1 Timothy 4:10-12 "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." When you read this scripture passage, it really answers the question, "How can a young person like myself follow Christ and act like a 'good' Christian, and thus be a good witness to other Christians and non-Christians a like?"
As Christians our purpose in life is to glorify God, this is stated throughout the Bible, but the scripture I have chosen to write here is 1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." So, in 1 Timothy, Paul is talking about the preverbal, "killing two birds with one stone." For if we show ourselves examples in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, then we will be glorifying God in action, and also be setting a good example, that other non-Christians might see and wonder, that we might fulfill the Great Commission, and through how we live, be a living testimony for God. God is pleased when we tell others about Him, but he is even more pleased when we stand out from the world so much because of how we act, that people can't help but wonder how we can act in such a way. Little do they know it is not our power, but a Higher Power in us.
After all that Jesus has done for us, and considering he told us to live as examples, every Christian should have the desire to follow these guidelines for life and be an example. This thought of being an example should spawn in us a desire to know more about each one, that we might understand it, and thus learn to fulfill the requirements asked of us.
Let us now take a look at each one of these things. Speech we know is covered in Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." Grace as you may know is, "Getting what you do not deserve." This means that when someone is in your face cursing you, you have to treat him or her better and respond more kindly than they deserve. They deserve for you to respond exactly as they are, an eye for an eye so to speak, but if God can save a rotten person like me, then I think I can afford to share the grace that God has so abundantly given to me with someone else.
Setting an example in conduct is not half as simple as it may sound, and takes immeasurable amounts of wisdom to fulfill its requirements. The 10 Commandments, found in Exodus 20:1-17, according to the Bible, says if you break one, you have broken them all, and just the thought of sinning is the same as doing it. 1 Thessalonians 5:22, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." Not only ought we not do or think about, but we also should not look as if we are doing evil.
Love is a rather large topic, and to even sum it up in any way would be rather challenging for me to do, so it has it's own section. Faith is living every day as if you not only know, but truly believe that Christ died for you that you might spend eternity with Him. Faith will also have it's own section in this book due to it's great magnitude.
Purity is the topic of this chapter, and a lot that I said about conduct goes along with this as well, but there is so much to expound upon. Many desire purity, but do not understand what it truly is, thus making it seem unobtainable. What if though, there were some Biblical and logical ideas on purity? As God said to Job, "Brace yourself" ("Gird your loins like a man.")
Purity continued
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