Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrines of grace create a culture of grace, as Jesus Himself touches us through His truths. Without the doctrines, the culture alone is fragile. Without the culture, the doctrines alone appear pointless. For example: The doctrine of regeneration creates a culture of humility (Ephesians 2:1-9). The doctrine of justification creates a culture of inclusion (Galatians 2:11-16). The doctrine of reconciliation creates a culture of peace (Ephesians 2:14-16). The doctrine of sanctification creates a culture of life (Romans 6:20-23). The doctrine of glorification creates a culture of hope (Romans 5:2). The doctrine of God creates a culture of honesty (1 John 1:5-10). And what could be more basic than that? If we want this culture to thrive, we can’t take doctrinal short cuts. If we want this doctrine to be credible, we can’t disregard the culture. But churches where the doctrine and culture converge bear living witness to the power of Jesus.
Ray Ortlund

Bible Reading: DEC15: I Timothy 4-6

The final chapters of I Timothy deal with the
church and its ministry to at least seven different
kinds of people.

Chapter 4 deals with the pastor personally–his
spiritual life and labors. It indicates that a true
pastor will have three great qualities. He will be: (1)
A good preacher, preaching God’s Word (verses 1-6); (2)
a godly preacher, practicing God’s Word (verses 7-12);
(3) a growing preacher, always progressing in God’s Word
(verses 13-16).

In chapters 5:1,2 Paul gives instructions to
Timothy as to how to deal with the older saints. In
verses 3-16 he tells Timothy how to deal with widows,
both young and old. In verses 17-25 he tells Timothy how
to deal with the church leaders. Timothy had apparently
been having some difficulties with some of his church
officers. Part of the problem was that he had misjudged
some of them (verses 24,25), and made some hasty
decisions. We must remember that pastors are only human,
and they do make mistakes, even if their hearts are
right.

How can a church member help his pastor grow?
One way is to protect his time, so that he has
opportunity to study and pray. Too many selfish church
members use every excuse possible to phone the pastor or
“drop in” at the study. Every pastor wants to be
available when there is a need, but no spiritual pastor
can afford to waste time. The most important thing to do
is to pray daily for the pastor. Charles Spurgeon said
that he had several hundred people praying for him while
he preached. A congregation that prays continually for
its pastor can expect God to bless and use that pastor
in a great and mighty way–not only to feed the flock of
the local church and provide the spiritual needs they
may have from day to day, but also to preach powerful,
Spirit-led sermons that will point sinners to the cross
of Jesus Christ.