Elders as Theological Watchdogs

1 Timothy 4:1-6

About the Sermon

Why do some among us fall away? We get one answer in 1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” When someone falls away they do so because they never belonged to us in the first place. But in 1 Timothy 4:1–6 we get another set of answers. Demons are involved, so are false understandings about God. How does God keep and protect His own? He does so, in part, though the vigilant labor of theological watchdogs, sheepdogs called, elders.

About the Series

What if we could read a letter written by one of Jesus’ apostles to a first century church leader? What would we learn about Christ’s deign for her leadership and health? We need look no further than Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul tells us why he wrote this letter: that we may “know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:14–15). That will involve a variety of things, chief among them instruction in sound—literally, healthy—doctrine for a healthy church and a radiant witness (1:3, 10; 4:6; 6:3). From worship to widow-care, from anger to parenting, Paul’s words are for us.
What if we could read a letter written by one of Jesus’ apostles to a first century church leader? What would we learn about Christ’s deign for her leadership and health? We need look no further than Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul tells us why he wrote this letter: that we may “know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:14–15). That will involve a variety of things, chief among them instruction in sound—literally, healthy—doctrine for a healthy church and a radiant witness (1:3, 10; 4:6; 6:3). From worship to widow-care, from anger to parenting, Paul’s words are for us.

Sermons in the Series