Example in Faith, 1 Timothy 4:12

I. Respect

1. I remember when I was a young kid, my mother sent me in to a store with some money to buy something she needed. I got the product and went up to the register and put it on the belt. I know the cashier saw me but she didn’t pay attention to me. I was not the type to yell “hey you!” to get her attention. A couple of adults came up and she processed their transactions but still paid no attention to me. It was not until and adult came up and said, “I believe this young man was before me” that the cashier finally took my money. I remember feeling smaller than my size and invisible.
2. When you are young it is easy to feel that adults are not giving you the respect you think you deserve.
3. A word in pop culture, “dis,” is used to describe one person showing disrespect to another
4. When shown disrespect, one can become angry, frustrated, or feel humiliated.
5. Paul was concerned that some of the Christians that Timothy was teaching might not show him the respect they would show Paul and Timothy would not be as effective as he could be or, worse yet, ignored by the brethren.
6. Paul could have written the brethren commanding them to show respect to Timothy
7. Respect must be earned, it cannot be commanded
8. Paul told Timothy that if he did not want them to look down on his youth he had to earn their respect
9. Admonitions to Timothy
10. Hold to God’s word even though some would depart from the faith
11. Train himself for godliness so he will grow in faith and will avoid the foolish sins of the world
12. Command and teach the truth when people are ready to hear it and when they don’t want to hear it
13. Let no man despise you because you are young BUT be a living example of holiness and faithfulness to the believers—the testimony of a righteous life gains the respect of those who love God.
14. A similar admonition is made to Titus in Titus 2:7-8: “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”

II. Being an example

1. An “exemplar” is something that is worthy to be imitated; a model of excellence
2. Tracing the example
3. Paul wanted Timothy’s life to be worthy of imitation by those he taught
4. Paul also wanted Timothy to follow his example, 2 Timothy 3:10
5. Paul was following the example of Christ, 1 Corinthians 11:1
6. Ultimately Timothy was to live a life that reflected the holiness of Jesus
7. A godly life should not bring attention to oneself but should glorify God and led others to follow Christ
8. If you are a disciple of Christ, others should be able to see the effects of a committed life in your actions
9. Paul wanted Timothy to be an example in his faith, love, and life

III. Example of faith

1. In order to be an example to others in faith, you must first have faith
2. Faith defined
3. Ultimately faith is belief in the reality of God’s existence and entrusting one’s life completely in Him
4. This faith realizes that God is man’s creator and thus has the right to expect obedience
5. This faith realizes that God loves man and commands things that are for his good
6. This faith will motivate the believer to dedicate his life to God and make choices directed by God’s word though he may not understand the reasons for commands or how God will accomplish His goals.
7. This faith also realizes that through a relationship with God, the believer can have the security of God’s presence in His life, the promise of His divine care, and a home beyond this dying world.
8. We should have the type of faith that Paul had
9. 2 Timothy 1:12 – “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”
10. Base Jumper Analogy
11. It is like the trust of the base jumper who launches away from be building with complete trust in his training and skills and the reliability of the parachute and any backups
12. He must be completely committed to the jump and launch from the building
13. Song “Trust and Obey”: “But we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay.”

A. To “believe for the sake of believing” is not faith at all but is a mental trick one plays on himself because he cannot live with the horror of an empty and meaningless existence and so he hopes that there is something beyond this life though at the root he doubts this to be the case.

B. Weak faith will not motivate the believer nor will it drive him to throw his lot in completely with God. He has some trust, some confidence, and fickle dedication but is still inclined to “lean on his own understanding.

C. Ultimately man must choose to have faith in God’s divinely revealed will or the perversity of humanistic beliefs; he will trust in God, himself, or other men.

D. We are to be examples of faith in action demonstrating that our trust in God makes a difference in who we are and how we live.