But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
(1 Timothy 1:5, NASB)
It’s not just preachers and teachers who instruct. Anyone who has committed his life to God—Father, Son, and Spirit—often has opportunities to instruct others in the gospel. And we need to instruct in love.
We cannot force our beliefs on others. We cannot guilt them into believing. We cannot save them ourselves.
Rather, we must have a pure heart, one that desires more than anything that others find the peace and joy that comes with a relationship with Jesus. No other motive exists except wanting their salvation.
We must have a good conscience. I interpret this as we need to be cleansed of our own sins. In order to be an instructor of the gospel, we must confess any sins we commit, and we must strive to live as sinless as we possibly can. If we don’t, how can we expect others to be attracted to Christ?
We must have a sincere faith. We can’t put on a show; others will see right through. We can’t say one thing and do another; others will rightly claim our hypocrisy. We must be so in love with Jesus that our faith shines brightly.
Whom can you instruct? Your children? Your neighbor? Your fellow committee member? Your colleagues?
Have a pure heart with right motives. Keep your conscience clean. And grow in your own faith through prayer and study of God’s word.
And instruct in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment