A L M A C I A S

CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT

Throughout the New Testament, time after time, we find lessons on Christian commitment. When we obey the Gospel, we make a commitment to God, and to His Son, to be obedient to all of God's commands. Among those commandments, we find that of preparing ourselves in the knowledge of God's Word, not only for our own spiritual well-being, but also for the spiritual well-being of others. In II Timothy 2:1-6, the apostle Paul explained to Timothy, as well as to all who have obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just what is involved in Christian commitment. First, we all need to be strong in the Lord. Paul was not referring to physical strength, but rather to spiritual strength. How does one become spiritually strong? Spiritual growth comes by the Word of God. As we study the Word and meditate on it, and as we are obedient to it, our souls become stronger and stronger. The Lord said in Matthew 4 (as He was being tempted by Satan),"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4)

Paul instructed Timothy, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (II Tim. 2:2) One of the greatest needs we have in the brotherhood today is for dependable and responsible Bible teachers and preachers. We are living in a world that is suffering from a spiritual famine because there are not enough people committed to teaching and preaching the Word of God. There are many teachers and preachers, but many of them are not faithfully proclaiming the commandments of God. Many have either added to the Word, subtracted from it, or have departed from it altogether. We all have a commitment and a responsibility to teach future generation the pure Word of God, so that they in turn will do the same thing by teaching others what they have learned from us. Are we fulfilling our responsibility as set before us in II Timothy 2:1-2?