"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."
-1 Timothy 4:16 NIV
When I am faced with a stunning mismatch between my life and my doctrine, I am deeply disturbed.
Recently I went to the refrigerator to grab an orange. I opened up the drawer. I found an orange that looked great. I washed it and peeled it. However, I was alarmed when I discovered it was dry and tasteless. It looked like an orange. It felt like an orange. It didn't taste like an orange. It was nasty, and I spit it out! (It reminds me of the scene from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where the overcooked turkey looked incredible on the outside. However, when they cut into it, there was nothing inside but steam!)
It looked one way on the outside, but it was another way on the inside. There are certain moments in life that peel the outer layer off of you, like an orange, and at times you're faced with a surprising reality: There is a mismatch between what you believe and how you live.
What does Scripture say?
#1 Watch Your Life & Doctrine Closely
Paul tells Timothy, "Watch your life and doctrine closely" (1 Tim. 4:16a NIV). He doesn't say watch your doctrine, but who cares about how you live? But, conversely, he also doesn't say watch your life, but who cares about what you believe?
Instead, he says both are important. Watch your theology and watch your practice. Watch what you believe, and watch how you live.
And he says to watch them "closely." Here, Paul uses a verb where he commands Timothy to constantly and actively pay close attention to them both. Keep monitoring both life and doctrine. Why?
#2 If you do, you will save yourself and your hearers.
Paul goes on to tell Timothy that by doing so he'll save himself and his hearers (1 Tim. 4:16b). The note on this verse in the ESV Study Bible says, "Timothy's perseverance in sound doctrine and practice will save him, i.e., it will lead him to persevere in the faith, confirming his salvation" (2332; author's emphasis).
Am I Saved?
This brings up a haunting question: Does a mismatch between one's life and doctrine mean that the person is not saved? (Even though we are examining this question in particular, it is important to point out that it is definitely possible for both life and doctrine to be off!)
Back to our question: Does a mismatch between one's life and doctrine mean that the person is not saved? Yes and no. Yes, if a person persists in unrepentant sin without the fruit of being a Christian, then that would likely mean that he or she is not saved.
However, no, it doesn't always mean a person is not a Christian. Christians are not perfect, yet. All Christians are works in progress. All Christians will have a mismatch to some degree.
In other words, I suppose this means that there are some mismatches between life and doctrine that are so egregious that they indicate serious concerns about someone's salvation. However, to some degree, we all have mismatches between life and doctrine. (Quick pastoral note: If you are concerned that you may not be saved, then you probably are saved. Being concerned about being saved is likely an evidence that you care about being saved, you care about living for God, and that the Spirit is working upon your heart.)
But, as followers of Christ, we don't want these mismatches. When we see mismatches in ourselves, we are concerned about them. So, imagine my horror when I was leading our family devotion tonight and I read this paragraph from the Puritan Stephen Charnock,
Meditate on this power of God, and press it often upon your minds. We reason many things of God that we do not practically suck the comfort from because we lack deep thoughts of them and frequent inspection into them. We believe God to be true, yet distrust Him; we acknowledge Him powerful, yet we fear the motion of every straw. Many truths, though assented to in our understandings, are kept under covers by corrupt affections; they have not their due influence because they are not brought forth into the open air of our souls by meditation. If we will but search our hearts, we shall find it is the power of God we often doubt. (From the Library of Charles Spurgeon, 361)And, like that, I received a well-placed uppercut from Stephen Charnock.
I searched my heart and reflected on this more, and I was surprised. Yes, it often is the power of God that I doubt. My theology says that God is extremely powerful. He spoke the universe into existence. He upholds the universe down to every minute detail. He made animals with all of their different colors, types, sizes, and qualities. He made trees, mountains, the ocean, stars, planets, galaxies, marriage, parenting, singleness, work, rest, laughter, tastebuds, and food. In his own image, he made people.
Ultimately, he orchestrated our redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Jesus healed diseases, walked on water, casted out demons, multiplied food, and resurrected people from the dead. My theology says that God is powerful.
If our theology says that God is powerful, then why do we doubt it?
Why do I not believe the power of God sometimes in my life? At times, I doubt the power of God relationally, financially, vocationally (i.e., in my work), nationally (i.e., in our country), globally, and even personally in various tiny ways throughout the day.
God is powerful. One day our eyes will see that. One day our circumstances will match that. And one day our lives will be unencumbered by this fallen world, with the effects of suffering and sin, which blind us to the reality of God's power. God, please help us not to doubt your power in our lives and in our prayers.
Christian, join me in watching your life and your doctrine closely.
Bibliography:
-Bell, James Stuart, ed. From the Library of Charles Spurgeon: Selections from Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2012.
-ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008.