Being An Example of the Believer
Central thought: Live the life of Christ for others to emulate.
Text: 1 Timothy 4:12-16; 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9
When Apostle Paul was writing to Timothy and instructing him to be an example of the believers, he was equally speaking to us, having at the back of his mind that those embracing the faith will normally look up to those who have been there before them and emulate their ways of life.
Being an example of the believers connotes that the believers’ lifestyle ordinarily should be far higher in standard than those of unbelievers. That is why a believer should not in any way compare themselves with unbelievers. When the Lord Jesus commanded the disciples in Matthew 28:20 to teach them to observe all things whatsoever that He has commanded them, it includes teaching them with their lifestyle.
Jesus said in John 14:9, “he that has seen me has seen the Father”. This He said because He was the express image of the Father in all His ways. This is what the lesson is all about, to be an example of our Lord Jesus Christ to others.
1. What do you understand by the word “example”?
The Oxford dictionary of current English defines “example” as a person or thing seen in terms of their suitability to be copied. The above definition set the tone of what the topic is out to address. Naturally, a man always looks up to those ahead of him to copy their way of life and develop their character along that line.
Apostle Paul writing in Philippians 4:9 said, “those things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me do”. He set himself before the people to be copied.
There are positive examples and also negative examples. If your lifestyle is contrary to the word of God and profess to be a Christian, you are setting yourself as a negative example to other Christians. But if your lifestyle is in consonance with the word of God and live in obedience to the Lord, serving Him diligently, then you can say like Paul, “be ye followers of me as I am of Christ”.
2. Who is to be an example of the believers?
The word believer here means a disciple of Jesus Christ, so the person who can be an example to other disciples must himself be a disciple.
The first step to being a disciple is to be born again, John 3:3-8. The process is for you to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and personal Savior, believing that He came to die for your sins and rose again from the dead and lives for evermore, John 1:12. You must continue in His word as it is written in John 8:31, “if you continue in my words so shall you be my disciples indeed”. This shows us that only those who continue in His words are His disciples indeed. You must also seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you can be effective in your discipleship, Acts 1:4-5,8. Only those who are disciples INDEED can be examples to other believers.
3. Why should we be examples of believers? 2 Corinthians 3:2-3; Matthew 5:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; 1 Peter 2:12
When Jesus was choosing His disciples, He used one word for all of them, which was, “FOLLOW ME”. The life of the believer is to follow the footstep of the Master. The Apostles followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and in Acts 2:42, the Bible said that the disciples continued in the Apostle’s doctrine. Those embracing the faith always look at those who are already there to copy and learn from them. Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, “you are our epistle, known and read of all men”. We are light in the world, as light cannot be hidden, even so our lifestyle cannot be hidden.
The followership is always there. You are following and others are following you. It is a continuous act. Because of this, even those things we have power to do, we must give them up so that we can make ourselves an example for others to follow, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9. Anything that will make your brother to stumble, you must give it up. We must be able to tell others to follow us as we follow Christ.
4. In what areas should we be an example?
1 Timothy 4:12 specified some areas where we should be examples.
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Example in Word:
The Bible says, let your word be seasoned with salt, so that it will minister grace to the hearers, Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:6. The Bible has a lot to say about the use of our tongue. It can kill, it can make alive. It can destroy the labor of many years in a moment, Proverbs 18:21. We should not use vulgar language at home before our children? The way we speak goes a long way to mode their language. The Bible says that we are going to give account of every idle word we speak, so we should pattern our words as the saints of God.
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In Behavior:
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things are become new”. The implication of this is that there must be a change in our ways of living. Our behavioral attitude will change to conform to the standard of God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “be ye perfect even as your heavenly father is perfect”. He did not give us a suggestion but a command. For us to be perfect, we have to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, Ephesians 4:24. Let us think on Philippians 4:8 and pattern our lives to it.
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In Love:
Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “by this shall men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another”. To love one another is the new commandment that the Lord gave and emphasized on John 15:12. Love is kind, is not easily provoked, it is not puffed up, it is long-suffering, it envies not, seeketh not her own. It does not behave unseemly, thinketh no evil, rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, 1 Corinthians 13:5-7. Love is the fulfillment of the law.
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In Spirit:
Galatians 5:16 says, “walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. This shows us that a man patterns his life either spiritually or worldly. If we walk in the Spirit, we view our world from the spiritual perspective, the way we run our homes, our businesses and our offices. We should not drift from being in the Spirit to the body which is earthly and will naturally desire the things of the world. We are born of the spirit by the will of God so let us walk. Paul enjoins us in Galatians 5:25 that if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
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In Faith:
Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must first believe that He is, and He is a rewarded of them that diligently seek Him. Faith is your absolute trust and confidence in the ability of God to respond to any challenge before you. The Bible says, “the just shall live by faith”, Galatians 3:11. Living by faith in God is the life that Christians have been called unto and our daily practice of total dependence on God will encourage others to do the same.
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In Purity:
Matthew 5:8; Psalm 15:2, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. Purity refers to the cleanness of heart. Jesus said that out of the hear proceed evil thoughts, murders, fornication, adultery, etc., Matthew 15:19-20. That which defiles a man comes from the heart. That is why David in Psalm 51 asked God to create in him a clean heart. No man can know what is in the heart of man, but his actions and utterances show what is in his heart. We are to demonstrate purity of life to those following us.
5. What are some of the benefits of living an exemplary life? Matthew 6:16-18: 1 Timothy 4:16
There are benefits in living an exemplary life as a believer. The benefits include commenddations, gains on earth and in eternity.
- It brings glory to God. Matthew 5:16
- Men will stand by you in time of needs. Acts 9:36-40
- Commendation by the Lord. Genesis 18:19; Matthew 6:18
- It brings others to the truth of the Bible. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3
- You save yourself and those who look up to you. 1 Timothy 4:16
Daily living application:
The Christian faith is not “do as I say and not as I do”, but it is “follow me as I follow Christ”. Apostle Paul demonstrated this in many ways by always being in obedience to the voice of God. When Peter was carried away by the presence of the Jews from Jerusalem and separted himself from the Christian gentiles in Antioch, Paul withstood him to the face and told him that what he was doing was wrong, Galatians 2:11. His deep insight of the scripture and the application thereof, brought Peter back to the true meaning of circumcision and “nip in the bud’ what would have brought division in the body of Christ.
We must live our daily life in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ so that those following us will not be led astray.
Memory verse
1 Timothy 4:12 – “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”