1 Timothy 3:14-15
14 These things [tauta] write I [grapho] unto thee, [soi] hoping [elpizo] to come [erchomai] unto [pros] thee [se] shortly: [tachion]
15 But [de] if [ean] I tarry long, [braduno] that [hina] thou mayest
know [eido] how [pos] thou oughtest [dei] to behave thyself [anastrepho] in [en] the house [oikos] of God, [theos] which [hostis] is [esti] the church [ekklesia] of the living [zao] God, [theos] the pillar [stulos] and [kai] ground [hedraioma] of the truth. [aletheia] KJV-Interlinear
14 I am writing these things to
you, hoping to come to you before long;
15 but in case I am delayed, I
write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of
God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the
truth. NASB
Decades ago, a
professional football coach, Vince Lombardi, would begin the practice season
with one remark, "Gentlemen, this is a football!"
He was speaking to men
who had played the game for most of their lives. They were all professional football players
drawing huge salaries for what they did.
And yet the coach began each season with the fundamentals of running,
blocking, tackling and so forth.And
they became champions.
This is exactly what Paul
is doing here.Ladies and Gentlemen these
are the fundamentals of Christianity.
Your daily conduct
begins with your daily Bible study, and from there you learn and you grow and
you understand, and you do it all over again, and again, with a lifetime of
repetition, so that you can know and do it all in your sleep. Then and only then do you become the
professional equivalent as a Christian, performing as a Christian should
perform.And that performance makes you
the champion that you should be, and not the inept know-it-all beginner that
most people act like.
Life sponsors such a
huge variety of ministries, that it is easy to get
lost in all of the peripheral things that go on in life.
From the many church denominations,
to the many church policies, to the many views regarding social activities, or
spiritual gifts, or holy ghost this or that, or speaking in tongues, or faith
healing beliefs, or to the pursuit of Christian gimmicks, promise clubs and
such, it is easy to get lost in the noise that Christianity has become today.
And isn t it a wonder
that so many people will simply become disinterested in Christianity, because
of the many contradictory or mindless teachings that it offers! Who would blame them?
But it is also a work
of evil that causes such confusion, and such evil is promoted by those who are
dedicated to their false beliefs, because they have lost or forgotten or never
knew the fundamentals of Christianity.
But Paul has laid them
out right here in these first three chapters of this letter to Timothy, which
we have just completed in our study, and closes with the heart of the Christian
mission in verse 15, and the heart of the Christian message in verse 16.
That you should
know.If you study and learn, then you
will know.If you do not study and
therefore do not learn, then you will not know.
If you get caught up in any of the mindless pursuits that are out there,
then you will never know what your meaning and purpose and function are, in
this life.
Your spiritual conduct
begins not with endless debates over the many views of life, which is a total
distraction, getting you away from your first priority.
You spiritual priority
is to study the scriptures, every day.
You are to learn under the supervision of an instructor. You are to learn through your daily studies. Apply those learned principles to your daily
life, study some more, learn some more, make your mistakes, learn from your
mistakes, come to an understanding, grow up and do it all over again and again
for all of your natural life here in this world.
Your goal is spiritual
maturity, which qualifies you for rewards and blessings beyond your
imagination.
In sporting events,
those who repeat mistakes, those who do not learn their fundamentals, do not win. And losers never receive the prize, never.
Again, we will not have
a study in Revelation on this day, because this study will be applied to both
study groups.
If you were really a
student of the Word, if you really wanted to learn, if you had some genuine semblance
of yearning and desire within yourself, to grow up and be a spiritual winner,
then no one would ever have to tell you to do your homework.
There would never be the
need for real life disaster events to remind you that this life is not a walk
in the park, but a real and serious business that concerns your life now, and
especially your life in eternity.
In Revelation we are
studying those who disregarded their spiritual obligations, and therefore stood
to lose phenomenal extra rewards and blessings in their eternal life in heaven.
Perhaps people need to
begin using their imaginations to exercise their minds as to the many infinite possibilities
that could exist for them in heaven.
Perhaps you should go see some of these recent animated 3D movies, just
to give your imagination a boost.
And then, consider what
your risk of losing blessings really amounts to, and what little investment is
required of you, in order to succeed in Gods plan for
you.
If you
are a Facebook member, then please join the Bible Study Group that best suits
you:
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