Hello everyone! The verse of the week is 1 Timothy 4:16 which states, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

Three quick points about this verse...

1. You need to watch your life closely. Here are some good questions to ask yourself...

Is there any sin in your heart?
Is there any sin in your life?
Do you love the Lord?
Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself?
Do you walk in obedience to the Lord's commands on a regular basis?
Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness?

There are many other questions one could ask to get a pulse on his spiritual condition. However, the point is that we all need to monitor our own actions closely. It is easy to "slide" backwards without realizing it! It is easy to "drift" away from the Lord without realizing it. It is easy to become "lukewarm" without realizing it. Thus, the Bible commands us to watch our lives closely.


2. You need to watch your doctrine closely. This simply means that you need to pay real close attention to what the Bible teaches. You need to make sure you really know the truth! You need to make sure you really know the whole truth! You do not need to depend on your pastor, your SS teacher, or someone who writes a blog to teach you the Bible. All of those are good things to take advantage of, but ultimately you need to study the word of God directly to make sure you are understanding and hearing the truth!

3. If you watch your life and doctrine closely you will save yourself. The reality is that many people mistakenly believe they are on the road to heaven when in fact they are on the road to hell. The sad reality is that they often do not even realize it. Why not? Because they are not watching their life or their doctrine closely. Here are some quick examples to explain what I am talking about. Did you know...

1. A person who habitually disobeys God's commands is not saved. (1 John 2:4, 3:6, 3:10)
2. A person who has been saved is a changed individual (2 Corinthians 5:17)
3. A person who does not love the Lord or his neighbor is not a child of God (John 8:42, 1 John)
4. A person who does not continue to follow the Lord was not ever saved in the first place (1 John 2:19)

The point is that many people are not paying attention to their own lives or to what the Bible teaches. Thus, they are confused and do not realize the truth about their own spiritual state. So I encourage you.... WATCH YOUR LIFE AND DOCTRINE CLOSELY! If you do that it greatly improves your chances of being saved.