This week in our L3 journals, we have been reading through Paul's first letter to one of his disciples, Timothy. While you were reading this week, you probably noticed a phrase that Paul repeated through the letter: "The saying is trustworthy." This means that it is especially worth believing, repeating, and passing on to others. Paul highlighted three statements in this letter with this phrase, and I think it is worth it for us to take a closer look at these.

1 Timothy 1:15 - "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." It is easy for us to get sidetracked about, to focus on different aspects of, or to complicate the nature of Christ's mission when He came to earth. Make no mistake about it - Jesus came here to save sinners. He came to rescue the perishing, the heal the brokenhearted, to seek and save the lost. Everything in our lives drifts toward complexity. Let's not make this one main thing complicated. Jesus came to save us because we needed saving. We were sinners, and we were hopeless without His intervention. That's why He came.

1 Timothy 3:1 - "The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task." The charge to shepherd and guard the flock of God, the Church, is a noble and worthy task. Whoever desires this, desires a good work. Because this is such a noble and important task, the one who aspires to it must meet certain qualifications, as this person will be an example to all. The list that follows in chapter three is a simple list which describes any mature believer and follower of Jesus Christ. This is what our lives should look like more and more as we grow in Christ.

1 Timothy 4:7-10 - "...train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." Many of us take time throughout the week to train our bodies - to exercise, eat well, practice a sport of some kind - so that we may be more prepared to accomplish a task or simply be in better physical health. This kind of training is only good for this life, because our current bodies will not last. However, Paul says, training in godliness is of more value, because it is valuable for both this life and the next. The questions each of us needs to ask ourselves are this: are we putting in more time and effort in our training in godliness than in our physical training? Do we make that our priority?

While at first glance, these three statements may not seem related, they are. Jesus' purpose was to come and save sinners. He has saved us, and now we are to be an example to point others to Christ. The only way our lives will be this kind of example is through disciplined training of our spiritual lives, putting in the time and effort to know God's will and purposes as revealed in Scripture, to spend time in conversation with our Lord, and to lay down our own pride and desires to take up His. When outsiders see this kind of life, they know there is something otherworldly going on. We then have the opportunity and responsibility to point them to the Savior.

May we lay down our lives and pursue godliness in every way, that we may point others to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship & Arts Pastor