"Fulfill Your Ministry"

I have been reading in 2 Timothy for my daily time with God. The last few days have been on 2 Tim 4:1-5. Here are my thoughts on this passage, in which Paul delivers a charge to his protege, Timothy.

Paul gives a charge or commission to Timothy: he is to preach the Word faithfully, consistently, and persistently. It does not matter whether the time seems to good or bad, whether he thinks he will receive a positive response or not – he is to share and teach the Gospel. He is to do so with patience – not out of anger, not out of fear, not out of guilt – but with love for God and others and from gratitude for the grace he has received from God.

Paul’s charge is solemn. He says, "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom…" He is not giving Timothy advice. Rather, he is setting him a task, one for which he will be answerable, not simply to Paul, but to God in all his majesty, authority, and power. It is good to remember that, although we are accepted by God purely by his grace and not by our merit or our accomplishments, he still will examine our lives and ministry. I am not at all sure of how that will work out – but it is not something we need to fear, for we will not lose God’s acceptance. The closest thing I can imagine is that when we know what we could have or should have done, we will be sorry for having disappointed our Father, rather than fearful for having broken his law. We have a high calling and a great responsibility. We enter it by grace, we exercise it by grace, and we will meet the last evaluation by grace. We must remember to have faith – not presumption, and not fear, but faith in both God’s forgiveness and God’s empowering.

These two verses (3 & 4) are applicable to today, in spades. Many theologians of these days simply “do theology” out of what they see as needs, using words that have been around for centuries, but defining those words according to their own ideas and ignoring both Scripture and historic usage in doing so. I could not begin to describe all the different sorts of theologies that are out there today – but they are more aimed at satisfying the needs of particular groups than at organizing the teachings of Scripture in a systematic way. They are absolute nonsense for the most part – but very attractive, for they justify sin or give consolation to the aggrieved.

The nature of sin is such that we should not be surprised. Sin can ignore God, and many people do. But sin can also be religious, as it clearly is in idolatry. But the worst of sin is that is can be correct about many things but also be grievously wrong at the heart of the matter. Arianism was correct about many things, but it demoted the Lord Jesus to a creature, and so in time would have made him into a teacher, not a Savior – as we have seen happen to the Unitarians over two centuries.

"itching ears" that desire to hear what is novel or interesting more than they want to hear what is true will create many strange teachings. The truth requires repentance and humility; whereas novelties simply require religious ceremonies.

Paul completes his charge to Timothy by exhorting him to remain faithful in conviction and in ministry, no matter what happens. He may suffer because he holds firm to the Gospel and does not truck with fables, legends, genealogies, and other things that contradict or ignore the Scriptures – but even when difficulties come, the truth is still truth and is worth holding on to.

Christians must be in it for the long haul. Our experiences will vary from day to day, depending on any number of things, including how those around us may be feeling at any given moment. They may cheer us – and they may jeer us. But God remains God, and God remains faithful in Jesus Christ. When we look to God and not to those around us, we can remain faithful and steady. A sailor must take the wind into account and make adjustments to course because of the wind – but his direction is determined by his final port, not by the wind itself. A sailor who always sails with the wind because it is easiest will wind up nowhere. A sailor who keeps his port in mind will arrive in due course, even if he has to sail into the teeth of the wind at times.