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“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).

“For bodily exercise profiteth for a little (for a little time): but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation” (1 Timothy 4:8-9).

“It is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him” (2 Timothy 2:11).

“This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8).

Here we have four verses, all written to individuals (Timothy and Titus), telling them some things that are “faithful sayings.” The word “faithful” means something that is firm and definite, and a faithful saying is something that does not change.

The first verse concerns our salvation, for we were all sinners, and needed to be saved. Paul adds, “Of whom I am chief.” Why would he say that? We get the answer in a previous verse — “I … was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious” (1 Timothy 1:13). As a young man, Paul (then Saul) had persecuted the Christians, and for this reason he considered himself to be the worst sinner. If he could be saved, anyone could!

The second verse concerns how we spend our time. Do we put a lot of effort into bodily exercise, or do we spend our time on godliness? Yes, it is good to get some exercise, and as Paul says, it does profit for a little time. But if we exercise ourselves unto godliness, it will last not only for this life, but also for all eternity. Many people today spend a lot of time keeping their bodies in good shape — jogging, lifting weights, sometimes running marathons, etc., but perhaps do not think much about godliness. But you and I, as Christians, should not only keep our bodies in shape, but should also spend even more time on godliness. The benefit from this will last forever!

The third verse concerns our being dead with Christ. What does this mean? According to Romans chapter 6, we are dead and risen with Christ. This means that we have died to sin, and are to let our new life in Christ show itself in the way we live down here. We do not take part in the sinful activities of this world, but rather live for the Lord’s glory.

Finally, in our fourth verse, we are told to keep on doing good works. The expression “good works” occurs four times in the book of Titus. This was because the people in Crete, to whom Titus was being sent, were naturally lazy, and were used to doing bad things. Then when they became Christians, they still had that tendency. They needed to remember that now that they were saved, they should do good works, not bad ones. We need this reminder.

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“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made … for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

“The powers that be are ordained of God … for he is the minister of God to thee for good” (Romans 13:1, 4).

It was after Noah came out of the ark that God started government in the world, and it has existed ever since. We ought to be thankful for it, as before the flood, when there was no government, the Bible says that “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). If we did not have any government, it would be that way today.

I remember about fifty years ago when the police went on strike in a large eastern Canadian city. The strike lasted only for about twenty-four hours, but a lot of crime was committed during that day. By the end of the strike, six banks had been robbed, a hundred shops had been looted, twelve fires had been set, forty carloads of storefront glass had been broken, and three million dollars in property damage had occurred. The government finally had to call in the army and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to restore order.

Perhaps we sometimes complain that our government is unjust, or perhaps wastes money and does not do a good job, but in our verses today we are told to pray for them. We are also to give thanks for them, for they keep the world in at least some measure of order and safety. Without government, the world would descend into crime and disorder.

Of course there have always been corrupt governments in this world, and in the days when the Apostle Paul wrote today’s verses, the Roman government was very corrupt. The emperors were sometimes wicked men who lived in luxury while others had to pay high taxes to support them in their extravagant lifestyle. Yet the Lord wants us to honor those in authority, and to pray for them. Let us remember to do that.

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“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith … speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

Yesterday we spoke about our conscience, and how it requires light in order to work properly. Today we are reading about those who have their conscience “seared with a hot iron.” What does this mean?

Probably very few of you have ever had a really deep burn on your body, but if you have, it will have healed with scar tissue. That scar tissue does not have much feeling in it; it is not sensitive to touch and pain the way normal skin is. On cattle ranches they sometimes brand cattle with a hot iron, which burns off the hair and leaves a distinctive mark that shows everyone that the animal belongs to a certain rancher. But the area that is branded does not have much feeling on that part of the skin.

When the Bible talks about a conscience that is “seared with a hot iron,” it means that the person’s conscience has become like a scar, or a brand; it does not have much feeling in it. If we are reading God’s Word, and walking with the Lord, we will have a tender conscience that will immediately feel it when something comes up that is displeasing to the Lord. But if we get away from the Lord, quit reading our Bible, and stop having a time of prayer every day, then we may develop a seared conscience. Then we are not quite as sensitive to things that are not pleasing to the Lord. We will do things that used to bother our conscience, but now seem all right.

It is a good thing to have a tender conscience before the Lord, and to react to temptations and sin according to the light of God’s Word. We must read His Word and walk with Him in order to have this. If we find ourselves getting a seared conscience, let us ask the Lord to help us get back into a walk with Him, and let us confess whatever may have come into our lives that got us into that wrong way of thinking.

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“Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1).

This is the Apostle Paul speaking to the Jewish council, and it was a true statement. Yet in his younger years, when he was known as Saul of Tarsus, we find him persecuting Christians, putting them in prison. How could this be? He even stood by when Stephen was being stoned to death, and thought it was a good thing to do (read Acts 7).

The answer is that in those days, Saul (later Paul) did not know any better, and he thought he was doing the right thing. His conscience at that time did not bother him when he did all this.

Adam and Eve got a conscience when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and suddenly they had a sense of right and wrong. Everyone since then has had a conscience. Why then do people sometimes do terrible things, yet think they are doing something right? The answer is that we all have some sense of right and wrong, but our conscience can be compared to our eyes. We may have good eyes, but if the room is very dark, we cannot see very well. If a room is totally dark, we cannot see anything, even if we have good eyes.

In order to work properly, our conscience needs light — the light of the Word of God. We read in Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of Thy words giveth light.” Then we have a proper sense of right and wrong as God sees them, and our conscience is very useful to us. But I have been in some countries where most people follow false religions, and these people often lie, steal, cheat people, play mean tricks on others, and many other bad things. Yet their consciences do not bother them, for their religion tells them it is sometimes all right to do those things.

Even Christians can do wrong things and not have a bad conscience about them, if they do not know the Word of God. How important then it is to be familiar with the Bible, and to have a conscience that reminds us of right and wrong.

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“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

“In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

Down through the ages, and particularly during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there have sometimes been righteous nations in the world. God has prospered and exalted them, but then more recently some of those nations have gradually given up God and the Bible. As a result the second part of our first verse has become true; sin makes them look bad to other nations. In some of these countries today, people are not at all concerned with what is right or wrong, but only with what they can “get away with.” God has allowed difficulties and problems to come in, and the affairs of these countries have not gone smoothly. Yet most often man does not admit God’s hand in all this; he only tries all the harder to fix the problem by human means.

About fifty or sixty years ago a good friend of mine, an older man now with the Lord, was handing out gospel tracts in the U.S.A. Some teenage boys came along, laughed at him, and refused to take them. He replied wisely, “Boys, I am sorry to see you reject the very thing that has made America great!” This made them think, and they eventually took his gospel tracts.

In the world of today, instead of the righteousness that should be evident, we often find ourselves in our second verse — “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.” But this is an opportunity for us, for the darker the night is, the brighter a light shines. This world is getting darker, but then you and I as Christians should shine all the more for the Lord. We do not have much longer to shine for Him, for He is coming soon. This world needs you and me to shine for the Lord!

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“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14).

“And His name shall be called … Counsellor” (Isaiah 9:6).

We all realize how valuable good advice is! As our first verse says, if there is no counsel, the people fall. In most of the governments of this world, those in authority have counselors, or advisors, who are able to look at situations and recommend what should be done. Often they have a number of these counselors, and they listen to all of them. Then, putting all their advice together, they decide what to do. To be a counselor to someone else is a serious job, for it is easy to give bad counsel, and cause a lot of harm.

In the Old Testament king David had one special counselor named Ahithophel. He gave good counsel, for the Bible says that his counsel “was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God” (2 Samuel 16:23). Evidently he had a very special ability to consider a problem and give very good advice. Yet he made a sad mistake in following Absalom, David’s son, who wanted to kill David and take over as king. The Lord allowed Ahithophel’s counsel to be rejected, although it was good counsel, and instead Absalom took the advice of a man named Hushai, who was loyal to David. This resulted in Absalom’s being defeated. (You can read this story in 2 Samuel, chapters 16 and 17).

You and I, as Christians, never have to say, “We have no counsel.” No, for our second verse talks about the One whose name is Counsellor, and it is speaking about the Lord Jesus. No matter what kind of problem or question we have, we can go to Him for good counsel. He will never give us bad advice! Of course, sometimes we can go for advice to someone we trust, perhaps our parents, or a godly older Christian, and they can be a real help to us. But no one can replace the Lord Himself. Let us remember that one of His names is Counsellor!

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“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee … Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:1, 3-5).

When I went to high school, every morning a senior student was chosen to go down to the office and read some verses from the Bible over the PA system, then lead the whole school in saying the Lord’s prayer. When I was in my senior year I well remember being given the above verses to read, when it was my turn. Times have changed since then, and this does not happen anymore.

However, the truth of God’s Word remains, even if people in North America do not want to hear it today. No doubt some students in high school in those days never read a Bible, although most people went to “church,” as they say. But students heard something from the Word of God every day in school. This does not happen now, and it makes it all the more important for us to read the Bible on our own. If you are growing up in a Christian home, perhaps you hear the Bible read either in the morning or evening, and maybe both times. But it is good to read the Word of God for yourself, even if you do not understand all that you read. God is able to make His Word plain to us, and we will always get something from it, even if we do not understand everything.

Among all that we get from God’s Word, our verse tells us that we will “understand the fear of the Lord,” and “find the knowledge of God.” Both of these are most important for young people. The fear of the Lord means that we live and walk before the Lord as the One who has authority over us, and the knowledge of God means that we come to know our Creator and Redeemer in a personal way. These are part of a good foundation on which to build our lives.

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“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

More than forty years ago I was handing out invitations to Sunday school near the place where we had Sunday school every Lord’s Day. Since I did not know who lived in the houses, I knocked on every door, and in one house I met an old man who was lying on the sofa in his living room. I apologized for bothering him, but told him I was looking for children to come to Sunday school. To my surprise he said, “I went to that Sunday school when I was a boy.” Then he began to sing the hymn, “Tell me the old, old story, of unseen things above.” His voice was weak, but he sang the first verse and the chorus perfectly from memory. I was impressed, and asked him how long ago he had learned that song. “Well,” he said, “I am seventy-seven years old now, and I was seven when I learned it, so I guess it was seventy years ago.” The Sunday school had been going on in that neighborhood for a long time, so all this was quite possible. He had likely attended the Sunday school in the early 1900’s.

We talked for a couple of minutes, and then I asked him, “Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior?” His answer made me very sad, for he said, “Not yet.” He had heard the gospel clearly as a boy, yet here he was, getting weaker and nearing the end of his life, yet he was not saved.

It is possible to be like this man — to have heard the gospel clearly, and even to have learned gospel songs, yet not to be saved. I hope that all those who are reading this story are truly saved. How wonderful it is to come to Christ when we are young!

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“And Joseph came in unto them [the chief butler and the chief baker] in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold they were sad” (Genesis 40:6).

Joseph had been wrongly accused and put in prison, yet the keeper of the prison realized his faithfulness and his ability, and put him in charge of all the other prisoners. In this position Joseph could easily not have bothered to notice whether the other prisoners were content, or whether they were sad. Yet he was careful to observe that the chief butler and the chief baker were both sad, and he asked them what was wrong. This led to their telling Joseph their dreams, and he was able to interpret the dreams for them.

It is possible for us to be so concerned about ourselves that we do not notice other people, and how they may be feeling. Some people are naturally better at this than others. I have a good friend who says that all he has to do is look at someone, even a stranger, and he instantly knows whether they are hurting inside or not. But we can all have a concern for others and how they are doing.

Some years ago, I read a book about various character traits that “hold back” otherwise capable people. One chapter was entitled, “Being emotionally tone deaf.” We have all known people who cannot sing on key; they are “tone deaf,” and cannot, as we say, carry a tune. But occasionally people are not sensitive to the feelings of others, and they are described as being “emotionally tone deaf.” They tend to say and do things that offend others and hurt their feelings, yet often do not realize they are doing it.

It is important not to be self-centered, but to look around, and notice if others are not happy.

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“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness” (Colossians 3:12).

“But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared … according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:4-5).

Kindness is spoken about many times in the Word of God, in both Old and New Testaments. The most important thing to notice about kindness is that it characterizes God Himself. It is He who showed kindness to us when we were lost in sin, and had no hope in this world. We had only a lost eternity ahead of us, but as a Savior God, He came to us in kindness and love, and saved us according to His mercy. Are we willing to follow His example in our actions with others?

In today’s world it is considered a good thing to be tough, and to “stick up for yourself.” It is considered quite acceptable to come back with rough language at someone who treats us wrongly, but we read in Proverbs 15:1 — “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” It is our privilege as Christians to show kindness, even to those who treat us badly, for once again, this is the spirit of Christ.

There is one thing more that we should remember. Sometimes those who may treat us badly may appear to be very tough on the outside, but often this is a “cover up” for weakness and insecurity inside. They may appear tough, but really they may be hurting inside, yet not wanting to admit it. If we show them kindness, often it will bring out the weakness, and we can ask the Lord to show us how to be a help to them.

When David became king, he wanted to show the “kindness of God” to any of the house of Saul, even though Saul had been his enemy. He wanted to do this for “Jonathan’s sake,” because Jonathan had been David’s good friend. See if you can find this account in the Old Testament. Ask the Lord to help you have a kind and loving spirit today!

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