Characteristics of a Good Minister

This evening I am doing what excites me the most, and what excites me the most is preaching, opening up God's word, especially to young people. I cannot ask for anything better than that. We have a profound theme for this year, and over these next days we will touch on its different aspects. I am praying that these days will be life-transforming, because God does not disappoint anyone who has come here with prayer and expectation. If you have come with hope and prayer, He will never send you away in despair.

I want us to turn our attention to 2 Timothy 2, verses 3 to 7. Paul writes to Timothy: share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on active duty gets entangled in the affairs of everyday life, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. And if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

A little while ago I spent time watching a gallantry awards function, where these honours were being presented. One thing struck me about most of the faces: they were not happy or excited when the Vir Chakra or some other award was placed in their hands. On many faces there were tears rolling down the cheeks. That is when I discovered one of the great legends of our country over the last twenty years, a man named Vikram Batra. Most of you may not have heard his name, though if someone from your family or circle of friends serves in the Indian army, you may know it. He was known for his heroism in the Kargil war of 1999, where he was given a special assignment.

He became especially well known because of something he said before he left his house for the war. His family and friends had all gathered to bid him farewell, and on every face there was the anticipation of death, tension everywhere. As he was about to step out of the house, he looked back at his family and friends and said, 'Either I will lift the Indian flag in victory, or I will come back to this house wrapped in the Indian flag.' Within a few days the second of those became reality. His body, martyred in battle, was wrapped in the Indian flag and brought back to his home. Soldiers are known for sacrifice; soldiers are known for dedication.

Even scholars who study this passage marvel at the way Paul reached for this metaphor and applied it to a minister of God. It is not an ordinary image. In the first century, when Timothy read these words, he would have been shaken by the picture of a soldier, with all the intensity that image carries. I too was awestruck at the way Paul used it, and at the person he used it for. Look at verse 3 again: share in suffering. Verse 2 tells us this is written to Timothy, his dear son. We cannot understand anything further until we know who this Timothy was, this man God chose to be a soldier for Himself.

Timothy appears throughout Paul's letters. In Romans 16:21 he is Paul's co-worker. In 2 Corinthians 1:1 he is called our brother in Christ. In Philippians 2:22 the word is son, a son serving with his father. In 1 Timothy 1:2 he is Paul's true and loyal child. Have you ever paused to study who Timothy really was? Co-author, co-worker, dear son, all of these are said of him. He co-authored around six of the epistles, and he went in Paul's place, as his representative, to Ephesus, to Philippi, and to Corinth.

We first read of Timothy in Acts 16, verses 1 and 2, as Paul is beginning his second missionary journey, having parted from Barnabas. There a man is introduced from Lystra, a disciple named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish believer but whose father was a Greek. That is unusual, very unusual. I can only imagine that as Timothy was growing up there was always an identity crisis: a Greek father, a Jewish mother, in a time full of rules and regulations about such things. If you are a young person like Timothy sitting here today, I know what you feel when you look at others who come from settled families, whose parents serve the Lord or are well educated, while you carry an inferiority complex and a lowly feeling about yourself. Timothy was not a man who could simply stand up full of self-esteem, thinking highly of himself.

In 2 Timothy 3:15 Paul says that from infancy Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures. When I read that, I always wonder: Timothy, how did that happen? You had a Greek father; did you have family prayer in your home? Most probably it happened because of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, whose sincere faith Paul recalls in 2 Timothy 1:5. Timothy did not have a believing father, but his mother and grandmother invested heavily in him, teaching him the Scriptures from his earliest years. If you had parents or grandparents like that, praise God for them. His was most likely a difficult, divided home, with two very different ways of living under one roof, yet faith was passed down to him.

There is more we can learn about Timothy in 1 Corinthians 16:10, where Paul writes, 'When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you.' Can you feel something there? Paul is sending Timothy to Corinth and has to ask them to treat him well. Timothy did not have a forceful personality like Paul. He was hesitant at times; he was afraid of things. He knew the Scriptures from childhood, yet standing behind the pulpit he would tremble. If someone told him his singing did not sound good, that would be the end of his singing.

What kind of a man was Timothy? In 2 Timothy 1:4 Paul says, 'Recalling your tears, I long to see you.' He was a man of tears. When Paul and Timothy parted, I imagine Timothy throwing his arms around Paul, holding on to him and weeping uncontrollably, and Paul writing afterward, 'I remember your tears.' In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul reminds him about the spirit of timidity, for Timothy was fearful. In our culture it is rare even to see a man cry; people say, 'Are you a man, crying like that?' Yet Timothy was a man of fear and of tears. And there is one more thing that would seem to disqualify him: in 1 Timothy 5:23 Paul tells him to stop drinking only water and to use a little wine because of his stomach and his frequent illnesses. He was often sick. Tell me, can such a man ever become a soldier? Soldiers are supposed to be forceful, guarding the boundary, yet here is a fearful, weeping, frequently ill man.

When I study this, one thing comes to mind: our inabilities are God's opportunity to work in our lives. What we lack naturally, God supplies supernaturally. Some of you have decided to follow Christ and have come to this place, but I can see clearly in my spirit that you are timid. You think you can never stand here. You think your family is not good enough, your skin colour is not good enough, your English is not good enough. But look at whom God picks. Abraham was too old. Jeremiah was too young. Moses was not eloquent. Isaiah was a man of unclean lips. Timothy was full of fear. God specializes in taking nobodies and making them into somebodies. Tonight is your night, and this message is for you.

When you look closely at the text from verse 3 onward, there are three images: a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer, a military image, an athletic image, and an agricultural image. We have time to focus on the soldier, but let me comment briefly on the other two. Verse 5 gives us the athlete: no one who competes as an athlete receives the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules. This image is used elsewhere too, when Scripture tells us to run with perseverance, to run in such a way that we finish. Here the emphasis is not on the prize but on discipline, playing by God's rules both privately and publicly. Verse 6 gives us the farmer, the hardworking farmer. Elsewhere the agricultural image speaks of the church as a vineyard, but here the focus falls on the farmer himself and his diligence. So the athletic image speaks of discipline, and the farmer speaks of diligence.

Then comes the soldier, and the soldier speaks of dedication. Paul uses the military image elsewhere as well, in Ephesians 6, to describe spiritual warfare, but here the focus is not on warfare but on the life of the soldier and the dedication it demands. In fact all three images say one thing together: the soldier endures isolation from the affairs of everyday life, the athlete endures hours of intensive training, and the farmer endures backbreaking labour and patient waiting. If one word captures all three, it is endurance. From the image of the soldier I want us to observe three things.

The first is hardship. Verse 3 says, share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Why did Paul need to say this to Timothy? Notice what is happening with him: Timothy is feeling the heat. All of us feel the heat in ministry. Serving God is not a tickling experience; it is not a bed of roses, moving from one comfortable pulpit to another. Timothy had been in ministry for around fifteen years by now, travelling with Paul and watching Paul, yet at this point he is shaken. That is why chapter 2 verse 1 says, 'You then, my son, be strong in grace,' because Timothy is feeling weak. And it is more than weakness: in chapter 1 verse 8 Paul writes, 'Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner.' Timothy was even growing ashamed of Paul, because Paul was in prison.

Paul had been grooming Timothy to take over his role for the last ten to fifteen years. Look at the intensity of chapter 2 verse 2: 'The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.' Paul is looking at Timothy and saying, you are the man. I am nearing the time when I will be dead and gone; you are the one. So be strong, my son. Do not be afraid of me; do not be ashamed of me. In chapter 3 verse 10 Paul says it like a father: 'You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, and love.' Timothy, you know me. We ate together, we travelled together; you cannot shy away now.

In Philippians 2 Paul writes that he has no one else like Timothy to send. I often wonder who could fill the shoes of Paul. There were tough men like Titus out there, and eloquent men like Apollos, yet Paul says, in effect, I do not want the tough Titus or the eloquent Apollos; I want you, Timothy, to be the soldier. Do not stay shy and fade away. Paul feels knocked down in prison; people have deserted him. He says, Timothy, I want to see you before I die. And I am compelled to think that this was more for Timothy's sake than for Paul's. Yes, Paul wanted his parchments, but above all he wanted to encourage Timothy: you cannot stop now, you have to move forward. That is why in 2 Timothy 1:6 he says, 'Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you.' Timothy, rekindle the passion you once had.

Why is Timothy so shaken and even ashamed of Paul? Chapter 1 verse 15 tells us: 'You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.' A whole group of people is deserting Paul. All this while Timothy had been defending the gospel, guarding the deposit entrusted to him, silencing the false teachers, which was the very commission of 1 Timothy 1:3. But now people are abandoning Paul. After all, who wants to be identified with an old man now sitting in prison? We are not told the details behind why Phygelus and Hermogenes deserted; we only know that they did.

Some had begun to preach another gospel to avoid persecution, the very people described in Galatians 6:12. Others taught false doctrine to justify their wealth and to feed itching ears. Paul's gospel, at its best, is not about a good present but about a good future, as 2 Timothy 1:10 shows. Timothy is shaken because people are deserting, and because of what chapter 2 verse 17 warns: 'Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.'

What does that teaching mean, that the resurrection has already taken place? In Thessalonica in particular, right from the first days, the people were confused about the resurrection. Paul had been there only two weeks, and a false teaching had spread that the resurrection had already happened, when you accept Christ, when you are baptized, so that you are immediately moved into a new realm where there is no sickness, no failure, only victory. That is what people want to hear, even in our time: your body is the temple of the living God, no sickness can touch you, no one can stand before you, you are a tiger for Jesus. But the Bible says you are a sheep of Jesus, not a lion. Paul preached the true gospel and found himself in prison, while those who preached another gospel were succeeding, not sitting in prison but changing their cars and building their houses. That is why Timothy is shaken, asking, what is right?

It is in this context that Paul tells Timothy, be strong, my son. Guard the deposit; take care of what you have been given. I love the phrase Paul uses in chapter 2 verse 8: 'Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.' Underline that, my gospel. This is the gospel to which I am committed, the gospel for which I am willing to die, the gospel for which I breathe. I do not know that other gospel; this is mine. Timothy, be willing to preach the same gospel. My prayer for these days is that our minds would be formed to hold on to the right gospel, the true gospel, the gospel that makes demands.

What Paul is really telling Timothy is this: like a soldier you must be willing to suffer hardship. If not you, then who? If not now, then when? Yes, there is another gospel being preached, and a different, easier lifestyle displayed by some preachers, but I invite you to look at this passage again. God had only one Son without sin, but He has no sons without scars. All of us must embrace a life of suffering. People say Christianity is only one generation away from extinction, that it will soon become a footnote. But there is only one way for the church to thrive in this nation, and it is written in verse 3: share in suffering like a good soldier. If we rededicate ourselves today as those willing to suffer for the right gospel, then the kingdom of God will be expanded and established.

Look at verse 3 once more: not merely a soldier, but a good soldier. Not all soldiers are good. Being a good soldier is far more than being able to shoot and hit the right target. It requires inner qualities: self-control, loyalty, genuine concern. A good soldier does not overthrow or betray his superior. So being a good soldier is not about preaching an eloquent sermon, or prolific writing, or leading the singing; it is about being loyal. That is why in chapter 1 verse 7 Paul writes, 'The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.' You need these three to be a good soldier. Power, not to roll and shout on the ground, but to withstand crisis; love, to endure every hardship; and self-discipline, to resist the temptation to quit when it comes. Timothy, do not compromise. Let hardship mark your life, do not betray your superior, do not preach another gospel, guard the treasure, and be willing to be like me.

The second observation is in verse 4: no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs. To be a good soldier you must be willing to suffer, and you must not be entangled. The Greek word behind 'entangled' comes from a term used of sheep, of wool that gets caught in thorns. A sheep passing through the forest, with thorns all around, sometimes has its wool snagged and gets stuck. Paul is telling Timothy, do not get entangled, do not get stuck with anything of this world. My dear people of God, if we are not alert, as ministers and as ministers in the making, there are enough thorns outside to entangle us. For some it may be an attractive offer to go abroad; for others it may be a proposal from a certain person. We are called to be soldiers, so we must stay alert, not caught in any false teaching, and not tangled up with lazy people.

People have stretched this word with strange interpretations. Some traditions think it means that ministers of God must remain celibate, or must live like hermits practicing an ascetic lifestyle. But 'do not be entangled' is not promoting celibacy, nor a hermit's life. Look at the word again: no one serving as a soldier. The literal sense is that the soldier on active duty does not get hooked up here and there. I have also heard people use this verse to argue that there is no such thing as full-time or part-time or bi-vocational ministry, but that is not the point either. It is not about full-time versus part-time; it is about wholehearted, single-minded devotion. To be entangled is to be hindered by anything that crosses our path, so that we tie ourselves up in it rather than pressing on.

There is a reason Paul warns against this, for one of his own beloved co-workers had become entangled. In 2 Timothy 4:9-10 Paul writes, 'Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.' Who is Demas? He appears three times in the New Testament: in Philemon 24, in Colossians 4:14, and here in 2 Timothy 4:10. Most probably Demas was a Gentile, an excited missionary who joined Paul and was even with him during his first imprisonment, so he was no ordinary man. In Colossians 4:14 Paul sends Demas's greetings, which means the Colossian church knew him well; he seems to have gone to Colossae as a travelling preacher. He was a genuine, itinerant missionary who had shared Paul's chains.

Yet here it says that because he loved this world, he deserted Paul and went to Thessalonica, most likely his hometown, since his name is linked with that city. If you asked Demas, 'Are you leaving the ministry?' he would say, 'No, I am not leaving; I am going to preach in Thessalonica.' But Paul says he is deserting me. Demas was choosing a comfort zone. In him you see a man who is entangled, not necessarily abandoning ministry, but retreating into a safe, comfortable version of it. That is why Paul tells Timothy, do not be like Demas. My dear people in this Bible college, do not be entangled. Sometimes it is good things that trap us, for the enemy of the best is not the bad but the good. The good things God did not intend for you can become the enemy of the best He has for you.

The third observation, and with this we will close, is also in verse 4: no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. The literal translation would read something like this: he seeks to please the one who recruited him, the one who enlisted him. My dear people of God, there is Someone who recruited us to become servants of God. Someone has enlisted us. Out of your family, Jesus recruited you to become part of His army. There were many who were smarter and better educated, but the commanding officer, Jesus, enlisted you. Now there is only one option as you move forward: please only Jesus. As someone said, either Jesus is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. Either He is Lord of everything in your life, or He is not truly Lord at all.

Remember what Jesus said in His earthly life: I never sought the glory that comes from people, and I did not much care what others thought of what I was doing. And remember what Paul said in Galatians 1: if I were still trying to please men, I could not be a servant of Christ. After graduation, no pleasing men. Here in the seminary, no pleasing men. For the sake of marks, do not copy. I often wonder why we need invigilators in a Bible college, and to be honest I have seen more invigilators in Bible college exams than in my own B.Com studies, one faculty member at the front of the room, another at the back, spread all over. Why? Because we are anxious about our reputation and will use crooked shortcuts to protect it and to get good grades. If you fail, then fail, but do not copy. The practice of a God-pleasing life must start here, with your assignments and your exams, not to please the faculty, not to earn a good grade so you can puff yourself up.

Paul told Timothy, you are a soldier, so please only Jesus. That is why, even in prison, Paul says he is pleasing his commander. The world looks at Paul and says, you are defeated, you are knocked down, even Demas has deserted you, how sad. But Paul says, I have finished my race, because his eyes are fixed on Jesus, and on Jesus alone, not on any other person or thing. Hardship for Jesus; do not be entangled; please only Jesus.

May I invite you to stand quickly to your feet, for this is an important moment. You have heard a sermon about being a soldier of Jesus, and now is the time to respond to the word of God. If you believe God has spoken to you, if you sense that the word about Timothy, about that low self-esteem, was meant for you, and you are willing to rededicate your life before God today, then lift your hands, not everyone, but those making a serious commitment before the Lord. If you are saying, 'Lord, You enlisted me, You recruited me; here I am in Your presence, anoint me afresh today,' then open your mouth and begin to speak to God. Let no one stand idle; begin to praise Him. Be strong in the grace of God, for His grace is here and it is sufficient. May that grace come upon you in a special way, may there be a divine intervention in your life, and may every feeling of low self-esteem be taken away in the name of Jesus, and courage and confidence come in its place. May God raise up an army in this place this evening, soldiers who fear only Jesus and guard the true gospel. Open your mouth and tell Jesus, 'I will be that soldier.'