Marks of a Successful Ministry

2 Timothy 2:22–26 NKJV

22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

I’d like to give this sermon a second title if I may because I believe the first can be a little misleading or easily misunderstood:

How to be a successful disciple

In the Christian world where we live, the word “ministry” is effectively understood only in part.

Here’s what I mean by this:

Ministry is an action word that tells what one does. It may be a specific type of ministry, or it could be as broad as “ministry” in general.

Ministry can be described as that which the church does on a particular day of the week, such as Sunday or Wednesday.

Ministry might even be described as what the typical Christian does in their spare time if they are a bit zealous or in certain settings, the one unfortunate enough to be asked to serve that year in a particular setting or role at church.

Most often though, ministry is seen and described as what the paid clergy performs as a part of his duties to the local church and kingdom as a whole.

Which leads us to this passage today. It’s a part of the larger whole where Paul is charging his disciple, Timothy, to be a fine example to the local church.

Listen to what you’ve already heard in the previous sermons from Paul to Timothy:

“Remind them of these things...”

“Present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

“Shun idle babblings”

“Cleanse himself”

All of these sound like something you’d say to someone you are encouraging in the faith, but here’s the rub:

They are characteristics that we’d certainly want our elders and deacons to have.

deacons to have.

2. They can’t be relegated simply to elders and deacons.

When I was reading through this section of verses I asked myself these two questions:

To whom is Paul talking?

To whom else can this apply?

The answer to the second question is how I’d like to encourage you as we look at this portion of scripture tonight.

Pastor/elder, AND believer/Christian; in order to have a successful ministry remember to guard your heart and lead well according to your ability.

Believer, Guard Your Heart (22-23)

2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV

22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22–23 NKJV

22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

2 Tim 2:22

Flee from lusts

Friends, I want to camp out here in this section, not out of laziness, or disregard to the rest of the verse, but because I believe this warrants a good deal of time and time is something we are limited on tonight.

The ESV translates this as passions, but it can also mean desires or cravings.

Personally, I like the translations lusts, or passions because The intention of this word means to “strongly desire that which belongs to someone else.”

The same idea is found in and where the word is used as a verb.

Acts 20:33 NKJV

33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

Matthew 5:28 NKJV

28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Acts 20:33 NKJV

33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.

Note the importance that Paul gives this particular admonishment by looking to Paul’s previous letter to Timothy see three of the areas where elders and believers get themselves in trouble:

1 Timothy 6:11 NKJV

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Power

1 Timothy 6:3 NKJV

3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,

Friends, when we seek power of our own, we tend to teach principles and doctrines that are contrary to the teaching we find in scripture.

Pleasure

1 Timothy 6:6 NKJV

6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Brothers and sisters, ungodly lusts and desires come from the sin of not being content in that which He’s given to us.

Desiring and wanting more food than our bodies need.

Being uncontrolled in sexual desire.

Having a constant greed for more money.

All of these things can bring pleasure, but they are an incomplete and a type of faux pleasure that mimics that good things that God gives us as believers.

Possessions

This is an uncontrolled desire for earthly things that others may find valuable or that we personally find our joy in rather than in our obedience as a child of His.

1 Timothy 6:9 NKJV

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Elder, believer, what steps are you taking to guard your heart against the lusts or desires of the world?

Earlier this year, Eric Geiger of Lifeway, wrote an article entitled, “5 Lessons from Fallen Pastors.”

Self-destruction transcends theological tribe.

The landscape of ministry leaders who have been removed for disqualifying behaviors includes leaders from traditional and non-traditional churches, reformed and non-reformed positions, charismatic and liturgical worship styles, and congregational and elder-led polity. While what we believe matters greatly, leaders can hold to right doctrine and still drift dramatically in their lives.

Believer, Lead Well (24-26)

2. Drift in life and doctrine do not self-correct

The apostle Paul warned Timothy to “pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers” (). Our lives and our doctrine must be guarded carefully. A drift in either does not self-correct. The only solution for a drift in life or a drift in doctrine is repentance, which is why we must continually repent.

3. Leaders who ignore rebukes and corrections must not be ignored.

A common thread in the stories of fallen ministry leaders is that when people called them on their drifting, they ignored the rebukes and corrections. When a leader ignores correction, others must not ignore their shunning of correction. God is merciful to us to provide godly leaders who challenge us, and we must pay attention.

Believer, Lead Well (24-26)

4. One can grow a ministry and grow cold at the same time.

Ministry leaders who fall are often in growing and thriving ministries. Sadly, Leaders can learn how to nurture and feed the masses without nurturing their own souls. And when the growth of a ministry is more important than the health of a leader’s soul, implosion is inevitable.

5. We all need God’s grace.

The apostle Paul reminds us, “Whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall” (). If we think we are standing strong, we are setting ourselves up for a fall, as we are foolish to put confidence in our flesh, in our ability, instead of God’s mercy and grace. Ministry leaders and those in the ministries they lead need God’s grace and cannot stand without it. https://ericgeiger.com/2017/04/5-lessons-from-fallen-pastors/

Believer, guard your heart.

Believer, Lead Well (24-26)

2 Timothy 2:24–26 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

No Quarrelling

Most major translations use this word, Quarrel.

The NET translation says, “heated disputes.”

Paul is re-inforcing the statement from here.

2 Timothy 2:23 ESV

23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

He’s saying, “don’t do these things; here’s what they result in...”

Then in v.24.

2 Timothy 2:24 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

“He must not quarrel, but instead be this way...”

Believing friend, part of leading well is being affable.

Be benevolent, kind, cheerful, bland, courteous—but serious. Be solemn, thoughtful, deeply impressed with the presence of God and with eternal things—but pleasant affable and benignant. Think not a smile sinful; but think not levity and jesting harmless.

—Albert Barnes

The good men may be affable enough themselves, but they remind us of the old Russian fable of the hospitable householder in a village, who was willing enough to help all the poor who came to his door, but he kept so many big dogs loose in his yard that nobody was able to get up to the threshold, and therefore his personal affability was of no service to the wanderers. It is not so with our Master. Though he is greater than the greatest, and higher than the highest, he has been pleased to put out of the way everything which might keep the sinner from entering into his halls of gracious entertainment.

http://archive.spurgeon.org/sermons/0809.php

My friends, the focus isn’t on not quarrelling, but instead on the following for a particular purpose:

2 Timothy 2:24 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

2 Timothy 2:24–25 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

Leading well includes being gentle to all, able to teach, and patient.

There are plenty of people in places of leadership or desire a place of leadership that lack gentleness.

Friends, we need to be careful that we aren’t using the guise of “telling the truth,” or “sharing correct doctrine” when what we are really doing is simply being unkind and not gentile.

Leading well means one will be able to teach.

“Let me stop you right there Toby. You say you are talking to elders and believers here, but what if I’m not gifted in teaching and have other gifts that the Lord’s blessed me with?”

I’d say, “yes, that could be true, BUT to say that we aren’t a teacher/preacher in the traditional sense doesn’t take away our responsibility as a believer to teach others, however the Lord my enable or gift us.”

Leading well means we are patient.

Listen now to where these apply specifically to those who are called as pastor/elders of a church:

Paul reminds Timothy of all these qualifications for a reason.

2 Timothy 2:25 NKJV

25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

Hendrickson and Kistemaker say this; “to instruct these uninstructed ones, to educate the uneducated, to discipline the undisciplined, and to inform the uninformed.”

Paul is using a play on words of sorts.

In Paul says to avoid ignorant disputes, and here we see him telling Timothy not to enter into a dispute, but to show these why he’s not doing to enter into the conversation, THEN give them positive instruction-thus allowing the opposition to receive positive correction rather than participating in a mud slinging competition that you might see on Twitter between the Pharisees and the proud.

2 Timothy 2:23 NKJV

23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

Leading well brings knowledge of the truth that prayerfully leads toward repentance and freedom from sin. (25-26)

2 Timothy 2:25–26 NKJV

25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

“…that God perhaps will grant them repentance...”

“…so that they may know the truth...”

“…that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

Believer, do we understand that all Christians are called to follow Him as His disciple?

Are we guarding our hearts against the lusts or desires of the world and the flesh?

Do we strive to lead well in accordance to the gifts God has given us?

Unbelieving friend, do you need to repent of your sins and receive forgiveness through the Good News of the gospel.

2 Timothy 2:25 NKJV

25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,

2 Tim 2:

The Bible says if you haven’t been born again, you are in opposition to Him.

John 3:36 NKJV

36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.