The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
–1 Timothy 4.1-10 (NIV)
Paul was writing to his young protege, Timothy, and giving him advice on how to be a good elder for the church in Ephesus, but his advice holds true for all of us. Paul is reminding Timothy what he (and we) must do to establish and grow in our relationship with Jesus; and like all relationships, that is not always an easy or straightforward thing to do.
First, notice Paul’s insistence on learning true and sound doctrine. Why is this? Because even in Paul’s time, false teachers had arisen in the Church and were teaching all kinds of goofy things (and we don’t have to look very far in our own day to see that things haven’t changed much in this regard since Paul’s day). Here Paul identifies and exposes a false asceticism for what it is and explains why it is false (always a mark of a good teacher). So we learn from Paul that our human condition makes us susceptible to all kinds of errors. That is why we need to delve deeply into God’s word in Scripture to learn about truth. You don’t have to read many of Paul’s letters to quickly realize that he would have scoffed at the post-modern notion that there is no universal truth. If there is a true and eternal God, there perforce is eternal truth that flows from God.
That is why Paul is so insistent here (and elsewhere in his letters) on sound doctrine and the correct teaching of Christian doctrine. If the Christian faith is not taught correctly, we really won’t have a snowflake’s chance on water of getting our relationship with God correctly. So what do we do? Read Scripture everyday and then come together regularly with other believers to talk about what we’ve read. Reading Scripture is both an individual and corporate effort and we need each other so that the Spirit can help us grow in our knowledge and faith. “Do this,” Paul says, “and you will be engaging in an exercise program that will last you far beyond your mortal days.”
What I hope you see here is that Paul is commending the classic Christian disciplines of prayer, Bible reading/study, fellowship, and worship as God-given antidotes to help us in our weakness and to equip us with the proper knowledge we need to develop and grow in our relationship with Jesus. As I have written before, that relationship is not one of equals but one of Creator and his creatures. This changes the rules of the game dramatically and since we are so prone to getting it wrong as often (if not more so) as we are in getting it right, we need to do our part to help counteract that nasty dimension of our human brokenness.
Will engaging in these disciplines ensure that we get it right all the time? Hardly. No human gets it right all the time. But we must have faith in these God-given disciplines and engage in them if we are to have any real hope of growing in our relationship with Jesus. We may not like it, but those are the rules and if we want to be able to live our lives with meaning, hope, purpose, and power, we must grow in our reliance on Jesus’ power working in us rather than on our own abilities. As Paul reminds Timothy here, spiritual disciplines are essential in helping make that happen.
Reading Scripture and making it our own will not only help us in our relationship with God but also with each other. As the psalmist reminds us,
Your word, O LORD, is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119.105).
Most of us need a light for our path in life because it gets complicated, doesn’t it? Need a light for your family relationships? Let God’s word serve as your lamp. Having a vexing problem with a relationship or two? Let God’s word serve as your lamp. Need guidance regarding an ethical issue or conflict resolution? Let God’s word serve as your lamp. Looking for meaning and purpose in your life? Let God’s word serve as your lamp. Are you afraid and/or feeling all alone? Let God’s word serve as your lamp. Do you just feel beaten down (or up) by life? Let God’s word serve as your lamp.
Doing so will not make your problems magically disappear nor will they make you immune from hurt, heartache or disappointment. What God’s word will do for you, however, is to help you navigate through the storms of life and provide you real comfort and help. Learning God’s wisdom will also help you avoid harmful and hurtful things in the first place (prevention is always better than a cure) and give you real wisdom and insight into the things and workings of this world. Who couldn’t use some of that?
Life is not always pleasant. In fact, it can be more difficult than it can be pleasant. But take heart and hope. You don’t have to go through life alone. You don’t have to rely on your own inadequate abilities to help you cope. You have the very promise and Power of God in Jesus to help sustain you and give you what you need to live your life well. But it comes at a price. You will need to give your very self to Jesus and then start behaving in ways that are consistent with your words. You won’t get it right all the time but the good news is that that is not contingent on you having a meaningful relationship with the Lord and Creator of the entire universe. How do we know this? Because we have seen him hang on a cross for our sake before we watched him ascend into heaven to assume his rightful place as Lord and King. In other words, we know that God in Jesus is for us, not against us (cf. Romans 8.31-39). What a great and wondrous love and hope that is!