by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
Keep in mind the last sentence of II Timothy: “Grace be with you<\/em>.” The “you” is plural. In other words, as with his first letter to Timothy and the letter to Titus, Paul expects the entire congregation to read this letter, not just Timothy. Paul is not merely telling Timothy what work to do and how to do it; He is also telling the Ephesian congregation what to expect from Timothy.<\/p>\n Instead of shrinking back in shame like Phygelus and Hermogenes, Timothy is to be strengthened by the grace of Christ and keep teaching. Further, as Paul is commissioning Timothy to carry on the work, Timothy is to find other men who will carry on the work, who will find other men to carry on the work, and so on. Thus, a generational legacy of faithful preaching continues from spiritual father to spiritual son and so on.<\/p>\n As part of this work, Timothy is to be seen as a soldier. As such, like a soldier, he will suffer for the cause of his King. Neither he nor the brothers and sisters should be surprised or ashamed when that happens.<\/p>\n Paul takes the soldier metaphor in a second direction. An enlisted soldier was not to get caught up in civilian pursuits. That is, because the soldier wanted to please the one who enlisted him, he would not divide his time in other business. He had one job: soldiering. In like manner, Paul calls Timothy to soldier on and devote his life fully to the work of preaching. He must not be distracted from the work. I admit, I’m not sure whether Paul sees himself as the one who enlisted Timothy or is referring to Jesus. Either way, Timothy is to stay focused.<\/p>\n Additionally, Timothy, like an athlete, is no exception to the rules. Not only must he stay focused on the work, but he must also work God’s way. As Paul told Titus, Timothy is to be a model of running the race. Others should be able to look to Timothy as a good example of serving the Lord.<\/p>\n Finally, like a hard-working farmer, Timothy should be supported from the crop he harvests. This helps explain how Timothy could avoid getting caught up in civilian pursuits. Obviously, it is no sin for a preacher to work a “secular” job in order to pay the bills. Paul himself did some tentmaking on the side at times (see Acts 18:3). But Paul is letting the Ephesian church know Timothy has a job to do, and the congregation should support Timothy so he can do it.<\/p>\n One thing should be clear from all three metaphors. Timothy’s role requires work, hard work. Anyone taking up the mantle of evangelist needs to be ready to work like a farmer, discipline like an athlete, and suffer like a soldier. This is not the job for folks who want to phone in a lesson here and there while watching TV the rest of the week.<\/p>\n Preachers, let’s work hard (and I don’t just mean sermons). Congregations, let’s support well (and I don’t just mean financially).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Edwin Crozier Keep in mind the last sentence of II Timothy: “Grace be with you.” The “you” is plural. In other words, as with his first letter to Timothy and the letter to Titus, Paul expects the entire congregation to read this letter, not just Timothy. Paul is not merely telling Timothy what work…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1511],"class_list":["post-97383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preachers"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-support-conscientious-objection\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":0},"title":"Do you support conscientious objection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you or your church support selective conscientious objection and conscientious objection? Answer: Registering for the draft is a government law that does not violate any teaching of God. \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-boy-girl-relationships-not-advisable-at-a-young-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":1},"title":"Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age Answer: Youth is a time of impatient desires. They want the things available to adults, but adulthood seems so far away. The typical teenage boy enters puberty around the age of 11. The typical teenage girl enters puberty around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-lost-the-surprise-somewhere\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":2},"title":"We Lost the Surprise Somewhere","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I remember watching Mayberry RFD and related shows most of my childhood. Poor ignorant Gomer Pyle who worked as an auto mechanic was a notable character. But I can still recall my shock when I found out that Jim Nabors, who played Gomer, could sing --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Gomer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-take-out-insurance\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":3},"title":"Is it a sin to take out insurance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to take out medical insurance or legal insurance? Are we rather expected to put our faith in the Lord to take care of those things? Answer: We were taught to pray, \"Give us this day our daily bread\" (Matthew 6:11), but God still commands us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":4},"title":"The Book of My Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 19:23-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each week the paper publishes its list of top selling books \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the books are biographies, fictional stories, or fiction placed in historical settings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hope that others will also purchase the books, if for no other reason than curiosity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many author\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-passages-that-refer-to-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":97383,"position":5},"title":"Are there passages that refer to THE Lord’s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been studying the Lord's supper issues and one of our main concerns is about a second offering in which only a few partake, for the reasons you listed in your article (not doing it together). 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