GOD'S PATTERN FOR A CHRISTIAN WORKER (Part 1)
(2 Timothy 2.)
INTRODUCTION. -- The text is a whole chapter -- the second chapter of 2 Timothy. In this chapter we have a marvelous picture, drawn by the hand of God, of the Christian worker. What he is. What he should be. What he should avoid. What he should do. And his reward.
What the True Christian Worker is.
1. He is a soldier. v.3.
2. The Christian worker is also a "husbandman." v.6.
3. The Christian worker is also a workman. v.15.
4. The Christian worker is "a vessel." v.21. He is some sort of a household utensil, as a dish, or pitcher, or a cup, or a vase, something for the adornment and use of the Master's house. Many professing Christians are mere bric-a- brac in the church.
5. The Christian worker is a "servant of the Lord." The word servant here used means "bond servant or slave," and the thought is that we belong to another, we are not our own: Christ is our owner.
II. What the Christian Worker Should Be.
1. He should be "dead" -- dead with Christ. v.11.
2. The Christian worker in the next place should be "strong." v.1.
3. Should be taught of the Lord. v.7.
4. There are three more things we should be. You will find them all in one verse. v.24.
(a) We should be "gentle."
(b) We should also be "apt to teach.”
(c) Should be "patient," or, as the RV has it, "forbearing." "Patient of ills and wrongs.”
