Set an example to the believers
1 Timothy 4:12 - “The only way to win respect is by outstanding virtues which will protect us against contempt.” - John Calvin
Orthodox icon of St. Timothy, artist unknown. Via Wikimedia Commons.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12 NIV
Paul’s epistles to Timothy are wonderful documents, written with love by a man mentoring his friend and fellow evangelist. Timothy was a relatively young man of about 30 years of age when he received this letter, while Paul at this time was probably in his 60s and considered an “old man”. Paul had been through a lot in his life, first being instructed in scripture in Jerusalem by Gamaliel (a noted teacher of Jewish law), becoming a Pharisee, and being an enthusiastic persecutor of Christians before his conversion experience on the road to Damascus.
What followed for Paul was a life of traveling the eastern Mediterranean, spreading the Gospel of Jesus, establishing churches, and converting both Jews and Gentiles to the nascent Christian church. Timothy was a leader and teacher in the church of Ephesus, and the two pastoral epistles written to him by Paul are packed with a lot of wisdom and advice to the younger man.
We’ll never know, but perhaps Paul had heard that some of the older church members in Ephesus were put off by Timothy’s relative youth so he decided to provide the young pastor with some advice. Paul wanted Timothy to “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
The 19th-20th century English pastor, professor, and commentator Newport J.D. White explains this counsel to Timothy:
“St. Paul shows Timothy ‘a more excellent way’ than self-assertion for the keeping up of his dignity: Give no one any ground by any fault of character for despising thy youth.”1
By being an example to his flock in what he said, how he conducted his private and public life, how he showed his love for humanity, how he displayed his faith in God, and how he maintained his purity in a sin-polluted world, Timothy would not give the older members of the church any reason to question his leadership.
Paul’s advice would be useful for today’s Christians if they are unsure of a pastor’s character. Rather than assessing a pastor on his wittiness, social media skills and followers, ability to look good on camera, or his self-described closeness to God, each church members should look for a pastor who is “an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
I’ll close today’s devotional with the words of French Protestant reformer and theologian John Calvin on this verse:
“Thus we learn how foolish and ridiculous it is for people to complain that they receive no honour, when in fact there is nothing about them that is worth honouring, but rather they expose themselves to contempt by their ignorance, the example of their impure lives, their lightmindedness and other faults. The only way to win respect is by outstanding virtues which will protect us against contempt. (emphasis is mine)”2
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the wisdom and instruction that we gain from the pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus. May I look to Jesus, day by day, and stand firm in the faith, holding fast to the truth of the glorious gospel of grace. Help me not to be offended by the actions or attitude of others towards me, but rather, may my speech and conduct be honouring to You, and may I serve You in faith and purity, to my life's end. Help me to be a godly example to those with whom I have to do, for Your holy name's sake, and greater glory. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.
White, Newport J.D. "The First and Second Epistles to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus: The Expositor's Greek Testament" Volume 4, Section 2 (1 Thessalonians-James) (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897)
Calvin, John "Timothy: Calvin's Commentaries" Volume 21 (Galatians-Philemon) (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979)