In his first letter to his protégé, the evangelist Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote: “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14-15). As Paul’s instructions concern the conduct of “the church of the living God,” we who make up that church today do well to learn from this passage.

The church’s conduct is defined by a written standard. Paul emphasized to Timothy that his directions were being supplied in writing: “These things I write to you...but if I am delayed, I write.” Timothy would not have to rely on his own faulty memory of what Paul had taught. Nor would there be any argument from those who might remember the commands differently, or who claimed they had heard things no one else recalled. When there is a written standard of conduct, there can be no question what the rule is. So it should always be with the church: what does the Bible say?

The church’s conduct is based on knowledge of the written standard: “I write so that you may know.” Timothy was not expected to guess what the rule of conduct was, nor was he left to wonder about it. He could, as Jesus had foretold, know the truth, and the truth would make him free (John 8:32). Many religious people today argue that we cannot really know what God does and does not approve. Not so! The things that are written in the New Testament Scriptures enable us to know with certainty what God wants us to do, and how He wants it accomplished.

There is a way that those in the church ought to conduct themselves. This was the purpose of Paul’s letter to Timothy, his “son in the faith”: “that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God.” There is a way that God’s people should behave, and the Bible tells us what that way is. And, if there is a right way, we can be equally sure there is a wrong way — most likely, many wrong ways — to behave. If we know what is right to do, all else is necessarily wrong, and we must have no part in it.

The church is God’s house: “the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” I don’t know how things operate in your house, but in my house, I make the rules. Why? Because it’s my house. When I visit your house, I respect and abide by your rules, because it’s your house. What we do as the church we do as the house of God. Therefore, His rules — and only His rules — apply. I have even less business telling God how I think He should govern His house than I have meddling in your ownership of yours.

The church supports the truth and stands on the truth: “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Many still ask that question today, as though there were no clear-cut answer. The church must not only know the truth, as revealed in the written word of God, but must stand firmly on that truth without wavering (Ephesians 6:13-14; 1 Corinthians 16:13). The church must also uphold the truth before the world as a pillar upholds a roof, or a lighthouse upholds its beacon (Philippians 2:15-16). We must always be set to defend the gospel against opposition (1 Peter 3:15; Philippians 1:17).

The house of God is not brick and mortar. It is a spiritual house, built of living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5). Let’s strive to show ourselves as the house the Master Builder designed us to be.