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1 Timothy 3:14-15
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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.
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