SOUNDING OUT:
Promise of Reward

  In the February 24^th Internet Newsletter we looked at seven exhortations to faithful ministers. I’d like to revisit that and look at one additional facet of it. The son, strong in grace, is challenged to take on facets of six different characters. As a soldier he is to endure hardness. As an athlete he is to strive lawfully. As a husbandman he is to partake of the fruit. As a workman he is to rightly divide the Word of truth. As a vessel he is to cleanse himself. Lastly, as a doulos, he is to be kind and apt to teach.

  There is also a promise associated with each of these characters he is to become. These promises are to encourage the son strong in grace to continue faithfully in the roles he is challenged to put on.

  These six different comparisons or illustrations each present certain characteristics which are necessary for a faithful minister.

  The Example of a Soldier:

  The Christian is called to a life of discipline similar to a soldier. He is called to endure hardness the way a soldier does. This is a call to not entangle oneself with the affairs of this life. The last thing a soldier on the battlefield needs is other areas of entanglement. He has only one function, to obey orders. When he is ordered to march, he marches. When he is ordered to fight, he fights.

  The faithful minister is called to free himself from entanglements. The reward for enduring hardness and staying free from entanglements is that we please Him who called us to be a soldier. Is there anything in your life that is distracting you or drawing your attention away from the Lord? Get rid of it — you’ll please him.

  The Example of an Athlete:

  Paul draws many parallels between athletics and the Christian life. He likening the Christian life to a race that must be run all the way to its conclusion; he speaks of the boxer who makes every punch count. The focus of the athlete is to compete lawfully so he can win the prize.

  In II Timothy 2:5 Paul focuses upon a single parallel. It is a focus upon the rules. When you engage in athletics, there are certain rules that must be followed. A runner in a race cannot choose his own course. A player in a game cannot make up his own rules. Boundaries must be maintained; rules must be followed. If not there is disqualification. Walking in grace does not mean an absence of rules. Freedom in Christ is not a call to live as we please. It is a call to live as He pleases. The reward for striving for the masteries lawfully is that he wins the crown.

  The Example of a Farmer:

  The point is that first you work, then you reap the results of that work. When the farmer partakes he knows the harvest is ready to enjoy. Likewise a faithful minister makes the Word his own. He proves it, and then shares what he knows to be true. His hard work is rewarded as he partakes of the fruit.

  The Example of the Workman:

  This verse begins with a call to diligence. That is a much better translation of the Greek than study. This is a diligence, not only of reading and studying the Bible, but also applying the truths of the Bible to our lives. Notice that this passage does not tell you to become a workman. It says to give attention diligently to what kind of a workman you are. The exhortation to the workman is to rightly divide the Word. If he does, his reward is that he stands approved before God.

  The Example of an Honorable Vessel:

 This house is not just any house. It is a large house with many vessels. We decide whether we are a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor? If a man cleanses himself from dishonorable things, then he shall find that he has become a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. As vessels we are called to purge ourselves; our reward is that we will be useful to the master and prepared unto every good work.

  The Example of the Doulos:

  In this section we shall come to the last and final portrait of the faithful minister. He is described as the servant [doulos] of the Lord. This servant is to not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.

  If the doulos heeds those exhortations, his service is rewarded by being allowed to help others recover themselves. As Bob Dylan sang, “You have to serve somebody.” Whose slave do you want to be? We can serve the devil or we can serve the Lord. If we serve the Lord, we will enjoy opportunities to help others recover themselves from the snare of the devil.

  Do you recognize yourself as a faithful minister? As sons strong in grace we take on the character illustrated. We do what we were asked to do, and we receive the reward promised for our faithfulness to minister,