I’ve been meditating for the past few days on something I saw in Romans 6 for the first time:

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. (Romans 6.17, ESV)

The “standard of teaching,” and several translations cross-reference to 2 Timothy:

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1.13, ESV)

The “pattern of sound words.”

My first thought was that we’re to follow a pattern. That seems a bit more doable than keeping a long list of dos and don’ts. That was certainly the Pharisees’ problem. And some of ours. Growing up, we had certain things we were supposed to avoid. Playing cards for example. I used that as an example in a sermon that I preached three times in a certain church. After each service, someone came up and said something like, “Oh, you must have grown up in __________ church as I did!” All three named churches were different and none was the flavor of church that I grew up in. It seems that this kind of thinking is widespread!

I want to explore this idea for a few days. What are the aspects of the pattern we should be living by?

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4.9, ESV)