Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

“Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1Tim 4:16).

While golf is a wonderful game, fellow golfers can be frustrating. When I’m not playing well (which is usually MOST of the time!), the other golfers in my foursome constantly barrage me with an endless litany of suggestions. Your tempo is too fast. Your tempo is too slow. Keep your head still. Keep your left arm straight. You’re aimed too far to the left or the right. The truth is I’m standing too close to the ball…after I hit it! Everybody thinks they’re a swing doctor. I end up standing over the ball unable to swing. It’s paralysis by analysis.

But the best teaching pros break things down and make them simple to understand. Their one or two tips may be hard to execute, but they don’t overload you with info. They may go into detail as they take apart your swing, but in the end, they concentrate on a couple of key principles and everything else will take care of itself. 

That’s exactly what Paul is doing here for Timothy. He’s Tim’s swing doctor. Picture 1 Timothy 4:6-16 as the two men standing on the practice tee. The apostle sees what the young pastor is doing both right and wrong. He understands where his protege needs to focus. After going over a few details regarding the mechanics of being the lead pastor and teacher of the Ephesian church, he sums it all up. “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (v16). Here’s the bottom line. Concentrate on these two things. The integrity of your walk with God and the integrity of your Gospel. Focus on the man and the message. Do that and everything will be just fine.

The church in Ephesus is recovering from the damage done by a team of false teachers who didn’t give a rat’s rear end about either their own relationship with Jesus or the right teaching. God’s Spirit had correctly predicted how liars would infiltrate the local church and distract folks from following Christ with demon doctrine and a call to self-salvation by subtraction (1Tim 4:1-3). Like a bad golf coach who gets you so discombobulated with details, these con artists used stuff that sure sounded religious to get people’s eyes off Jesus (1Tim 1:3-7). With Paul on special assignment to Macedonia, he’s personally selected his protege as the new lead pastor in the big port city. 

After critical instructions on prayer (1Tim 2:1-8) and finding new godly leadership (1Tim 3:1-12), the man from Tarsus goes over critical instructions for ministry with his spiritual son. Four times he encourages Tim to concentrate on “these things” (1Tim 3:14; 4:6, 11, 15). Thing one: Jesus is the answer to the question of who is the long promised Messiah (1Tim 3:14-16). Thing two: God is the ultimate Giver and He’s given us His entire creation to be enjoyed (1Tim 4:3-6). Thing three: Leave it all on the field for others because Jesus gave everything He had for us (1Tim 4:10-11). Thing four: Unwrap and use the spiritual gift God has given you (1Tim 4:13-15).

Paul sums up these instructions to Pastor Tim and tells him to focus on two important points. “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (v16). Pay attention to yourself. Pay attention to your preaching. The apostle uses a Greek verb here (Gr. epecho) that literally means to hold on tightly to something. That makes sense. Any golfer knows your grip is critical. It means to fix your attention on something, observe, be alert, watch out, and even be in a constant state of readiness.

Dr. Luke describes how Jesus used the illustration of a wedding reception “when He noticed (Gr. epecho)” and focused on how everyone maneuvered for the good seats at dinner (Lk 14:7). In Acts, a disabled man “fixed his attention (Gr. epecho)” on Pete and John at one of the temple gates (Acts 3:5). Paul tells his Philippian friends get a kung fu grip on Scripture, “holding fast (Gr. epecho) to the word of life” (Phil 2:16). It’s the idea of focus. Concentration. High priority. 

First of all, pay close attention to yourself. Before you get all hung up on someone else’s salvation or relationship with Jesus, how are YOU doing? How’s your walk with Christ? It all starts here. It all starts with Him. I have to ask myself, “Am I simply a poser?”  You know what I’m talking about. You project an image of someone who’s always hanging out with our Savior but in reality you don’t know Him any better than that weird barista at the local Starbucks who always spells your name wrong. Maybe the Lord is like that Gotye song. Somebody that I use to know. Know that He’s right here. He would love to hang out with you. And He not only knows your love of tall skinny caramel machiatos, He’ll get your name right every single time. 

A pastor’s top two priorities are a personal relationship with Jesus and delivering the Gospel accurately. Before I do anything FOR Jesus, I need to hang WITH Jesus. Remember the story of the big shindig in Bethany? Martha got so wrapped up in cooking for Christ that she almost missed out on spending time with Him. Our Savior told her to pump her brakes and realize her sister had her priorities in order. “One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:42). In case you’re still wondering, Jesus is THE Good Portion! He is THE Blessing! Pay close attention to your relationship with the Lord.

To do that, you’re going to need some help. There’s no way to do this all by yourself. You and I have a bit of problem. We each have blind spots. Problem areas in our lives we can’t see. We need a partner. Someone who loves us and wants God’s best for us. Someone not afraid to tell us the truth…even when it might sting. Some people call them accountability partners. I gotta tell you, I always thought that sound like the person I would hire to do my taxes. Find some trust friends who follow Jesus to keep an eye on you. Listen to what they say. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

This is particularly tough for those lead pastors out there. There’s a ton of truth in the old saying that it’s lonely at the top. As the senior leader, you cannot afford to wall yourself off from everybody. Hopefully you’ll give your fellow elders and pastors permission to speak into your life. Find a colleague at another church you can confide in. Hey, even the best golfers have a swing coach. They’ll probably see trouble coming in areas of your life long before you do. When we place our relationship with Jesus on high alert, it’s so much easier to set “an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1Tim 4:12). You have to “keep a close watch on yourself” (v16). If you’re a pastor, there’s too much on the line for you and your church not to. 

Paul wants Tim to also to stay laser-focused “on the teaching” (v16). If paying attention to yourself and your own walk with Jesus reminds us of verse 12, paying attention to the message reminds us of verse 13. There the apostle encourages him to proclaim, explain, and apply God’s Word to God’s people. Don’t get distracted with stuff that doesn’t really matter. As Stephen Covey says, “The main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing.” And THE Main Thing is the Gospel. Jesus lived the perfect life that we failed to live. He died the death for our sin that we should have died. He rose to new life that we don’t deserve. We trust in what He’s done for us that we could never do on our own. Does your teaching set our eyes on what Jesus has done for you and me? Check your message before you wreck your message.

A preacher prepares himself as much as he prepares his sermon. It’s got to be personal goes before you go go public. Long before you step behind the pulpit or strap on a headset microphone, you preach the sermon to yourself. John Owen once said, “No man preaches that sermon well to others that doth not first preach it to his own heart.” Has the message God has given you from His Word had its way with you first? It’s got to be personal before you go public. One way to make sure you check yourself is to let the Gospel wreck yourself. 

The apostle goes on to encourage the young pastor in Ephesus, “Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (v16). “Persist” is the Greek verb epimeno, which means to stay right there. Don’t go anywhere. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Keep on keeping on. It’s a compound word that literally means “in (epi-) living (-meno).” John uses it to describe when religious bullies threw pointless question after question at Jesus and never let up (Jn 8:7). Paul tells the Corinthians that he would unpack his bags and “stay (Gr. epimeno) in Ephesus” for a while (1Cor 16:8). 

Make yourself at home as you pay attention to yourself and your message. Get comfortable. This should be an important part of your regular rhythm. It’s not something you do every once and a while. Persist in it. Hang with it. Consistently. Methodically. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Check your message before you wreck your message.

Just in case you forgot what’s on the line here, Paul reminds us. “For by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers” (v16). What?!? Are you telling me it’s up to the pastor to save not only himself but the folks who listen to his message too? Relax. Take a deep breath. The apostle is NOT describing salvation by sermon. Jesus is our one and only Rescuer. Just flip back to chapter of this letter. Right out of the chute, Paul tells Tim that Christ alone saves. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1Tim 1:15). 

My opinion is that the apostle is using a slightly different understanding of the word “save” (Gr. sozo). Most New Testament authors use it to describe deliverance, salvation, and rescue. But it can also mean to keep safe, preserve from danger, make healthy. We can’t save anyone. That’s Jesus’ job. But He can use us to keep each other safe and out of trouble. Yet another powerful reminder that we don’t do this alone. We need each other. Following Jesus is a team sport. And like good teammates, we’ve got each other’s backs. That way we stand a much better chance of standing under the waterfall of God’s overflowing and abundant life that Jesus came to bring us (Jn 10:10). That’s when, as the Message reads, “Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation” (v16 The Message).

Let’s face it, trying to following Christ can get confusing. There are a LOT of laws in the Bible. That’s why there are a couple of key summaries in Scripture. Jesus made it clear that by loving God and people we actually fulfill all of God’s rules (Mt 22:37-40). Similarly, Paul keeps things simple by telling Tim to concentrate on two things. The integrity of your walk with God and the integrity of your Gospel. Check yourself before your wreck yourself. Check your message before you wreck your message.