April 21st

II Timothy 2

Paul wanted Timothy to understand thoroughly what a pastor is and does.  – The same principles apply to all Christians.  Paul gives SEVEN pictures of the Christian minister.

1.      The STEWARD v. 1-2  Ministry is not something we get for ourselves and keep to ourselves.  We are stewards of the spiritual treasure God has given us.  It is our responsibility to guard the deposit and then invest it in the lives of others and they invest it with the next generation of believers.  We get our original treasure from the Word and not from the ideas and philosophies of men.  “Apt to teach” implies apt to learn; so a steward must also be a diligent student of the Word of God.

2.     The soldier v. 3-4, 8 – 13.  Characteristics of a “good soldier of Jesus Christ.

·        He endures hardship – people often indicate that they think a minister does not have must to do…but he is in a battle that requires spiritual endurance.  *He avoids worldly entanglements v. 4.  *He magnifies Jesus Christ v. 8-9 Would better be read “Remember Jesus Christ!”  *He thinks of the whole army v. 10 Paul not only suffered for the Lord’s sake, but he also suffered for the sake of the church.  A soldier who thinks only of himself is disloyal and undependable.  *He trusts his Commanding Officer v. 11-13 It is faith in Jesus Christ that gives us victory.  We do not fear the enemies, for He has already conquered them.  Our faith must be in Christ and Christ alone. 

3.     The Athlete v. 5  Paul had earlier urged Timothy to exercise like an athlete I Timothy 4:7-8…Now Paul admonished him to obey the rules.  Paul was a winner!  He had kept the rules laid down in the Word of God, and one day he would get his reward from Jesus Christ.  Paul was saying to young Timothy “The important thing is that you obey the Word no matter what people may say.  You are not running the race to please people or to get fame. You are running to please Jesus Christ.

4.     The Farmer v. 6-7 Each Christian has his particular task to perform – plowing, sowing, watering, or harvesting, but it is God alone who gives the increase.  A farmer: has to work…left alone, the field will produce mostly weeds.  Real ministry is hard work…we must work in our spiritual field as diligently as a farmer works in his field.  A farmer:  needs patience.  James 5:7  A farmer deserves his share of the harvest.  Paul is stating here that a faithful pastor ought to be supported by his church.  As a church grows and progresses the people ought to faithfully increase their support of their pastors and others staff members.  Something else is true in this image of the farmer:  The spiritual leaders who share the Word with the people are the first ones to enjoy its blessings.  The preacher and the teacher gets more than the hearers.  Farming is hard work, and it can have many disappointments but the rewards are worth it.

5.     The Workman  v. 14-18  Study means “to be diligent, be zealous.  The emphasis in this paragraph is the workman needs to be diligent in his labor so that he will not be ashamed when his work is inspected.   “rightly dividing” means “cutting straight” and can be applied to many different tasks, plowing a straight furrow, cutting a straight board, sewing a straight seam.  The pastor is a workman in God’s Word.  The Word is a treasure that the steward must guard and invest.  It is the soldier’s sword and the farmer’s seed.  But it is also the workman’s tool for building, measuring, and repairing God’s people.  An approved worker diligently studies the Word and seeks to apply it to his own life.  An ashamed worker wastes his time with other duties and has little or nothing to give his class or congregation.  An approved worker does not waste his time arguing about words to no profit..because he knows that such arguing only undermines God’s work.  An approved workman will shun “Godless chatter”, knows false doctrine is dangerous and he will oppose it.  Gangrene spreads, infects and kills other tissue, so false doctrine spreads and infects the body of believers the church. 

Two men named who were false teachers…wandered from the truth by teaching that the resurrection had already taken place.  Each of us as God’s workman will be either approved or ashamed.  Approved=one who has been tested and found acceptable.  Ashamed= the work is below standard and cannot be accepted. 

6.     The Vessel v. 19-22  This great house – the professing church has a solid foundation that is sealed, but it also has vessels for performing household functions.  Vessels of honor and dishonor.  He is not distinguishing between kinds of Christians, but rather is making a distinction between true teachers of the Word and the false teachers he described.  The faithful preacher is like a vessel of fine metals…a false teacher is not valuable – like wood and clay.  The important thing is that the honorable vessels not be contaminated by the dishonorable ones.  Paul is saying – separate from false teachers.  A useful human vessel of honor does not get involved in the popular things of the world, even the religious world.  He must remain holy and this means he must be separated from everything that would defile him.  This includes the sins of the flesh. 

For God to use us as vessels, we must be empty, clean and available.  He will take us and fill us and use us for His glory. 

7.     The Servant v. 23 – 26  A slave had no will of his own, he was totally under the command of his master.  Once we were slaves of sin, but now we are the slaves of God.  God’s slave does not have an easy time of teaching the Word…Satan opposes him and tries to trap his listeners.  Some people are simply difficult to teach.  They prefer foolish arguments and do not have the desire to feed on the nourishing Word of God.  Do not ignore them…Satan would get them…Paul is admonishing Timothy to avoid the arguments that create strife, but do not ignore the people.  Don’t win arguments, but win souls.  We are to teach that they may be delivered from the grasp of Satan. 

As you survey these seven aspects of the work of the ministry, you can see how important and how demanding a work it is.  The ministry is no place for a loafer … it demands discipline and work.  Church members need to pray for their pastors and teachers and encourage them in the work.  In other words, we should labor together in the work of the Lord. 

Now, lets turn back to the first two verses:  These are the verses of discipleship.  Family and discipleship go hand in hand – handing down!!  GENERATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP!  The Lord has mandated to us in Deut 4 that the truths of the Scripture should be shared in the process through relationships and teaching…personal interaction.  “Drop off” discipleship is not to take the place of church being in partnership with parents.  Teaching rules without the relationship leads to rebellion.  Family discipleship should be a way of life.  God’s Word and time with children.  -  Every moment is a golden opportunity.  The battle is to capture the hearts of our children.  An addiction to peer association and approval is sought by the children rather than the favor of the parents. 

6:24 Choose it or you will not survive as a family.  Choose and you will be victorious.  Church should become a center for equipping parents to disciple their children.