Read:
Reflect:
Our wait time to celebrate Pentecost is only a few days away and we will reflect on that momentous event then. In the meantime, ever since that great original outpouring of the Spirit, God’s people have waited for the Lord’s return; not idly, but with sincere devotion to four things that mark the faithful Christian life and witness.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)
Our reflection in the next four devotionals will focus on these qualities in turn.
The first Christians became a learning community; as the text says: they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The apostles’ teaching included the many things Jesus had explained to them from the Old Testament Scriptures and the events of his life, death and resurrection (Luke 24:44-48). The apostles continued to teach the truth about Jesus to that first generation. And that teaching has come to us in the form of the New Testament. What is most striking is that these early believers gave themselves fully to know and transmit that whole story about Jesus. Would that we too might be avidly devoted to learning that story and pass it on to the next generation.
An excellent example of what it means to be devoted to apostolic teaching is found in the instructions Paul gives to his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:1-16. Though these instructions are given specifically to a young pastor, we can all learn much from Paul’s advice. Timothy was faced with major challenges because some people were defecting from the faith while others were spreading false teachings and lies (vv 1-4). So what was he to do? Paul’s basic advice to him is found in verse 16:
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.
To keep a close watch on yourself means to train yourself for godliness (v 7). The personal life of the believer needs to be marked by God-like qualities. One may already be trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine, as Timothy was (v 6), but that knowledge alone is not the mark of godliness. Our lives need to be continually transformed into Christ-likeness so we can set people an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (v 12). It is highly important that we pay careful attention to our personal lives so they model godliness.
To keep a close watch…on the teaching (v 16) underscores the fact that accurate knowledge is also very important; people need to learn biblical truth well. So Paul urged Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture (v 13). This was needed because people did not have personal copies of Scripture, and many could not read. Public reading was necessary so they could hear God’s Word. Devotion to exhortation (v 13) simply meant people were challenged to obey the Word and shown how to apply it to their lives. Finally, devotion to teaching (v 13) meant that people needed systematic instruction on the facts and significance of faith in Jesus so they could remember it and integrate it into their way of thinking and behaving.
Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (v 16).
The value of persisting in being a learner, and even a teacher of others, is that it carries great personal and communal benefits. It sets you personally on the saving path of life which God has provided, with the added blessing of leading others with you into that same path for their eternal benefit. Devotion to the apostolic teaching, both as a learner and teacher, is at the core of what we need to live effectively as Christians in our world.
Respond:
The challenge for us is to be diligent students of Scripture, which we are so blessed to have.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)