Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:19-21
The first verse of our text today sums up a critical truth for the Christian: God is sovereign in the lives of His people but that doesn’t negate our responsibility! As Php 1:6 says, we are “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. God gets the glory for our salvation. He started us in this race, and He will see to that we cross the finish line; however, He still commands us to be active in pursuing righteousness and instructs us to, “Be holy, for I am holy”! (1Pe 1:16) We have a responsibility to work against sin and strive after holiness. We are to do everything in our power to cleanse ourselves and be vessels for honor. Our study in Acts has revealed that God works in mighty ways through these earthen vessels, but if we want God to use us for His glory, we must be vessels that are clean and pure.
In 1Ti 3, we find the qualifications for bishops/elders, these men God has called to lead and pastor His church. The primary call of such men is to feed the church by faithfully preaching the word of God. Remember Jesus’ instruction to Peter when He asked if Peter loved Him? “Lord, you know I love you,” Peter replied. Jesus’ response was, “Feed my sheep”! (Joh 21:17) That’s the preacher’s primary task. What’s interesting in 1Ti 3:2 though is that the man’s ability to teach the word is not the first thing listed in the qualifications for a pastor. The first qualification is that he must be “blameless”, a word that means he’s not seized by any vice but is devoted to Christ alone! The next few qualifications elaborate on this blamelessness until finally we get to the seventh item in the list: “able to teach”. The point is, this man leading a life of holiness is of far greater importance than his ability to teach the word well. Why is that? Because an unholy life will render his ministry ineffective!
Whether we’re church leaders or not, that truth still applies. Ungodly living will destroy our witness of Jesus Christ! The fact is that a continually unholy walk reveals we don’t really know Him at all: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1Jo 2:3-6) Many church members need to hear the scolding words of Elijah to the Israelites: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal [or insert any other idol here], follow him.” If the LORD is indeed God, then He deserves our full devotion.
It is true, we have the treasure of the Holy Ghost in these earthen vessels (2Co 4:7), and by the Spirit we are enabled to work mightily for God’s glory. But remember, Christian, you can offend the Holy Ghost and render yourself ineffective in the kingdom! 1Th 5:19 says we can “quench the Spirit,” and Eph 4:30 tells us we can grieve the Holy Ghost. These warnings are written to believers! How can you avoid these terrible sins, you ask? V. 22-24 says you must “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. ” In other words, holy living will keep us from hindering the Holy Ghost’s work through us! Let us then cleanse ourselves that we might be “sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
Jamie