A lifetime of service

'I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.' 1 Tim 1:12

I've been challenged over the last week or so listening to Revive our Hearts' series on 'Serving like the Saviour'. Nancy Leigh deMoss made this striking comment:

'We’re never more like Satan than when we’re serving out of a desire to be recognized, and we’re never more like Jesus than when we’re serving with no need for recognition, no reputation seeking, just wanting to lay down our lives for His sake and others.' (Today's Servants)

I think so often I am preoccupied with being applauded, or in serving in the ways I really like, that I miss completely the true heart of servanthood, which is shown so beautifully in Jesus.

The apostle Paul takes time in his letter to thank Christ for considering him trustworthy and appointing him to His service- he thanks God for the opportunity to serve, with no restrictions on the way he serves. He also says Christ has given him strength in order to do it. If we're serving in our own strength, then we're just acting in the flesh and not like one of the branches connected to the vine.

I can see, in myself, the desire for position, the desire for status within the church, and it can be tempting to use service to try to gain that. How contrary to the gospel! How can we, being saved by grace, then proceed to try to build up achievement points before God or men?

If I'm going to serve, I have to imitate Paul in always remembering that I serve because of His mercy and abundant grace (1 Tim 1:13-14). I have to serve without measuring out how much I am giving or having an expectation of what I receive. I need to have more concern for His glory than for my own, and I need to draw from the endless wellspring of His love to do it, rather than from my own, very finite resources which are like a puddle on a dry day - soon depleted!

Rather than wanting to be remembered for great gospel exploits, my goal should be to be known as one who served - if known at all. Lord, shape my heart into that of a true servant, for Your glory! Amen.

1 & 2 Timothy- Hold on to the truth

I love coming back to these pastoral epistles of Paul because they sound a klaxon call to me of what is really important in the Christian life. And with so many voices in the media, some even claiming to be genuine believers, giving so many opinions which seem to contradict the Word of God, these two letters give a timely reminder to us today to hold on to the truth. In both letters, Paul keeps coming back to the prevalence and danger of false teachers ('remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine' - 1 Tim 1:3; 'Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons' - 1 Tim 4:1). Why does he repeat these warnings? Why does it matter that some people out there are saying different things about God, Jesus and the gospel? It's clear from Paul's language that it's not something we should take lightly. In fact, these false ideas and wrong messages are from the realm of the demonic.

The fact is, however clear of the gospel we are when we are saved, we so easily forget the simplicity and yet depth of the truth of salvation. We are prone to grow cold in our appreciation of what Christ has done for us. I think it's interesting that Paul in these letters gives several 'trustworthy sayings' which may have been used like creeds in the early church, statements to memorise and say together as a group of believers, reinforcing the basic doctrine of God. There are also some more poetic sections which may have been sung as hymns. Either way, their function was to give a bite-size statement of what we believe as Christians, what makes us distinctive. The first 'saying' is this:

'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1 Tim 1:15).

It's a fundamental truth that reminds us that we are all in need of a rescuer. Paul used to be a religious fanatic, zealous for the law of God, and yet he recognises that none of it is good enough to achieve his salvation (see Philippians 3:4-8); the reality is that he was 'a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent' (1 Tim 1:13).

The message Paul has been 'appointed a preacher' for (1 Tim 2:7) is that 'there is one God... one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus' (1 Tim 2:5). Paul emphasises that he is 'telling the truth' (v7) here- the gospel is not another lie. We have to remember the truth of the gospel, because as soon as we start moving away from it, we start giving ourselves credit for our own salvation or losing our assurance and hope. Paul writes: 'If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.' (1 Tim 6:3-4) False teaching is linked to arrogance, because it's a re-invention of the truth or a distortion of it, and also to corrupt motives.

By contrast, truth in the pastoral epistles is linked with purity and living an exemplary life for the gospel. In his descriptions of the qualities of an elder and deacon, Paul writes that they must 'keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience' (1 Tim 3:9, NIV). There's a clear link between knowing the truth, teaching the truth, and obedience, just as there is a link between sin and lying and deceit. Paul says that if Timothy closely watches himself for right conduct and truthful teaching, he will save himself and his hearers (1 Tim 4:16). Similarly, in 2 Tim 3:10 Paul refers to his teaching and his way of life in the same breath as things which validate his ministry. Truth must be lived out; if it isn't, then it isn't really believed.

As a leader and a teacher in the church, Timothy is told repeatedly to 'guard' the truth that he knows (1 Tim 6:20-21, 2 Tim 1:11-14) and to be a 'workman who correctly handles the word of truth' (2 Tim 2:15). The Scriptures have to be our start and end point for knowing truth; they are a gift to us from God revealing everything we need for life and godliness (2 Tim 3:16-17). We have to hold on to the truth and church leaders need to keep preaching the truth, despite any negative reaction (2 Tim 4:2-3). Truth is something we have to pass on when training up future leaders (2 Tim 2:2), to protect the church from falling away from Christ and into sin. Paul also says that Timothy should be 'using truth to gently instruct those who oppose you, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.' (2 Tim 3:25). This suggests that we need humble conviction to see and accept God's truth, a work which can only be done by the Holy Spirit. The job of the messenger is simply to pass on the truth to the hearer; the rest is up to God.

Knowing the truth is the most freeing thing about being a Christian. Finally we can stand before God knowing we are accepted in Christ. We can receive God's good gifts with thanksgiving, because we are freed from legalism and false shackles (1 Tim 4:3-5). We hold on to the truth because it sets us free (John 8:32).