Peter Barnes | 1 Timothy 4:15
SERMON NOTES
DILIGENCE AND PROGRESS IN THE ELDER
(1 Tim.4:15)
1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 4:1-16
– 1 Timothy is a Pastoral Epistle – see 1:3; 4:14
1. We are be diligent about ourselves and our teaching.
– the NKJV says ‘meditate’; the ESV says ‘Practise’; the NIV tries to combine both meanings in ‘be diligent’
– the Greek word is translated ‘to plot’ in Acts 4:25
– the ‘these things’ are what are mentioned in 4:12-13, 16.
2. We are to be single-minded in our life and doctrine.
– literally, ‘Be in them’. Do not be side-tracked by other issues, hobbies, or ambitions.
3. We are to make progress in our life and doctrine.
– the Christian life is about growth (2 Pet.3:18)
– used for ‘progress’ or ‘advance’ in Phil.1:12, 25
– in teaching, in sanctification, in wise application, in holiness, in every area of life.