What does a healthy church look like? In the Apostle Paul's last letter to Timothy, he highlights some of the key priorities every pastor should embrace. We'll look at those responsibilities today on Truth for Life and learn how we can support and not undermine our church leadership. Alistair Begg is teaching from 2 Timothy chapter 2 verses 14 and 15. I want to spend the time this morning on the way in which Paul gives instruction to Timothy, first of all as a pastor in relationship to his flock, and then as a pastor in relationship to himself. Spurgeon, on one occasion addressing his students, said to them, If we do not spend time in diligent study, our congregations will get poverty-stricken sermons. And he was identifying the fact that in his day, as I think in every day and not least of all in our own, the church is in need of pastors who will actually study the Bible.
That may seem so straightforward as to be unworthy of mention, but the fact is that the pressures and the pace of his contemporary life make that an increasingly difficult goal to achieve. And effective teaching of the Bible is dependent in part on the pastor growing in his understanding of the Word of God himself. If pastors are constantly pouring out without at the same time pouring in, then eventually they will have very little worth pouring out at all.
And that will become apparent, not first of all to the congregation but to them, and then eventually to the congregation. I recall I have it in my notes somewhere—I don't know where I took it from—but Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were in church, and they were listening to some poor soul as he was trying to make a go of the Bible. And he finally dribbled to a conclusion, and Mr. Hudson said to his wife, What was that about? And she said, Nothing.
And he said, Thank you, I thought so. So, it's imperative, isn't it, that we pay attention to what Paul says here? First of all, in verse 14, remind them the pastor's work on behalf of the flock, and then in verse 15, present yourself the pastor's work, if you like, on his own behalf. We'll deal with them in turn. First of all, remind them.
Remind them. Now, we've said already that Timothy's working in a context in which people were intrigued by error, they were disinterested in truth, and they were allured by myths. It therefore would have been very tempting for him, I guess, to play the game by seeking to become innovative and to provide what the people with itching ears wanted to hear. And given that that is the context and perhaps the challenge, Paul here heads Timothy off at the pass by reminding him that his role is to remind the people under his care of these things. Now, the these things here, presumably, comes immediately out of what he has just said, about the faithfulness of God to his promises and to his warnings. But I take it that these things refer to the essential truths that make up the totality of his final letter—that the essentials of the faith, that the gospel itself, that the simple gospel of Jesus' death upon the cross, satisfying the holy justice of God, making men and women children of God so that they might know and love the Lord Jesus—that these are the things that lie at the very heart of what Paul is saying.
It is this that is so very important, he says, that is passed on to the coming generations. If your Bible is open as mine is, you will see that in the middle of the first chapter, he has encouraged Timothy not to be ashamed about the testimony of the Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel, the good news, by the power of God. And then he goes on to tell us a little of what this gospel is—that God has saved us, called us, not because of works, because of his own grace, and so on. And now he says to Timothy, Timothy, it's important that you remind the people under your care of these essentials. The time in which Timothy was ministering was a time in which men and women were confused doctrinally about what it was they were to believe.
They were also living confused lives morally in terms of how they should behave. And here we are, all these years later, and I preach essentially in a similar context, where men and women are confused about what it is that is believable and trustworthy, and our culture is increasingly confused in terms of how we ought to behave morally. And so Paul, recognizing this, says it is imperative, Timothy, that you feed the people of God, you proclaim the whole counsel of God. And when you do so, when a pastor does so—because by derivation, in writing to Timothy as a pastor, he writes to all who are pastors and church leaders—when the pastor does that, then it serves a greater goal.
And that greater goal is vitally important. Paul mentions it in Colossians chapter 1, where he says that we present this gospel of the Lord Jesus to the end, that we present everyone mature in Christ. Mature in Christ. So it's not enough that the congregation, under the care of the pastor, has a sort of rudimentary working knowledge of the gospel that they have managed to grasp or grapple with the ABCs of things. But rather, he says, we labor, we strive, and we labor, and we work hard to the end that we might present everyone mature in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the way in which that happens in a congregation is by the regular, constant teaching of the Bible, and when the Bible is constantly taught, then the gospel is routinely proclaimed. And the regular exposition of the gospel—in other words, reminding us again and again of all that God has done for us in Christ—that regular exposition then focuses the attention of both pastor and people on the mercy of God, that God is a merciful God, that the awareness of the mercy of God stirs gratitude in the hearts of the people of God. And gratitude in my heart then promotes obedience in my life.
So the starting point, if you like, is always the gospel. Do you realize how gracious and merciful God is? That although we were by nature rebellious sinners, he sought us out and saved us. Mercy there was great, and grace was free, and pardon there was multiplied to me, as the hymn writer puts it.
And so we say, I ought to be really grateful for that. And my expression of gratitude then reveals itself in a life of obedience. That's why I love that opening hymn so much as I think about it now, because you're talking to yourself in that opening hymn. Praise my soul. So we're talking to my soul, to the essential me. Praise my soul, the King of heaven. To his feet your tribute bring. You've been ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven. Don't you think you ought to praise him?
Makes sense, you see. It's the awareness of his blessing, of his mercy, that is the instigator of gratitude, which is the pathway to obedience. That's why we're actually able, in Jesus, to achieve standards of conduct that otherwise would have been impossible. That's why the Bible tells us that we're able to love our enemies, loving them as God loved us when we were his enemies.
That's why we're able. We're enabled by the Holy Spirit to do what God has called us to do. Ponder the fact that you were an enemy of God, and God loved you, and now he's put his Spirit in your heart. You're not gonna love your enemies? Or forgiving? We are able to forgive, because God has forgiven us.
It's supernatural. But it all emerges from the gospel. So says Paul to Timothy, remind them. Or in the NIV, present continuous, keep reminding them of these things. In other words, it never ends. It's like being a parent. You never stop. I mean, your kids can be in their mid-thirties, and you're saying to them, Did you write Mr. so-and-so a thank-you note?
And that's only because your wife said to you, Did you write Mr. so-and-so a thank-you note? So we're all in it together. Keep reminding them of these things. If that's positive, then he goes negative with the charge or the warning, and charge them before God. There's something that they need to focus on in a most positive way, and there's something also that they need to make sure they're forsaking. And the solemnity of Paul's approach is notable. Charge them before God. It's not just like, Oh, I'd like to remind you of something, or perhaps you should consider this, but I don't want to invade your space.
No. There's a solemnity about this. There's a gravitas about this, because he says it is before the God who made them and to whom they are accountable that these things unfold. So make sure that you encourage them to stay away from quarreling about words, from quarreling about words. Now, Paul is not introducing the notion of theological vagueness here. If you know Paul at all, you know that couldn't be the case.
You can't set, now, this little phrase against all of his concern in all of his letters. Classically, Galatians 1, where he says, I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be cursed.
Be cursed. So Paul is not all of a sudden saying, Oh, by the way, I was really concerned about the gospel in certain contexts, but I want you to make sure that you don't ever get into discussions about that. No, that's not what he's saying. First of all, he's saying that I don't want your people to be quarrelsome, and I don't want them to be quarreling about things that are peripheral, nonessential, and yet the kind of things that a certain mindset gravitates towards. There is a peculiar proclivity on the part of some to always want to focus on certain things that become the basis for division. And so Paul, who has written before to the Ephesians, reminding them that the work of the Word of God is to build the people of God up in love, and so now he says to Timothy, make sure that since the people of God are supposed to be building one another up in love, that they don't end up tearing one another up because they're involved in this quarrelsome activity.
And he says, I'll tell you why they shouldn't be quarreling about words. Number one, because it does no good. It's just a complete waste of time. It's a waste of breath and energy.
I could illustrate, but I won't. And subsequently, it only ruins the hearers. Now, the words which is translated there, ruin, in English, is the Greek word catastrophe.
Catastrophe—that's the actual word. He says, when a congregation or if your people become like this, Timothy, it'll be a catastrophe. Warn them, remind them to stick with the gospel, charge them not to get involved in theological nitpicking on the periphery, because it's unhelpful and it will undermine the faith, a potential faith, of those who hear.
Think about children listening to those kind of arguments and so on. Or bystanders who come into a congregation longing to discover what is the centrality of the gospel, and they come up against these things. Splitting hairs, spoiling relationships, will just simply divert and demoralize those who might otherwise be drawn by the wonderful story of the love of God for sinners. Stick with the story, he says.
Remind them of the story. It's wonderfully liberating, incidentally, if you're a pastor, because people ask me all the time, they say, Well, how do you make the Bible relevant? I say, Well, I've never made the Bible relevant. Frankly, fortunately, I don't have to, because the Bible is relevant. The pastor's task is simply to show how relevant it actually is.
I mean, how relevant is this in the twenty-first century, that there was a whole community of people who didn't know what to believe and didn't know how to behave, and the answer was found in the gospel of Jesus Christ? You don't have to stretch very hard to say, Wow, that kind of rings a bell, doesn't it? And then, having reminded them, he says, I want you to present yourself.
Do your best to present yourself. So Timothy, by derivation, all pastors and church leaders must make sure that they are paying attention to themselves. When he has mentioned this previously in his first letter, in 1 Timothy 4 and in verse 7, he says, Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths.
That's the same thing again, right? Rather, train yourself for godliness. For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way. It holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
It's worthy of acceptance, this statement. And as you do this, you will discover that it is the pathway to safety and to salvation, both for yourself and for others. There was Johnny Cash who's saying, I keep a close watch on this heart of mine. I keep my eyes wide open all the time, remember?
And that was, of course, about his relationship with his wife. I take it. Well, Paul says, I bet you'd better be doing the same, Timothy. You'd better keep a close watch on this heart of yours. Because by nature, your heart is desperately wicked.
And if you're naive about that, then the danger is even greater. That's why in pastoral ministry, in a way that is, at another level, I think, vitally important, faithful are the wounds of our friends. So, you see, what he says to him, I want you, Timothy, to do your best. You might not be the best, but you can do your best. Just do your best. It's pretty simple, isn't it?
That's the question when our kids come home. Did you do your best? Not, are you a genius? Not, are you the top? Not, are you the fastest?
Did you do your best? And he says to him, Timothy, just do your best, son. God knows. And he, as the example to Timothy, has set a wonderful pattern for him. He says, when he writes to the Corinthians, that according to the grace of God, he has been given the privilege of working like a skilled master builder. I laid a foundation, he says, and someone else is building on it. That's 1 Corinthians 3.10 and following. So he says, I have laid a foundation.
There's no foundation that can be laid other than the foundation which is in Jesus, which is the gospel. So you have the gospel, then you have Paul and his apostolic ministry building on the gospel, and then he turns to those who are going to come after him, and he says, now, I have been privileged to operate as a skilled master builder. There's nothing self-exalting in that. That's just honesty.
He was that, under God, according to the grace of God. Now, Timothy, I want you to do the same. Do your best. There's no excuse for being slipshod.
There's no excuse for being halfhearted. You cannot, in God's service, do anything other than this. And notice that the approval for which he is to strive is not actually the approval of men but the approval of God. Well, we're not here for the approval of men. I mean, I don't want to be unliked.
I like being liked as much as anybody. But I've got an appointment with God to give an answer, as do my colleagues, for every word spoken from this pulpit and also for whether I actually watched my own life and my doctrine closely, and that scares me so much that I could never be scared by any one of you or even a hundred of you together. I don't mean that in a self-aggrandizing way.
No. There can be no excuse for anything other than this. Jim Elliot lived his life and died looking for his AUG, as he put it in his journal. Remember, he was studying at Wheaton for a bachelor's degree, but he said, I'm really studying for an AUG—namely, approved unto God, from the old King James verse in translation. Now, where does this approval come from? What is the basis of the approval? Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.
And what is the context? What is the distinguishing feature of an approved worker? Well, one, that he works, and two, that he works handling the gospel, handling the Scriptures properly. A worker is no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. So there is a right way to handle the Bible, and there is a wrong way to handle the Bible. It's possible to handle the Bible in a way that tampers with it and dilutes it and diverts people's gaze and so on. You can read of that in 2 Corinthians 4.
But the unashamed workman is not setting out to impress but rather to instruct, not setting out to bamboozle the people but to grant clarity. And here's the thing that struck me most forcibly as I studied it this week. No matter how good one may be with words, no matter how good one may be with words, there is no way that one's words can pierce the heart of a man or a woman. Driving here this morning on National Public Radio, I heard just a snippet of something about how literature has the power to stir, to energize, to move, to intrigue, and so on.
That was about all that I heard. And as I pulled in and turned it off, I said, Yeah, it does. It really does. A book can move you. It can make you laugh out loud on a plane.
It can make you cry in your bedroom. It can annoy you intensely, and it can make you quote, quote, quote all the time. Literature does have the power to move. And so the words of a mere man can do the same—stir and create tension or create emotion—and that can be done forever and a day. People can be intrigued by it.
They can come in their droves to listen to it. But I'll tell you what it can't do. It may actually excite or intrigue, but it cannot save.
Cannot save. Only the Word of God saves. Only the Word of God penetrates into the very core of a person. That's why when Gresham Machen wrote to his students, he reminded them—and with this I will finish—Machen left Princeton to begin Westminster with the late John Murray, and he says to his students, It is with the open Bible that the real Christian preacher comes before the congregation.
He does not come to present his own opinions. He comes to set forward what is contained in the Word of God." To set forward what is contained in the Word of God. Well, so we would look at the congregation and say, How will we know that things are developing and maturing in it? Well, they have been embraced by and they embrace the gospel. They're not quarreling about words.
It would be catastrophic if they did. And how about the pastor? Or the pastors, how are they doing? Are they doing their best? Are they workers? Workers?
Unashamed workers? How would we know? Well, they handle the Bible properly. You see, that's why we always say, Please take your Bible and turn to it.
It's a safeguard so that you might actually see that we're handling the Bible properly. You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. Well, this is quite an eventful day here at Truth for Life. We are celebrating God's goodness and faithfulness over the last 30 years. It was on this day, February 27th in 1995, when we aired our very first daily program. And on that day, Alistair delivered a message titled, Who Takes First Place?
So we thought you might enjoy this little trip down memory lane. We posted this message in its entirety on our website at truthforlife.org slash 30 years. And while you're online, you might want to grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable and listen to an interview I did recently with Alistair, where he looks back on the last three decades and talks about the exciting gospel outreach that is currently happening through Truth for Life, and offers some thoughts about the future.
You can listen to the interview at that same link. Again, it's truthforlife.org slash 30 years. You'll also be able to view several anniversary greetings from some of our ministry friends like this one.
Hello, my name is Kevin DeYoung. I am so thankful for Alistair Begg and for Truth for Life. I so appreciate his preaching and grateful for Truth for Life. And thank you for all that you've been doing for the last 30 years. And if you'd like to join the celebration, support the ongoing Bible teaching ministry of Truth for Life, you can make a special 30th anniversary donation. It's all online at truthforlife.org slash 30 years. Or if you'd prefer, you can call us at 888-588-7884. Your financial gift will help support all that God still has in store for Truth for Life. Thanks for joining us on this special anniversary day. As Alistair taught today, pastors are called to instruct, not to impress. Tomorrow we'll learn how that's possible and why it's absolutely essential. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.
