1 Timothy 4:16 Teaching, Practice

1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

In 1 Timothy 4:16 Paul urges Timothy to watch, that is to keep a close eye on, two things. The first of these is his life and the second is his doctrine or his teaching. It is important for ministers to keep a close eye on how they live and on what they believe. The two are intertwined, of course, but they can be thought of separately, and sometimes do not match up. A mismatch is one of the things to be looking out for. Paul also urges Timothy to persevere in both. In other words, don't give up living a godly life and don't stop believing and teaching the truth. It is easy to give up on one or the other or on both. A preacher can go on preaching orthodox teaching but fail to practice it. He can live a godly enough life but not be very good at teaching the truth accurately and clearly. If he is a complete disaster he will fail in both areas. The incentive for working at both areas is that, firstly the man who does this will save himself but also he will save others too, those who listen to his preaching and follow his example. Surely that is incentive enough to be diligent in these areas.