I never cease to be amazed at the various ideas people have about the Christian life and church attendance and activity. It seems that the “church with the most bells and whistles” gets the biggest crowds. No, I am not against any good program that any church may be using, but I do think that we might need to consider that some things are more important than others, and perhaps some of the things that seem so important as church activities just may not necessarily fit the “inspired list” of things Paul exhorted Timothy to do personally, as well as what he wanted Timothy to encourage churches to do.
I Timothy 4:13-16 gives the “list of activities” that Paul exhorted Timothy to do. Although the Book of I Timothy was originally written by Paul to Timothy, I believe it has great value for every Christian and every church assembly of believers. Here are the verses: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
Even though Paul was writing personally to Timothy, we see an indication that what Paul wrote should apply to all believers, whether in personal devotions or public worship. The words in our verses that say: “Thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” indicate that the information given by Paul to Timothy, along with Timothy’s practice of these things, would also be invested in the lives of all who might hear Timothy speak. One might think that we are here considering only the “message” at the worship service, but the things Paul told Timothy to do go far beyond a “thirty minute message” on Sunday morning! Paul indicated that while he and Timothy were away from each other, Timothy had a “to do list” from the apostle, and that “to do list” will fit every believer, even if it does have to be broken down into “bite sized pieces” for the younger church attendee.
Every believer who is old enough to read needs to “give attendance to reading”. Those who cannot read should have Bible truths read and explained to them on their level. The whole thing that Paul is saying is that we should have a good acquaintance with the Word of God! If church attendance and activity bypass the message of the Bible, something is missing. Oh, I know a full-length message may not be given at a teen activity at church, but at least some reference to the Word of God should be made, with at least a tidbit from the Scriptures themselves. Since Timothy was a young pastor, his need to read the Scriptures was great, for he was responsible to give God’s message to the people. One must have a good knowledge of what the Bible says, if he intends to convey its message to an audience! Paul also told Timothy to give attention to exhortation, or comfort and consolation. The Greek word used here comes from a word that means: “to call near, or to invite”. Thus, the message of God does need an invitation to have others come near, evidently both to the messenger and to the message that he is delivering. We are living in an era in which many people seem to desire to be “left alone”, with no one coming near enough to “bother them”, but that is not the kind of attitude or action taught in the Bible, at least not for a company of believers called “the church”. Incidentally, the word “church” actually means, in the Greek language: “a called-out assembly”, thus it has nothing to do with the building where the church meets. So, the desire of Paul is that Timothy will be an encouragement to those who hear him, but also a messenger with a delivery from God and His Word for his particular audience!!!
By J. Briggs King