Chapter four of 1 Timothy comes to a close with Paul encouraging Timothy to “be diligent in these matters.” What matters? Why, the list of instructions and encouragements he gave in the preceding verses. Applying himself to these things is important, and Paul now explains why.

You can see this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 4:15-16:

Paul has just spent the last few verses encouraging Timothy to set an example, to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching, and more. But in this phrase “be diligent in these matters,” he’s not simply referring to the last sentence or two. He’s reminding Timothy of everything he’s said, all the instructions he has given Timothy in regards to addressing the false teachers and leading the church in Ephesus strongly.

Paul gives four emphases in these two verses, indicating that Timothy was to pay special attention to these areas. In the Greek, these are imperatives, giving the idea that they are necessary, and not optional.

Be diligent in these matters

The first imperative is to “be diligent.” This means that Timothy is to give his mind to these things. He is to continually be focused on his priorities. Older translations use the word “meditate” here, but this doesn’t really give us the strength of Paul’s admonition of cultivating or practicing these things.

Give yourself wholly to them

This second imperative indicates that Timothy is to be absorbed by these matters. Some may complain, saying that Timothy needed to have some flexibility or “down time” in his leadership pursuits. But this isn’t what Paul is talking about here. He’s talking about Timothy’s life and doctrine, which should be the foundational elements of every area of our life in Christ. Too often, we fall into the trap of being “Sunday Christians,” and doing our own thing the rest of the week. Paul’s statement here is that everything through the rest of the week should be these things! A life devoted to Christ is a life that is wholly devoted, or it is not devoted at all.

What’s the purpose of these two imperatives? So that others may see his progress. The idea of “progress” may have been one of the slogans of the false teachers (2 Timothy 2:16 and 3:9), perhaps as an elitist appeal to those who wanted to advance to deeper levels of spirituality. This was essentially nonsense (1 Timothy 1:3-4, 6-7). Timothy’s progress as a faithful minister would allow people to see the real thing.

Paul continues with two more imperatives for Timothy.

Watch closely

Timothy is to watch both his life in front of others (1 Timothy 4:12) and his doctrine, or teaching (1 Timothy 4:13). Timothy’s role is to minister to the people under his care, those who are a part of his church in Ephesus. As he minister’s to them, he instructs them on how to live lives that are pleasing to God. His example is key to this.

Persevere

Salvation involves perseverance. As Timothy perseveres in teaching and modeling the gospel, his followers, the church in Ephesus, will learn to do the same. Again, his example and his teaching are both key elements of this. And that leaves Paul’s concluding thoughts for this chapter being at the root of his entire reason for writing this letter to begin with: his concern for seeing people saved from their sins.

Today, two thousand years after this has been written to Timothy, our purpose is the same. We must be diligent, continually focusing ourselves completely on Christ. We must devote ourselves wholly to pursuing him; giving a portion of our lives isn’t enough. We must watch ourselves closely. Others are watching to see how we live out what we claim to believe. Since they are watching, we need to pay close attention to what we say and what we do. And we need to continually do this, persevering in our efforts, so that others will be encouraged to do the same, presenting their own lives to God and committing themselves to following him.

That, at its root, is the work each of us must do as Christians because of what God has done for us. Timothy was a minister, but that does not relegate this to only those on the church staff. This is the job for everyone who claims Christ as Lord to be pursuing, no matter what your role in life may be. In this way, we are working out our own salvation, and bringing the message of salvation to others.

Human ministry is an important part of the way that God works to accomplish this salvation. Human ministry…. Yours. And mine.

On which of these four imperatives do you need to focus? Which is your strongest aspect? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.