1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Knock, knock, knock... "Hello, I'm the pastor of the church up the street. I was wondering if you have ever accepted Jesus as your Savior?" "Oh yeah, I've done that...I've been baptized and joined the church when I was younger" was the response he received. The preacher was wanting to make sure with a few more questions and the man answered again in a firm voice, "I told you that I've done that!"
Can I tell you this morning if you have "done that" it shows by you "still doing that". The Bible says we should take heed. To what? First of all to ourselves. We should examine ourselves to see if we are in Christ or not. Second it says we should take heed to doctrine. We should give priority to the word of God and what it teaches us. Then what? Thirdly we should "continue in them". After we have examined ourselves we should learn of God's will for our lives and walk in His will. Way too many are saying one thing but then walking in a totally different way. They say, "been there, done that". But that are not doing it!
Why should we do these three things? The answer is right there in the scripture. "For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself..." Our salvation is not a thing we did in our youth, it is God reaching in grace unto us. It is a decision we made to follow Jesus Christ in our lives for the rest of our lives. When we have Christ, we live in Christ. Not one day a week but everyday, all day, forever. Then lastly, we do this for the saving of those that hear us. Our lives as Christians should be reflections of Christ. The reason people don't want the Christ you're sharing is because they can't see the Christ your sharing in you.
So take heed of yourself, to the doctrines of scripture and continue in them. Why? For your salvation and the salvation of others.
