spiritual warfare languages in this letter.
Paul highlights a couple of people in 1 Timothy 1 who may represent those who abandon the faith. We read about them in 1 Timothy 1:19–20, where Paul encourages Timothy, “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
Are we abandoning the faith? It sounds like our English word, “apostasy,” a willful turning away from God. The evil one is crafty to whisper lies and deception into our lives. Paul describes those who teach these evils as “hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4.2).
These false teachers Timothy faces forbid marriage and warn against eating certain foods. The deceptive spirits and doctrines of demons today teach our culture about marriage, too. But it is not God’s plan for marriage.
One of our core values here at Berlin Christian Church is, “We value the Bible as God’s Word” (2 Timothy 3.16). We trust God’s Word as truth. God’s Word can keep us in right relationship with Him.
Then, Paul highlights another choice: thanking. Instead of abandoning the faith, we can thank God for his good creation. Everything God created is good. We hear the refrain throughout the creation account in Genesis 1.
I experienced the goodness of God’s creation this Wednesday morning. After a rough night of sleep, I stepped out onto the porch. I saw a red reflection shining off the chrome bumper of my neighbors FORD truck. That red glow was the sunrise. As I saw the red glow off the bumper of a truck, I thanked God for the gift of the sunrise and a new day. I thought back to our Psalm from last week, “weeping may stay for the evening, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30.5). I was reminded that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3.23).
Thanking God for His gifts can help us stay in right relationship with Him. Paul teaches Timothy that we can receive the good gifts of God with thanksgiving. Then, he concludes this section by saying things are made holy by the word of God and prayer. God’s word is a clear theme in these letters.
Second, are we distracting or training (1 Timothy 4.6-10)?
Paul encourages Timothy by saying, “If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus nourished on the truths of the faith and the good teaching you have followed” (1 Timothy 4.6). The word for minister is the same word for deacon we studied in 1 Timothy 3.8. Some translations say, “good servant.”
Paul commands Timothy to “have nothing to do with godless myths or old wives’ tales” (1 Timothy 4.7). We saw something similar in 1 Timothy 1.4. I think Paul is challenging Timothy to prioritize his time on what’s really important. Don’t waste your time and energy on things that are not productive. In other words, avoid distractions.
I met a young man at the YMCA this week. He found out I was a preacher. He thought that was pretty cool. He said, “We have a lot of distractions out there. We need help staying on the right track.” Then he said, “The problem is we hang around people who are also so distracted that we don’t know we are distracted.”
Instead of distracting, Paul commands Timothy to focus on training. It’s the word for our word, “gym.” Hit the gym for yourself in godliness. Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all.
“Sound hearts are not much good if the feet won’t stand.” (Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt, p. 49). This quote is in correspondence between Roosevelt and military leaders on Roosevelt’s direction to improve the physical condition of the military that had grown “ponchy.” He wrote, “I merely issued directions to walk fifty miles or ride one hundred [horse back] in three days...a test which many a healthy middle aged woman would be able to meet” (p. 47). Roosevelt set the example by riding 100 miles in one day on frozen roads and sleet.
What are some ways you are training in godliness? Fasting, prayer, serving, encouraging? I want you to think of your training in a couple of areas: solo and small group. Solo training is your time with God alone. Some people thrive on that. Others need people. What habits are developing in your day and week to help you grow in godliness? They will change depending on your season of life. Another area that can help you train in godliness is small groups. Are you meeting with others to train in the ways of godliness and holiness? This training may be a 21 days prayer partner, a Bible study group, a Sunday school class, a group of friends you meet together to have coffee or lunch and talk about life and Jesus.
Paul culminates this section with a third trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. He states this faithful saying as the foundation and motivation for their work—we labor and strive. “Because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4.10). If you’re not reading correctly you could say that God will save everyone and no one will go to hell. However, if you read the rest of the Bible, that belief is not consistent. I suggest the way to read 1 Timothy 4.10, God offers salvation to all, but only believers will accept the offer. Sounds like John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God is the Savior of all—especially those who believe.
Third, are we neglecting or devoting (1 Timothy 4.11-16)?
Paul encourages Timothy not to “neglect your gift, which was given you...” (1 Timothy 4.14). To neglect means to ignore or not pay attention, not respond appropriately. Buildings fall down after years of neglect, illness can creep in after years of neglecting your health.
Instead of neglecting the gifts, devote yourself to the truths of God.
In 1 Timothy 4.11-16, Paul gives Timothy ten commands relating to devoting his life to the ministry of Jesus: command and teach these things (1 Timothy 4.11), let no one despise you because you are young (1 Timothy 4.12), set an example for the believers (1 Timothy 4.12), devote yourself to public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching (1 Timothy 4.13), do not neglect the gift (1 Timothy 4.14), be diligent and give yourself wholly (1 Timothy 4.15), Watch your life and doctrine and persevere in them (1 Timothy 4.16).
As we look over these commands, consider these questions.
1) What are you agonizing over? Are you striving to deepen your relationship with God or not?
2) How do people view your speech? Is it full of love, encouragement, and truth? Or is it foul, abrasive, false, demeaning?
3) How do you conduct yourself? Are you kind, generous, a godly model? Or are you stingy or unfaithful?
4) Are you known as a person who loves God and people? Or loves yourself?
5) What about your faith? Is your life totally dependent upon God? Are you trusting Him for your daily bread?
6) Are you leading a life of purity? What consumes most of your time? What sites do you visit on the internet? Are you remaining pure?
“Setting an example” (1 Timothy 4.12) carries the image of how a king would put his impression on a document. You may have seen in movies where they would drip wax on a document and the king would stamp his ring in the wax to seal the document. This is the type of example, or mark or impression that Paul is calling Timothy to show to the believers.
Our lives will make an impression of those around us. Will it draw them closer to our saving king or further away? Paul commands Timothy to watch his life and teaching closely because if he does he will stay in right relationship with God and those who listen to his teaching will also. Our life teaches about our Savior.
Lynn Camp from Eastern European Mission tells the following story from July 1961, when a group of Christians went from Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. Things were much different in communist controlled Hungary in 1961.
About the third day of our visit everything began to change as we carefully contacted a few of the names we had accumulated in Vienna. Most led or hosted house churches. Some were leaders of a tolerated 500-member “protestant” church, formed when the new government took over all church buildings and terminated the “clergy.” The new church was for all who persisted in a profession of faith, but were neither Roman Catholic nor Jewish. It was here that we met Ivan Martos, one of the friendliest and happiest, most positive and enthusiastic, of God's creatures. Ivan worked as an officer of the National Bank of Hungary. He was about fifteen to twenty years older than we, married, without children. Ivan spoke freely of his life of faith, his devotion to God's Word and his love for the Lord's people.
We soon learned that Ivan customarily traveled to Vienna twice each year to attend banking conferences. Our visits became regular and highly anticipated. It was one of those summer trips to Vienna when I arranged to meet Ivan at the same West Train Station. He arrived on time, but his entire body language informed that not all was well. A host of “what if's” raced through my mind. Soon enough I would know the tragedy that bowed him so low in absolute grief.
Before we could even leave the train platform, Ivan, practically in tears, related his bitter experience. That day, as the train neared the Austrian border, uniformed guards boarded the train at the next to last stop on the Hungarian side. They would make their way through the train, checking identification and documentation of all passengers prior to arriving at the border stop. The guards immediately discovered that Mr. Martos was an important officer with Hungary's National Bank. His papers were all in order, permitting the official travel. Before proceeding to the next passenger one of the guards asked Ivan to open his briefcase. The first item removed for inspection by the guard was Ivan's personal Bible. In a loud, angry voice the guard held up the Bible for all in the car to see and yelled, “What is a man in your position doing with a Bible?” Before Ivan could respond, the guard sailed the Bible through the open window of the moving train. Ivan had indeed lost a best friend.
Fast forward two years. Again I was meeting Ivan in Vienna. This time he arrived as upbeat as he had been downcast two years earlier. And, as before, we could not leave the train platform until I knew his story. Just a few days before leaving Budapest a package had been delivered by the postman. Ivan did not recognize the return name and address. But as his wife prepared dinner he sat in the kitchen and opened the unexpected prize—it was his Bible! And accompanying his old friend was a letter of apology and explanation. It went something like this: “Some of our children were playing one day along the railroad tracks. They found your Bible. Not knowing what it was, one of them took it to his grandmother who immediately recognized it as a Bible. Word spread quickly through the little village on the border. Some of our older people had possessed Bibles before they were banned, and remembered the significance and power of the Word of God. We decided to conceal the discovery while those who so desired would make handwritten copies. That joyful task lasted two years. Please forgive our keeping your Bible so long. But you might like to know that we are now a secret band of about thirty who have baptized each other and seek to follow Jesus in our daily lives.”
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Twenty years ago, last month, I made promises to God, elders and before this church that I would give my life in Christian ministry. We call it an ordination service. A ceremony that sets aside and builds a relationship between a minister and a church family to hold one another accountable. Some in this picture have passed away.
One of the preachers that evening in the old church building down the street was Mark Scott. He gave the message and he preached from this text 1 Timothy 4. He concluded the sermon with these words, “Live the life and tell the story.” I’ve summarized the sermon this way, “Our life teaches about our Savior.” What will we teach them?
Our life teaches about our Savior. What will our lives teach?
