You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭17‬
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The call of a church pastor and shepherd is an important one. First and foremost, they must teach what is in line with sound doctrine. Sound doctrine derives its basis from teaching that explains God’s Word with accuracy and in a complete manner. Our Timothy cross-reference expands on this: not only is God’s Word (the Bible) good for correct teaching, it is also good for rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

When people go into training, this is not a passive exercise. It involves actual work. And so this training in righteousness is a modeling process that leaders are supposed to model and bring those they lead along with them in righteous living. Righteous living is not just limited to obeying a set of “don’t do this” rules. It is about having a mindset that follows the Lord Jesus and what he wants us to accomplish, how he wants us to behave, and who he wants us to care for and share the gospel with.

The point of studying the scriptures, teaching them and living them out, is to become wise. This wisdom directs our lives and makes us more and more effective in representing Jesus Christ as ambassadors for the gospel (the Good News about Jesus). Wisdom does not come from extensive word searches about the history or background of the people in the Bible, although those are very interesting. Wisdom comes from taking the truth of the Bible and applying it in our lives.

When God breathed, in Genesis, and spoke words, he created everything. Wouldn’t it be cool to have God-breathed words coming out of our mouths all the time? And when this happens, and our hearts have been changed because of it, then we can evidence these traits: temperance, worthy of respect, self-control, and soundness in the faith, love and endurance.

When we breathe in the words of God and internalize those in our heart, what comes out is beautiful! Jesus, in his rebuke of the Jewish leaders, said this: “You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man, from his [inner] good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his [inner] evil treasure, brings out evil things.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭AMP‬‬). Saying this, he set in stone what we already knew, that what our hearts are full of … is what comes out when life squeezes us.

Lord, I want to be full of you. Give me additional energy, help me to prioritize better, and make internalizing your word one of my number one priorities. Nothing else makes me wise like your Word. Thank you for this great passage encouraging me as a leader. May I seek after the things that honor you!