by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
Text: II Timothy 2<\/p>\n
“I want to be a worker for the Lord!”<\/p>\n
I’ve sung that since I was a teenager. Perhaps you’ve got a long memory of that song as well. “I want to…be busy every day in the vineyard of the Lord.” Paul talks to Timothy about being a worker.<\/p>\n
We see the intensity. Timothy’s work is like that of a soldier, an athlete, a farmer. As he does this intense work, Paul instructs him to do so in a way that avoids shame. He must make every effort and do his best. God will not primordially direct this work. Timothy must be active in the work. He must choose to work.<\/p>\nFurther, he must choose to work in a way that presents himself as approved. Obviously, he can’t save himself. Paul does not mean that. Rather, he must work as an evangelist in an approvable way. Then Paul explains what that way is: handling the word of truth rightly.
\nTruth will set us free. Truth will set those who hear us free. Those who herald the Word of God must herald it accurately. Our job as heralds is not to make up a King’s message, but to faithfully convey the King’s message. We must avoid quarrels about words and irreverent babble. We must teach truth. We must direct people to hope in God. We must instruct people to abandon sin. Otherwise we will ruin our hearers and, no doubt, ourselves.\n
Further, we are to remind Christians of these things. Remind. Certainly, there is a time to teach people new things. Those hearing it for the first time need to hear it. But let us not think that when we teach truth, we must only teach it once. We must speak the truth over and again, reminding ourselves and our hearers of it. Only by so doing will we walk with people into the presence of God.<\/p>\n
While Paul is speaking directly to Timothy about his work as an evangelist, let us all see ourselves in this instruction. Sometimes preachers get caught up in word-fights and irreverent babble because folks like to hear it. Whether we are preachers or not, let us steer clear of useless arguments and irreverent babble. Let us handle the Word properly and love to hear it handled that way.<\/p>\n
God’s Word is incredible. Let us treat it that way.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Edwin Crozier Text: II Timothy 2 “I want to be a worker for the Lord!” I’ve sung that since I was a teenager. Perhaps you’ve got a long memory of that song as well. “I want to…be busy every day in the vineyard of the Lord.” Paul talks to Timothy about being a worker.…<\/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":[384,1543,1511,536],"class_list":["post-97417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-diligence","tag-good-works","tag-preachers","tag-preaching"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":97383,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/soldier-athlete-farmer\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":0},"title":"Soldier, Athlete, Farmer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/passing-the-torch\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":1},"title":"Passing the Torch","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan R. Longhenry Almost two thousand years ago the Gospel of Jesus Christ began to be proclaimed: God became Incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth, went about doing good, was crucified and buried, but God raised Him from the dead; He ascended to the Father, received all authority and everlasting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/tent-making-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":2},"title":"Tent-Making Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor God's design is that those who dedicate their lives to preaching the gospel receive full support for that work. Paul told the church in Corinth, \"So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel\" (I Corinthians 9:14). However, one\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\/2022\/07\/Acts_of_the_Apostles_Chapter_18-2_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5048,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-continue-talking-to-a-co-worker-who-only-wants-to-talk-about-sex\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":3},"title":"Should I continue talking to a co-worker who only wants to talk about sex?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: People\u00a0say I\u2019m crazy when I say to them that married men should not think about the opposite sex other than their wives.\u00a0As a single person, I can think of a person who is single like me, not in an unclean way of course, but a person who has husband\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":97669,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-the-work-of-an-evangelist-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":4},"title":"Do the Work of an Evangelist","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Timothy's job is to preach the word. However, he needs to be prepared for folks not to listen. No doubt, there will always be the faithful. But Paul has already told him the difficult times are coming. Clearly, if there will be people who have the appearance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-letters-to-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97417,"position":5},"title":"Paul’s Letters to Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp In denominational commentaries, the apostle Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are grouped together as \"The Pastoral Epistles.\" The term \"pastor\" is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11 (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV). The word is translated as \"shepherds\" in the ESV. 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