GOTCHA! – John 7:19-24

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INTRODUCTION:

“Gotcha” is an American slang term that literally means, “I’ve got you”. It has been used in a number of ways. Many of us have used that word in a conversation, and we had a specific purpose and meaning in mind. It can mean “I understand what you are saying”, or “I’ll do what you’ve asked”. The word is sometimes used in the sense of capturing or apprehending someone, taking someone by surprise, embarrassing or disgracing someone, exposing a person’s mistakes, or proving that the person is wrong. That’s quite a range of meanings and uses for the word, and that’s not all of them. Why would I be using the word “gotcha” to describe an event in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? Does that choice seem strange to you? As we study this passage of Scripture, I’ll let you decide for yourself whether or not this title is appropriate.

TRANSITION:

As we begin our study of John 7:19-22, let’s imagine the scene at that moment in Jesus’ life. It’s the week-long Feast of Booths [or Tabernacles]. Jesus arrived unnoticed, went into the temple and began to teach. A crowd of people has formed around Jesus to listen to Him. The Jewish religious authorities have arrived, have made their way to the front of the crowd, and are standing in front of Him, making accusations about Him; and Jesus is once again defending His authority. Meanwhile, the crowd is standing there, watching and listening.

I. THE ACCUSATION (verse 19a)

In verse 19, there is a change of direction. Jesus takes the offensive position against them and assumes control of the conversation. “Turnabout is fair play”, as the saying goes. It’s time for Him to examine their words and their actions, and offer His conclusions. It’s time to bring them back to reality. He begins His attack by saying, “Did not Moses give you the law”? They are thinking in their minds, “Of course he did!” They prided themselves on this and believed that every violation of the law of Moses was deserving of death. While they are gloating about their self-righteousness and their exalted position in the eyes of God, Jesus goes on to say “yet not one of you carries out the law.” Those are stinging words to His questioners! These leaders revere Moses and obey his every word – at least they try to give the impression that they do so! Jesus is telling them, “You’re not carrying out the Law that God gave to Moses. You’re carrying out your own version of it. Those aren’t the Sabbath laws that God gave to Moses. You’ve changed them and added to them to the point where they have become a despicable burden to the people. It’s no surprise that you reject My teaching because you have rejected Moses’ teaching” (John 5:46-47).

At this point in Jesus’ discussion, it’s important to know the words that Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 31:10-13. Here are those words:

Then Moses commanded them saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of the remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, the men, and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, in order that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law.” [bold print added to emphasize keywords]

We aren’t told whether or not this is the seventh year but, if not, Jesus may be alluding to that command to remind the Jewish leaders that, when the people hear the words of the Law being spoken, they will notice many of the differences between the Law of Moses and the teachings they have received from these rabbis.

II. THE QUESTION (verse 19b)

As further proof of their disobedience to the law of Moses, Jesus asks them a question: “Why do you seek to kill Me?” He is saying, “Where does Moses say specifically that I should be killed for healing a person on the Sabbath day over a year ago? What offenses deserve the death penalty in the law of Moses? If My healing-miracle is not one of those offenses, then one of the commandments in the law of Moses says, ‘You shall not kill’. So you’re the ones who are breaking the law of Moses by seeking to kill Me.”

III. THE CROWD’S RESPONSE (verse 20)

I can imagine that the leaders of the Jews were standing there dumbfounded. Jesus’ reasoning was too solid. They weren’t prepared for this and didn’t know what to say. The crowd, most of whom were from outlying areas and weren’t familiar with Jesus or with the things He was saying, come to the defense of their leaders. In verse 20 we read, The multitude answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?” They weren’t telling Jesus that He was demon-possessed. During that period of time, many Jews believed that all unusual or uncalled-for behavior was prompted by the devil. In this day and age, we might use the words “you’re out of your mind”, “you’re crazy”, or “you’re paranoid”. They misunderstood Jesus’ words because they didn’t know the history behind them.

IV. THE QUESTION ANSWERED (verse 21)

I’m sure the leaders were relieved that the crowd directed the attention of Jesus away from them, but it didn’t last for long. Rather than become distracted by the crowd and direct His conversation toward them in defense of His sanity, Jesus ignores their remark and continues His conversation with the leaders of the Jews, answering His own question. In verse 21, He says, “I did one deed and you all marvel.” The religious authorities were amazed when they learned that Jesus healed, in an instant, a man who had been lame for 38 years, just by saying the words. It was a miracle that only God could perform. Yet they wanted to kill Jesus because He performed that miracle on the Sabbath Day.

V. THE APPLICATION TO CIRCUMCISION (verses 22-23)

In verse 22, we find that the Lord Jesus isn’t finished with His argument. He is still building His case against them. This time He applies their Sabbath laws to the rite of circumcision when He says, “On this account, Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath, you circumcise a man.” First, He corrects their misunderstanding about circumcision. Moses was not the originator of circumcision. Before God told Moses to put the command of circumcision into written form in Leviticus 12:3, it had been practiced by “the fathers” (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) over 700 years earlier. In Genesis 17:10-12, God said to Abraham, “This is the covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. . . . every male among you who is eight days old.” Therefore, in obedience to that law, every man-child (male baby) is circumcised on the eighth day, no “ifs”, “ands”, or “buts” about it. There are no exceptions to the rule. It’s the law, and this ceremonial law even takes precedence over the Sabbath laws. That was the teaching of the Jewish religious authorities of that day. However, there were exceptions to that rule. In the Talmud (the collection of the teachings of the rabbis), it states that, should the baby suffer from an illness, the circumcision is postponed seven days for the sake of the well-being of the infant. Therefore, the baby’s health is more important than this rite of purification, and this is one of several exceptions in the Talmud.

With that information in mind, Jesus presents His next argument in verse 23, saying, “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath.” Jesus is saying, “You make exceptions to circumcision on the Sabbath because the health of the child is more important than the strict observance of the Law, so why are you upset because I healed this man completely on the Sabbath?” He’s telling them that they are contradicting themselves because they say one thing but do another.

There is another argument that isn’t spoken by Jesus, but it’s implied, and all the rabbis standing around Him know what that argument is. As they add this final argument to the ones already stated by Jesus, they realize that they have lost their case and there is nothing to refute. Are you wondering what that final argument is? It has to do with one of the teachings of their most famous rabbi, Hillel the Great. Hillel’s first great law of interpretation was, “The Major may be inferred from the Minor”. What does that mean? In this case, circumcision, which was considered to be the ceremonial law of the purification of newborn males) overrides the Sabbath, and health overrides circumcision. So the Sabbath and circumcision are ‘Minor’ when compared with health. Thus Jesus’ case against them might be put into these words: “I did what’s considered ‘Major’ according to your laws and the teachings of your most famous rabbi when I healed that man completely on the Sabbath, so why are you majoring in the ‘Minors’?”

What excellent arguments! Case dismissed! As I review Jesus’ arguments, a word comes back to mind. The word is GOTCHA! Does that word seem appropriate to you also?

VI. THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED (verse 24)

While those teachers of the Law are standing there, looking at Jesus in wide-eyed amazement, experiencing the shame and agony of defeat, the Lord Jesus uses that moment to teach them a lesson in verse 24. Here are Jesus’ words of instruction to these rulers of the Jews. He says to them, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” He’s telling them to repent of the way they have mistreated Him and do what’s right in the sight of God. How easy and how tempting it is to make judgments about the actions and motives of others before all the facts are known, or in spite of the facts that are known.

A newspaper correspondent attended an auction where he saw, among other items, a pair of excellent crutches. A poor, crippled boy was the first to bid on them. A well-dressed elderly man was also interested in them and kept offering more money for them. Some of the people frowned in disapproval, and one lady said, “Shame on you; let the boy have them!” Whenever the boy called out a higher price, the man would always top it. At last, the boy held up a five-dollar bill, all that he had, and made a final bid. When more was offered, the young fellow turned away in tears. The crowd muttered angrily. Then, to everyone’s surprise, the gentleman presented the crutches to the boy, saying, “These are much too small for me, so I won’t have any use for them. When I saw that you were crippled, my heart went out to you. So I decided to buy the crutches and give them to you.” The crowd began to applaud for they realized they had completely misjudged the man and the situation. They looked at outward appearances only, and came to their own conclusions when they should have given the situation time to allow the true motives to be revealed. That same principle is reflected in our attitude toward God’s Word, the Bible. Are we committed to what God’s Word actually says, or to what we want it to say?

One of the things that can cause us to make wrong judgments is peer pressure. Em Griffin in his book, “The Mindchangers”, describes an experiment done by Solomon Asch with groups of 12 people. They were brought into a room where four lines of unequal length were displayed. They had to decide which two were the same length and publicly vote for their choice. Person after person after person (11 in all) voted for the wrong line – because they had been told to do so ahead of time. The one individual who was in the dark couldn’t imagine how in the world all these seemingly normal people could all choose the wrong line. When it was his turn to vote, he had to decide, “Do I go with what I know my senses are telling me, or do I go with the crowd?” One-third of those tested caved in to group pressure and changed their vote to agree with their peers. Are you feeling the pull of peer pressure in your life? Don’t let peer pressure keep you from repenting of your sin and following Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He will give you a new life, a changed life manifested by a love for Him, and a desire to obey Him and depend upon Him for strength, guidance, and victory.

Fellow believers, a decision needs to be made in our hearts to do what is right in God’s sight even when everyone around us, where we live or work or go to school, wants to go the wrong way. Ask God for the desire and the strength to make the right choice and do the right thing, even if it means standing alone. In actuality, we won’t be alone. The Lord will be with us, and there are many Christians over the past 20 centuries who have chosen to live righteously. Some of their testimonies are written down for us in the Scriptures and in the history books. I’ll close by giving you one of those examples. In the third century, Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, strongly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being. After being exiled five times for his beliefs, he was summoned before emperor Theodosius who demanded that he cease his opposition to Arius. The emperor reproved him and asked, “Do you not realize that all the world is against you?” Athanasius quickly answered, “Then I am against all the world.”

May we have that kind of tenacity in our obedience to the truths of God’s Word.

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TRUE WISDOM IS WITHOUT HYPOCRISY – James 3:17 (continued)

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I’ve spent a lot of time studying and pondering this next attribute of heavenly wisdom. It has been a very eye-opening and convicting study for me. I hope and pray it will have the same effect on you also as you read and consider it. The apostle James, here in verse 17, states that wisdom from above is “without hypocrisy”. In order to understand this description, we must first have a clear concept of what a hypocrite is.

“Hypocrite” is a Greek word that literally means “under a mask”. It was used in the Greek culture to describe an actor on a stage. In the ancient theaters, each actor played several parts. To change identities he would simply wear a different mask. This was the word that Jesus used to describe the Jewish leaders. Over and over again in the Gospels, especially Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus called them hypocrites. No sin was so sternly denounced by Jesus as that of hypocrisy. In Matthew 23 Jesus called them “blind guides”, “whitewashed tombs”, and “vipers”. He used the strongest possible language of condemnation.

William Barclay asked the question: “What were the things which incurred the anger of Jesus?” The first thing he mentions is: “Jesus was angry with anyone who was a hypocrite.” The following are some further excerpts from William Barclay’s comments. “A hypocrite is a man who says one thing with his lips and quite another in his heart. . . . The man who is one thing to your face and quite another behind your back, the man who is ostensibly pious on Sunday and completely worldly on Monday, the man who professes a religion of love and of service, and who lives a life of bitterness and selfishness – that is the man who incurred the anger of Jesus” (Day by Day with William Barclay).

Let’s not forget that the first hypocrite described in the Bible was Satan. He disguised himself as a serpent when he tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God. When we act like a hypocrite we are acting like him, following his example. II Corinthians 11:14 says that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” when he’s really the prince of darkness.

Do we sometimes put on a performance in order to win the applause or approval of others? Most of us like to “look good”, don’t we? We like to look good on the outside, and we like to give the impression that we “look good” on the inside. A seminary professor once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Jesus is coming! Look Busy!” He later warned his students about the dangers of “faking it” – pretending to be something we are not.

One way Christians wear a mask is by not sharing their weaknesses, thereby giving the impression that they don’t have any weaknesses. A close look at their lives will soon show that to be untrue. And even if people don’t see it, God sees it. We can’t fool Him!

We sometimes give in to the temptation that we have it all together, don’t we? But a person with wisdom from above recognizes that he has imperfections, struggles, fears, and temptations, and is honest before God and before others. Such people are sincere, transparent, authentic, genuine, open, and reliable. As the saying goes, “What you see is what you get.” There are no “unpleasant surprises”. They can be trusted because they are not motivated by pride but by obedience to God and love for others. They are more concerned about pleasing God than impressing people.

Are you happy with the way you look on the outside? What about the inside? Jesus makes it very clear in Matthew 6:16, “Don’t be like the hypocrites”!

Dr. M.R. DeHaan of the Radio Bible Class Ministries says: “The biggest hypocrite of all, however, is the man or woman who refuses to come to Christ because there are so many hypocrites in the church. Such a person is being inconsistent. Business is full of hypocrites, but that does not stop him from doing business. Society is full of them, but he does not decide to become a hermit. Hell is full of hypocrites, so if a person doesn’t like hypocrites he had better make sure he’s not going there.” There’s no bigger hypocrite than the person who pretends that he doesn’t need Jesus.

Our lives are on display, like the ads in the newspaper. Who is being advertised in your life? Is the Lord Jesus Christ being advertised on the front page and on every other page of your life? Jesus wants “top billing”, not “honorable mention”.

The Coca-cola company used the following slogan in a song about the quality of their product: “What the world wants today is the real thing.” I hope that’s true of our world today – that more and more people are seeking the real thing. If so, let’s be the “real thing” ourselves, not cheap imitations. Let’s reflect upon the character and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and let Him shine through us to our world today. That’s what the Spirit of God will do in and through us if we’ll get out of His way and allow Him to take control. Are you ready and willing?

II TIMOTHY – Background and Survey

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I. INTRODUCTION:

John Calvin, the great theologian and preacher of the Protestant Reformation, had this to say about I and II Timothy: he said, “What I owe to these two epistles to TImothy can never be told.” In other words, he couldn’t say enough about them and their effect on his life. II Timothy is one of the great heart-warming letters of the Scriptures. It has been called Paul’s last will and testament to Timothy, and through him to the church.

Try to imagine how Timothy must have felt when he received this letter from his friend and spiritual father who had recently been taken away from him forcibly by Nero’s soldiers. Timothy probably thought that Paul had already been put to death by the Roman emperor, Nero. What joy and encouragement must have filled Timothy’s heart as he read about Paul’s affection for him, and about Paul’s appeals to him and promises to Him from the Lord Jesus Christ! Tears must have filled Timothy’s eyes as he read this letter, realizing the sufferings Paul was experiencing and the death he faced because of his committment to Jesus Christ.

II. BACKGROUND:

The apostle Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy in 67 or 68 A.D., just five years after his first letter to Timothy. Paul experienced two imprisonments in Rome. The first was more like a house arrest. Paul lived in his own rented house and was given a great deal of freedom. After this first imprisonment at the end of Acts 28, Paul made some more missionary journeys. Then there developed a dramatic change in attitude toward Christianity on the part of the Roman government. Just a few years before the writing of this epistle, in July of 64 A.D., a great fire destroyed a large part of the city of Rome. There was evidence that the fire had been ordered by Nero himself, and those rumors spread. In a desperate effort to clear himself and get the focus of attention away from himself, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians. The result was that many of the enemies of Christianity took sides with Nero and started persecuting and killing Christians. This perseccution spread to all the Roman provinces. It was not known for sure where the apostle Paul was when he was again arrested, but it may have been at Troas because Paul’s cloak and his precious books and parchments were left there.

The aged apostle Paul was now in chains in the dungeon of a Roman prison, locked in his cell and chained to a Roman guard day and night. This epistle to Timothy must have been written only a few months before Paul’s death. Whether or not Timothy arrived at Paul’s side before his execution is not known.

Timothy had been Paul’s faithful missionary companion for over 15 years. He had travelled with Paul throughout most of his second and third missionary journeys. He also went with Paul to Jerusalem in Acts 20 and may have been with him on his voyage to Rome. Paul mentions Timothy’s name along with his own when he writes to Philemon and to the Philippian and Colossian churches. In I Corinthians 4:17 Paul calls Timothy his “beloved and faithful child in the Lord.” He also calls Timothy his “brother and God’s faithful servant in the gospel of Christ” in I Thessalonians 3:2. Because of Timothy’s genuine concern for the welfare of the churches, and because of the loyalty with which he served with Paul “as a son with his father”, in Philippians 2:20-22 Paul went so far as to say, “I have no one like him.” Among all of Paul’s associates, Timothy was unique.

After Paul’s first imprisonment, Paul left Timothy in Ephesis as the accepted leader of that church. But though he was in leadership, Timothy still had some things that weren’t in his favor. Timothy was still young. He was probably in his mid-thirties, but at that time a person of that age was still considered a youth in the Greek and Roman cultures. He was also a frail person with several physical ailments, and he was apparently a shy person.

III. PURPOSE AND CONTENT OF THE LETTER

Imagine for a moment the aged apostle Paul in a dungeon in Rome with no escape but death. His apostolic work is over. But now he must make sure that the work of Christ is carried on to future generations. As Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy, Paul must have been thinking, “Who is going to continue the battle for the truth of the Gospel after I’m dead?”

Paul’ purpose in writing is to remind Timothy again that the precious Gospel is now committed to him, and now it’s his turn to assume responsibility for it, to preach it, to teach it, to defend it, and to preserve it for future generations. In II Timothy 2:1,2 Paul says, “My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who may be able to teach others also.”

Paul’s main purpose in this letter is to focus on the character of the Christian, and he gives several images or portraits of the ideal Christian minister. He is to be like his Master, the “suffering servant” described by the prophet Isaiah: patient, gentle, hopeful, and praying for his enemies. He is to be like a soldier who is single-minded and ready to obey his commanding officer. Thirdly, he is to be like an athlete, running the race according to the rules of the contest, and fourthly, he is to be like a farmer, working hard and earning his reward. Paul also gives an image or portrait of himself. In II Timothy 4:7-8, in the face of death, Paul is unafraid, and gives his own eulogy. He says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

It is significant that the last time Timothy’s name is mentioned in the New Testament is in Hebrews 13:23 where it is reported that Timothy was recently released from prison. He too is keeping the faith in Christ regardless of the consequences to himself.

IV. AN OUTLINE OF II TIMOTHY:

There are many outlines of the second letter of Paul to TImothy, but my favorite is taken from John Stott’s book entitled, “Guard the Gospel”. I like this outline because it is simple and easy to remember; and also because it views Paul’s letter as a series of challenges to Timothy. Here is his outline:

Chapter 1 – The Charge to Guard the Gospel

Chapter 2 – The Charge to Suffer for the Gospel

Chapter 3 The Charge to Continue in the Gospel

Chapter 4 – The Charge to Proclaim the Gospel

V. THE SIGNIFICANCE AND APPLICATION TO US:

This church, and every church of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, needs to heed the message in this second letter of Paul to Timothy because many churches and many Christians are relaxing their grip on the Gospel, and in danger of letting it slip from their hands. They are no longer determined to proclaim it; they are unprepared to suffer for it; and they are are unwilling to pass it on pure and uncorrupted to the next generation of Christians who will rise up after them.

In II TImothy we see that even though the aged apostle Paul faces death in prison, his passion for fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission by making disciples is as strong as ever. What does the Lord require of us? He requires faithfulness to Him and His work, not only on Sundays but throughout every day of every week for the rest of our lives. God wants us to finish the race He has entered us in, looking forward to the day when we shall see Christ face-to-face in heaven. Paul’s final charge to Timothy is “Guard what has been entrusted to you”, and his final words are “Grace be with you.”

THE PROFILE OF A LEADER – II Timothy 2:1-7

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INTRODUCTION:

William Sangster, a popular preacher and writer of the 1950’s, said this: “The church is painfully in need of leaders.” In the Scriptures God is frequently described as searching for a man of a certain type; not “men”, but “a man”; not a group, but an individual. I Samuel 13:14 says, “The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart.” In Ezekiel 22:30 God says, “I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap . . . but I found no one.” Are you such a person? What kind of a person is it that God is looking for? In II Timothy 2:1-7, the apostle Paul, after telling Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”, describes such a person by using four images:

I. A TEACHER (verse 2)

In verse 2, the first image Paul uses to describe the Christian leader is that of a teacher. A college student was having difficulty with his studies so he finally decided to talk to his professor. He complained, “I’m studying hard. I’m doing my best, but I just can’t retain what I read or try to memorize. Do you think it would help if I hired a tutor?”

Clearly understanding the young man’s problem, the instructor replied, “No, I wouldn’t recommend that at all. You don’t need a teacher, you need a pupil!” He knew that learning is increased when we share our knowledge with others.

This professor’s advice reminds us of believers who know many Bible facts but still have a poor understanding of scriptural truths. They attend church every Sunday, listen faithfully to religious broadcasts, and study the Scriptures personally; yet they seem to lack a working knowledge of the Bible. What’s the problem? They never do anything with that information! They don”t need to be taught more; they need to tell others what they have learned. As they put it into practice, they will begin to understand it more fully. That is what Paul said to Timothy in verse 2. The things Paul said were confirmed by many witnesses as being the truth of God. There are many teachers today who compromise the Scriptures so that they are acceptable to the mentality of this age in which we live. Paul is telling Timothy to “entrust” the things he’s learned from him to faithful men. The word “entrust” gives the picture of a precious treasure being placed in the safekeeping of another person. We each have things that we treasure, either because they are expensive or because they have sentimental value. If you were going on a trip, would you hand these items over to a total stranger? No! You would give them to a trusted friend with information on how to care for and protect them. The Gospel is a precious treasure and should be given to “faithful men” who won’t misuse it or abandon it.

The teacher is described in verse 2 as equipping others to teach, not satisfied with just communicating the message. The nature of the Gospel message demands that it be propagated or reproduced in the lives of others. The ultimate goal of the teacher is to see God’s Word passed on to others, and through them to still others. That is the key to reaching this world for the Lord Jesus Christ.

II. A SOLDIER (verses 3-4)

The second image that Paul uses is that of a soldier. You could say that if any apostle was an authority on soldiers, it was the apostle Paul. He had been in prison and chained to soldiers during much of his Christian life. What comes to your minds when you think of a soldier’s life? In verse 3, Paul describes a soldier as one who is willing to suffer hardship. The apostle Paul was a good soldier of Jesus Christ because he suffered for the cause of Christ, and had the scars to prove it. There was a popular saying during World War II: people would often say to each other, “there’s a war on!” It was a reminder to them that hardships were to be expected and accepted.

Fellow Christians, there IS a war on! We, as Christians, are in a war against the world, against our own sinful flesh, and against Satan. Are we willing to accept all the hardship that comes as a result of identifying with the cause of Christ? As modern-day believers, we may not all experience great persecution for our faith, but we do face hardships and trials. Our faith in Christ is not an escape from them, but it does give us the strength to endure them.

In verse 4, Paul says that a soldier is obedient and loyal. The words “on active duty” describe the life of a soldier of Christ as a constant battle. There are no “furloughs” or “vacations” from the Christian life. Constant and complete dedication is needed. A soldier also does not “entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life”. A Roman soldier was forbidden to engage in civilian occupations and was told to avoid becoming overly involved in the affairs of the market-place. He was a soldier first and his loyalty was to be to his commander.

The Christian is also to be single-minded. This may mean laying aside certain habits, amusements, pursuits, and maybe even certain relationships, not necessarily because they may be wrong in themselves, but because they may be an entanglement, keeping us from performing our primary responsibilities as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

III. AN ATHLETE (verse 5)

In verse 5, Paul uses the image of an athlete to describe the Christian. The word “competes” comes from two Greek words which were used together to describe a “professional” as opposed to an “amateur” athlete. It was a full-time dedication of one’s life to excellence in the athletic event or events he had chosen. Paul says that the goal of the athlete is to win the prize by “competing according to the rules”. Several athletes in the 1976 olympic games were discovered to have taken prohibited drugs. Their medals were taken away from them. All those years of preparation and hard work were for nothing!

As a Christian leader, the standard is God’s Word, and we have several umpires observing what we do and how we do it. We have the divine umpire, and He doesn’t miss a thing. But we also have the Christians and non-Christians around us. I’ve personally found that some non-Christians will tempt you, test you, argue with you, and antagonize you, but inwardly many of them want you to succeed, to pass their tests, because they want something worth believing, and worth giving themselves to. God is looking for faithful Christians, faithful to Him and to His Word, whatever the cost. And some day we will win the prize when God rewards our faithfulness to Him.

IV. THE FARMER (verses 6 and 7)

The fourth image that Paul uses to describe the Christian leader is that of the farmer. In verse 6, he describes the farmer as being “hardworking”. The word means working to the point of weariness and exhaustion. As a kid, I remember spending a week with a friend on his parents’ farm. We went to bed early every night and got up really early every morning. His mother made the biggest breakfasts that I have ever seen! There were eggs, pancakes, potatoes, meat, rolls, fruit, and hot cereal. I soon found out why there was so much food. We worked hard after breakfast gathering the eggs, feeding the chickens, cows, horses, and pigs, spraying the weeds, and picking the ripe fruit and vegetables. By lunch time, and also at supper time, I was famished and ate lots of food. After the week was over, I can remember coming home exhausted. Now I knew why their son liked to spend a week with us once in a while!

The farmer must be content to keep working hard, and also to keep waiting. More than any other worker, the farmer has to learn that there is no such thing as quick results. It takes months after the seed is sown and the ground is continually watered and cultivated, that the fruit, vegetables, and grain finally begin to ripen and can be harvested. But all that hard work will finally pay off.

The Christian life is also hard work The Christian too must learn to work hard and also to wait. Often he will sow the seed of God’s Word into the hearts of others and see no immediate results. Sometimes it takes years of sowing and watering before some people respond to the Gospel message and are saved. But we must, like the farmer, keep on working and waiting. The pastor and author, John R.W. Stott, said: “This notion that Christian service is hard work is so unpopular in some happy-go-lucky Christian circles today.”

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:

Let me summarize the qualities of a good Chrtistian leader. As a teacher, he should be characterized by faithfulness to uphold the truth of God’s Word, and a zeal to see it reproduced in the lives of faithful people, and then passed on to others. As a soldier, he is to be undistracted from his calling and willing to endure anything for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. As an athlete, he is to be above reproach in his actions, attitudes, and methods, both before the eyes of the world and the eyes of God. And as a farmer, he is to work long and hard, trusting God for the harvest to come.

Will you be such a person: the kind of person that God and His church seeks after; the kind of person that this world needs? Will you be able to say confidently to those you are teaching and helping to grow spiritually, what the apostle Paul said in verse 7: “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything”?