God-reliance, not self-reliance, yet full-throttle initiativeIn preparing 1 Timothy 4-5 this week, I am being fed by Expositor Donald Guthrie:
On Timothy's youthfulness... 1 Tim. 4:12...
“Although a young man, he was to excel in those very qualities in which youth is wont to be deficient--gravity, prudence, consideration for others, trustworthiness, mastery over the passions (Guthrie quoting E.F. Scott of Moffat's Commentary). In this way it would become evident to believers that in Christianity authority is contingent upon character and not age.”
Comment: The thing that always captures my heart about younger men serving in the church is there faithful, full-of-faith, less calculated initiative. Amen. There's a place for less calculation; in our scientific age, we want every dot over the I, and every T crossed. Somehow, older mentors need to encourage the full-throttle initiative, all the while urging young men to be God-reliant, teachable and staying within the touch of the wisdom of a mentor's years of service. Possible?
On the charge to Timothy to watch his doctrine and his life, 1 Tim. 4:16...
“Timothy is to ensure that what most impresses other people is his true Christian development, and not some lesser thing such as brilliance of exposition or attactiveness of personality... Moral and spiritual rectitude is an indispensable preliminary to doctrinal orthodoxy.”
Comment: One's life is the sermon ALWAYS being heard. Example, virtue, modeling and living out God's standard pack the punch and make impact with force for the attestation, confirmation and heart-conviction of truth. We always remember lives well lived in Christ Jesus.
The above quotes from Donald Guthrie in his Tyndale Commentary, The Pastoral Epistles, pp. 97, 99.
G. Mark Sumpter
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