“Practice what you preach.” How many times have you heard that? Saying the way we should live through our communication is a lot easier than showing how we should live by our conduct. Yet, we are disqualified as hypocrites if our walk does not exemplify our talk. People need to see a sermon as well as hear one. The Apostle Paul writes to a young pastor, Timothy, and underscores this truth, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Tim. 4:15-16 NKJV). You might panic at the thought of standing in front of a crowd and preaching a sermon, but I will tell you that after fifty years of ministry, it is more challenging to flesh out the message in daily living. Yet, this is demanded, no matter how difficult.
“Nearly every pastor we know can give examples of once godly friends who went through theological training with them or worked in churches nearby, but who are no longer in ministry (or, in some cases, not even in the faith) because of sins of a moral or relational kind. Guarding our lives and our teaching is therefore a constant need, one that is captured in the apostle’s advice to Timothy:
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim. 4:15–16)
The four imperatives are important: (1) practice these things, (2) immerse yourself in them, (3) keep a close watch, and (4) persist. Basically, Paul is exhorting Timothy to focus on the teachings and duties that Paul has laid out in the previous verses, to take care of his conduct and his teaching. Such exhortations make clear that guarding our lives and our teaching is a constant need that requires vigilance and focus. This can be helped by meeting with others to urge one another on and to keep one another accountable. It might even mean setting rigid boundaries for ourselves that help us avoid drifting in these areas. God’s leaders are to be people who are growing in submission to Scripture. Their daily lives are to reflect and exemplify the Scriptures that they teach. We are to be those with whom there is no hint or appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:21–22).” (Patrick, The Whole Counsel of God, location 2700-2720, Kindle edition)
May God help me and every messenger of God, to be a man of God!
