1 Timothy 4:16 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Take heed unto thyself, the apostle repeats himself. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine: continue in them.’‘For in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. You are saved, Timothy, but you will save thyself from suffering big fall, or being useless to the Lord. Practice daily self-examination, daily prayer. ‘How am I getting on? Am I advancing?’ You don't need to be saved, but now you will save yourself from folly, from foolishness, from falling. Meditate, and you won't fall. ‘And them that hear thee.’ Your life will speak. They will be asking you where you go to church, why it is you are so calm, why it is you are the person you are. They will be asking you because your life speaks. Taken as a whole, that is what the passage is all about. As it began with this word ‘godliness’, reverence, then it proceeded with the terms ‘in word, in conversation [behaviour], in charity [outgoing love], in spirit [spiritual concern], in faith [trust in the Lord], in [moral purity of life].’ That is the promise with which the apostle concludes this particular set of exhortations, seeking the dedicated life. May God ever bind these things on our hearts and keep us to them: with reverence at the head of the list.