Man of God at risk!
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Timothy, the Man of God (a very OT title) is at risk! You cannot read the pastoral epistles through without coming to the conclusion that this energetic, gifted, well-taught and trained pastor is at risk. And any pastor - any man of God for that reason - who thinks he might not fall from grace is in serious danger.
At a West London fraternal yesterday with Uncle Richard and he framed seven questions that the at-risk (whether he realises it or not) Man of God must ask himself:
- Will sin ever take me - 1 Tim 1.20? That's what's happened to other teachers.
- Will opposition ever break me - 2 Tim 3.10; 2 Tim 4.15-18? Paul's concern in writing, partly, is to protect Timothy from what he himself has suffered.
- Will the hard work wear me down - 1 Tim 4.10? The pastor is a workman - a very manual, labour intensive, description.
- Will shame destroy my courage - 2 Tim 1.8-11? Boy, this is convicting for me!
- Will the success of the false teachers seduce me - 2 Tim 4.3? Do a search through the pastorals on "as for you...." and compare to the verses immediately surrounding.
- Will weariness cause me to stop fighting - 1 Tim 6.12? The Christian life is a fight and I must be urged to keep fighting (more than "keep going")
- Will the worldliness of the church destroy my faith - 1 Tim 3.1-5? It is noticeable in the list of qualities that Paul uses the phrase "lovers of...." - clearly he is drawing a line between the way elders must be and the normal way of the world.
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