Principles of Christian Living

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Principles of Christian Living
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Lesson 4
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Lesson TextII Timothy 21-4
II Timothy 21-41 Thou therefore, my son, be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2
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.
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Lesson TextII Timothy 21-4
3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth
entangleth himself with the affairs of this life
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be
a soldier.
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Lesson TextII Timothy 25-7
II Timothy 25-75 And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he
strive lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboureth
must be first partaker of the fruits. 7 Consider
what I say and the Lord give thee
understanding in all things.
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Lesson TextII Timothy 215-18
II Timothy 215-1815 Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings
for they will increase unto more
ungodliness.
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Lesson TextII Timothy 215-18
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus 18 Who concerning
the truth have erred, saying that the
resurrection is past already and overthrow the
faith of some.
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Lesson TextII Timothy 219
II Timothy 21919 Nevertheless the foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
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Focus VerseII Timothy 213
II Timothy 213If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful he cannot deny himself.
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Focus Thought
God is always faithful. It is His will that we
strive for the same faithfulness in serving Him.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
CULTURE CONNECTION True Faithfulness Requires
Mentoring
The apostle Paul was a great mentor. He
recognized the need to prepare others who would
carry on the work beyond his ability to continue.
Because he considered the gospel work vital, he
considered preparing for its future continuance
indispensible. Even business leaders recognize
the importance of mentoring.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
In the April 7, 2010, issue of the Financial
Post, in an article titled If You Are a Leader,
You Are a Mentor, Mary Donohue wrote, So what
is mentoring in the context to which I'm
referring? Mentoring is defined as an activity
that builds relationships, creates dialogue and
matches word and deed. The philosophy behind
mentoring is framed by ethical leadership
principles developed in the 1970s by Robert
Greenleaf and others.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The programs designed in the 1970s assumed people
knew how to mentor and they understood how to be
a mentee. I didn't assume. I created a program
that works with the rigour and structure of human
resources programs today. I did my best to
emulate the configurations Peter Drucker
developed when he brought structure to
management. All managers need to be mentors.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
If you are in a leadership position and have
more than one person who answers to you, most
likely you are already in a mentoring position
and need some guidelines. If you are volunteering
at a charity, more than likely you will also soon
be in a position to mentor. People who are great
mentors are people who work with other people and
care about the success of those people.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
If we care about the mission of the church and
the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ
throughout the world, we have a responsibility to
teach others to take our placeto follow in our
passion for reaching the world. It is our
responsibility and an aspect of faithfulness.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Contemplating the Topic
Faithfulness equals trustworthiness. Faith and
trust come from the same Greek word mah. When
writing of faith, Paul used the word mahahh,
which means good faith, faithfulness,
sincerity. He used the word mah to denote
trusting someone enough to commit something
valuable to his charge.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Faithfulness is one of the crucial character
traits necessary for strong apostolic ministry.
It gives a person a firm conviction that will
help him overcome the challenges of sweeping
change. The Master takes note of the faithful and
entrusts His valuables and His mission to them.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Searching the Scriptures Pauls Advice to Timothy
Ministry is always in transition. Whether one is
willing to embrace this concept or not, it does
not negate the fact that change is constant. For
those who are set in their ways, it can be
unnerving and paralyzing. But for kingdom-minded
laborers in the field, transition can empower a
sense of vision that is necessary to accomplish
great things for God.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The situations Paul and Timothy faced in the
first century were no different or more difficult
than what the present North American Apostolic
church faces in its times. However, Paul and
Timothy have exited from the stage and it is now
our turn to take center stage. Whether the church
is in a thriving metropolitan hub or a quaint
rural hamlet, the truths Paul and Timothy
embraced and taught are the same truths we hold
in trust and teach.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Pauls advice to Timothy is timeless. Not only
has that truth withstood the tempests and trials
since its inception, it will withstand the
frequent transitions and upheavals we face today.
This powerful truth has the capacity to transform
our churches and the lives of all who hear it
preached.
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A. What You Have Heard of Me Is Faithful to
the Truth

1. What You Have Heard of Me Is Faithful to the
   Truth

One who strives to assure that his ministerial
identity remains static and unchanged will become
unfruitful. A ministry that preserves itself and
jealously guards against change will never pass
along important things to the next generation.
For example, some of the disciples of John the
Baptist informed him that people were flocking
to Jesus Christ, the one John had
baptized and to whom he had
borne witness.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Instead of reacting with indignation and doubling
his efforts to corral his disciples, he summed up
his understanding of ministerial transition in
one simple sentence He must increase, but I
must decrease (John 330). When he heard the
report about the rise of Jesus ministry, John
realized that instead of upstaging his own
ministry, the emergence of Jesus evidenced the
fact that John had completed his mission
successfully. It was time for him to move on
to another phase of ministry.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Through observation and experience, the apostle
Paul understood the fluctuations and transitions
of ministry. He rejoiced over great victories but
also endured great hardships while remaining
faithful to the message and the mission. (See II
Corinthians 1123-33.) He paid a great price for
his faithfulness, but his driving passion goaded
him to keep striving. Not only did Paul tell
Timothy to keep that which was committed to him,
he showed him how to do it by example.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
God demands faithfulness with every aspect of
life and ministry to which He calls a person. In
his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul pointed
out the discrepancies and errors in their
behavior and directed them as to what they were
to do to set things right. However, II
Corinthians revealed to them the depth of Pauls
passion and commitment to apostolic ministry.
Thus he taught the Corinthians both by what he
said and by what he did.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
In this second letter to the Corinthians, Paul
mentioned numerous things often associated with
faithfulness tribulation, trouble, affliction,
suffering, pressed, despair, under sentence of
death, heaviness and anguish of heart, no rest in
my spirit, grief stricken, many tears,
punishment, thanks. The idea of thanks in
this setting of difficult and challenging
situations seems incongruous, but the faithful
will find that all of these words interplay in a
life of ministry for Jesus Christ.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Some would rather bypass the difficult aspects of
these circumstances, but it is impossible to do
so when one remains faithful to God. A faithful
servant must endure whatever comes. (See I
Corinthians 1557-58.) The most vital key to
remaining faithful to the call to minister within
the church, whatever that ministry may entail, is
that a person conform to the image of Jesus
Christ, the One to whom and for whom he
ministers. One cannot conform to the image of
Christ merely by consistent and busy
discharge of his duties.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Rather, he conforms to the image of Christ only
through spending time with the Master and
studying His Word. When a believer immerses
himself in the Word and in studying the person of
Jesus Christ, Christ begins to be formed in him.
(See Galatians 419.) The image of Christ filled
the life of the apostle Paul, and he saw the
necessity of this growth taking place in those
whom he shepherded and mentored.
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Galatians 419
My little children, of whom I travail in birth
again until Christ be formed in you (Galatians
419).
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B. Commit These Things to Faithful Men

1. Commit These Things to Faithful Men

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus. 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 Timothy 21-2).
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The idea of committing the gospel to faithful
individuals who will carry on the work after us
is a biblical model. For instance, consider the
men who accompanied Paul in Acts 204. While we
may have only limited information about them, it
is clear Paul was modeling the idea of mentoring
others who can learn from us and continue the
work of apostolic ministry. It appears those who
accompanied Paul in his travels were
instruments, or extensions, of his ministry
whose lives he was fashioning and molding
with faithfulness.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
They took note as Paul modeled teaching and
preaching both in season and out of season. He
planted churches, solved problems that cropped
up, and trained and appointed faithful believers
to serve in the kingdom of God. They watched Paul
endure unspeakable things, none of which moved
him or distracted him from his mission. Paul
made himself vulnerable to his companions by
letting them see him not only in times of victory
but also in times of defeat, neediness, pain,
illness, and discouragement.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Even those involved in apostolic ministry
sometimes drop suddenly into a low state and if
a man is not careful, he might use the
frustrations as a soapbox. The man who devotes
himself faithfully to ministry continues to cope
with the demands and stresses and burdens that
accompany the vision, but he keeps pressing
toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians
314).
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C. That They Might Faithfully Teach

1. That They Might Faithfully Teach

Also of great interest is how Paul viewed the
assignments of apostolic ministry. He did not
measure success by the size of the building, the
crowd, or the offering total. Instead, he
appointed faithful individuals to work where
their skills and talents would best benefit the
kingdom.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Onesiphorus was a laborer from Ephesus whose
ministry consisted of helping Paul, both in
Ephesus and during Pauls imprisonment in Rome.
When Paul wrote to Timothy from a Roman prison,
he expressed gratitude that Onesiphorus had
traveled to Rome, sought him diligently,
ministered to his needs, and provided whatever
comfort he could.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
These and other examples show Pauls conviction
that God is more concerned with obedience to the
call and faithfulness to the vision than He is
with the size and difficulty of the taskor even
the specific type of ministry. Every ministry in
the church is vitally important. Too often modern
Christianity is geared toward personal success
and self-fulfillment. To many people today, it
seems the larger the ministry and greater the
renown, the better.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
While our culture may crave these things, they
are not necessarily the true accompaniments of
apostolic ministry. The Scriptures, especially
the New Testament epistles, call believers to
lives of service and even servitude. Many members
of the churchfrom the first century until the
presenthave died for their faith. They followed
the example of Christ, who came to fulfill
His mission, not Himself.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
He lowered Himself to the level of a servant and
spent Himself in ministry to others. His mission
led Him to Calvary, a place of extreme personal
sacrifice. How can one reconcile that with a life
of pursuing only self-fulfillment?
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II. Pauls Assurance to Timothy
Pauls Assurance to Timothy
Along with Pauls advice to Timothy came the
assurance that some would forsake the faith.
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A. Individuals Are Subject to Failure

1. Individuals Are Subject to Failure

Demas, first mentioned in Colossians 412-14,
had been closely associated with Paul for several
years. In the Book of Philemon, Paul established
that Demas was a fellowlabourer (Philemon 24).
Demas had not only studied and followed Pauls
example and pattern for ministry, he also was
closely associated with great New Testament
figures such as Epaphras, a powerful,
prayerful pastor in Colosse.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
However, all possibilities for Demass success
came to a disappointing end Demas hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world, and is
departed into Thessalonica (II Timothy 410).
Demas fell into possibly two of the categories
or types of soil the Lord described in Matthew
13. Like the rocky soil, seeds of the gospel
sprang up in his life only to wither because of
stunted roots. He apparently lacked depth in
his experience with Christ Jesus.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
When persecution and suffering removed Demass
rose-tinted glasses, his favorable attitude
changed from disillusionment to indignation to
rejection. Like the weed-choked soil, the cares,
stresses, and hardships of ministry gained a
foothold in Demass life and choked out the
tender plants of the gospel. Demas sinned
through his backsliding and defection. First, he
sinned against what he had learned about the
Christian walk and ministry.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
He could not plead ignorance or lack of
instruction, because others whom Paul had taught
were thriving in spiritual growth and ministry.
Second, by his defection he sinned against the
great love and faithfulness of God he could not
claim God had left him alone to wander away from
the assigned task. Third, he sinned against the
great light of good examples and mentors like
Paul, Luke, and Epaphras. He could not use the
excuse that no one had shown him what to
do.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Finally, he sinned by using his influence in a
negative way, for others who followed him might
have been drawn into the same web of deceit and
brought further reproach to the early church.
Mere association with the church and holy
things does not guarantee ones salvation. Every
believer will be tested to reveal whether he
loves the things of God or the things of this
world.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
When time and truth go hand in hand in the life
of a believer, his ministry becomes an asset to
the kingdom of God. On the other hand, when a
soul revels in worldliness, that person becomes a
liability to Gods kingdom.
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B. God Abides Faithful

1. God Abides Faithful

Unlike Demas, Paul kept the faith with tenacity
and desire. In Antioch, he persevered through
their outbursts, interruptions, contradictions,
and accusations of blasphemy. In Iconium and
Lystra, he held steady when envious Jews stirred
up the people to stone him. When Peter opposed
Paul over a decision he had made, Paul stuck to
his convictions. In Philippi, he praised God
even while they beat and locked him in
prison.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
In Athens, he confronted the Mars Hill
philosophers for their idol worship and told them
of the one true God. Paul did not give up in
exasperation at the unrestraint of the members of
the Corinthian church and their misuse of
spiritual gifts. Instead, he instructed them in a
more perfect way. In Ephesus, he boldly pointed
people to Christ and away from the goddess Diana.
In Jerusalem, he remained undaunted when enemies
bound him with iron fetters and threatened
his life.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
In Caesarea, when summoned before King Agrippa,
he faithfully gave his testimony. In a Roman
prison during the closing hours of his life, he
dispatched letters of blessing, encouragement,
instruction, and thankfulness to fellow
Christians. All of these examples from Pauls
life reinforce the fact that we must give
ourselves diligently to the service of the
kingdom no matter where we are or how difficult
the assignment.
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III. Pauls Admonition to Timothy
Pauls Admonition to Timothy
The last aspect of Pauls admonishment to
Timothy revolved almost solely around the
integrity of his presentation of the Word of God.
Every church that has a pastor who faithfully
preaches and teaches the Word of God in its
proper context and is motivated by truth ought to
highly honor and treasure this individual.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
While the shifting winds of doctrine blow
(Ephesians 414), the pastor who is faithful to
the Word will lead a spiritually healthy church.
We will look at four attributes inherent in
Timothy and in every person who faithfully
proclaims the Word of truth.
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A. Be a Student of the Word

1. Be a Student of the Word

Those who minister in most cultures deal largely
with biblically illiterate listeners relatively
few unregenerate people ever read their Bibles.
Even more troubling, many people who sit on
church pews and count themselves as Christians
are woefully ignorant of the Scriptures and their
precepts. We observe this in the very low level
of spiritual discernment among many believers in
churches today, typically caused by the
lack of biblical knowledge.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The only way to overcome this is for a pastor to
devote himself to becoming a student of the Word
and aptly convey it to the members of his church.
Concerning this widespread problem, the most
important things in a pastors job
descriptionprayer and ministry of the Wordare
shifting to the forefront. Paul wove this
priority into the pastoral epistles (I Timothy
II Timothy Titus). History affirms that all
influential revivals and spiritual awakenings
have been preceded by a person who gave
himself to the prayer and ministry of the
Word.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Thom Rainer has written several books that offer
different reasons why churches are ineffective
and/or in decline. His book Essential Church?
should inspire many serious thoughts about
preaching. Rainer identified seven sins of dying
churches (pp. 16-19), three of which have to do
with preaching doctrinal dilution, failure to be
relevant, and biblical illiteracy. A person can
overcome these with a strong devotional life,
diligent study of the Word of God, and an
increased passion for preaching the Word.
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Transparency 3
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
A student of the Word gives himself to diligent
study of the Scriptures and saturates what he has
learned in consistent, powerful prayers for
enlightenment and wisdom. However, his job is not
done until he presents these insights in a clear
and convicting way to those who hear him.
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B. Be a Workman with the Word

1. Be a Workman with the Word

Alexander Maclaren said, The preacher who has
steeped himself in the Bible will have a
clearness of outlook which will illuminate many
dark things, and a firmness of touch which will
breed confidence in him among his hearers. He
will have the secret of perpetual freshness, for
he cannot exhaust the Bible!
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
When a minister gives himself to mastering the
Word, it will ultimately master him. However, one
of the great fringe benefits is that his
preaching will encourage true spiritual growth in
the church. A person who becomes a workman of
the Word squelches his tendency to mount hobby
horses and ride them into the ground. For
instance, some ministers preach only on prayer,
others only on revival, others only on
evangelism, and others only on faith. There must
be balance in ministry of the Word of God.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
Whether or not a pastor recognizes it, and
despite the fact he may be praying and getting a
fresh word from God, his preaching often tends
to follow certain cycles. Furthermore, when a
church has problems or difficulties, if a pastor
has not given himself to holistic study of the
Word, he can become greatly distracted from the
real purpose of the pulpit and he may end up
hopelessly chasing down rabbit trails or hobby
subjects. Such preaching may cater to a
superficial understanding of spiritual
things.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The workman who immerses himself in a milieu of
study will prevent this. The powerful treasury of
scriptural knowledge makes our lives abundant and
our forth-telling of Gods Word dynamic.
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C. Be a Right Divider of the Word

1. Be a Right Divider of the Word

To rightly divide the Word of truth one has to
be a reader of the Word. The only true way to
interpret Scripture is in light of other passages
of Scripture and by contemplating the context of
every passage. As one faithfully reads and
studies the Word of God, he lays a permanent
foundation of knowledge upon which he may better
understand and interpret other parts of the
Bible.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
The more he reads and studies, the more familiar
he becomes with the whole of Scripture. That is
the essence of rightly dividing the Word of God.
The minister who rightly divides the Word has to
be very careful to consider the context of the
focus of study. That is, he must understand any
passage in the light of the entire chapter, the
theme of the entire book, and other passages on
the same subject.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
By taking a passage out of context, the minister
basically affirms the idea that what he wants to
say about the matter is more important than what
the text says.
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II Peter 120
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the
scripture is of any private interpretation (II
Peter 120).
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D. Be Faithful as God Is Faithful

1. Be Faithful as God Is Faithful

One need look no further than the examples given
in this lesson to realize that Paul endured
faithfully because God always manifested
faithfulness. When our relationship with God
finds its depth in understanding the Word and
through power in prayer, it fuels our ability to
faithfully discharge the task to which we
have been called.
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I. Pauls Advice to Timothy
INTERNALIZING THE MESSAGE
Our society has almost lost its ability to model
genuine faithfulness. This is evident in the
broken families and even in the broken churches
prevalent in our times. But despite the seeming
odds against us, if we look to God we can develop
a deep relationship of trust in Him that provides
us with an unwavering faith to accomplish
much for His kingdom.