Take heed to thyself, and to thy teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee.
The world watches ministers with a censorious eye and charges our faults to our whole profession. Paul puts life before doctrine: take heed to yourself first, then to your doctrine, because the success of what you teach depends on the goodness of how you live. We must do as well as teach.
AI summary
Good ministers stir up remembrance of what believers already know; we are slow to learn and apt to forget the things of God. While you teach others, you teach yourself, and this is how ministers grow in faith alongside their brethren.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Your life and your teaching must accord with each other; one without the other fails. A pastor's purity of life means nothing if he neglects teaching, and his teaching has no power if his life denies it. In faithfully doing your duty to others, you promote your own salvation.
AI summary