The duties of a pastor: (chap.2)
A Pastor’s role: (2:1-2)
- To be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus: (2:1): Apostle Paul knew that Timothy needed strength and endurance to fulfil the calling of God. This is perhaps one of the 25-times Paul told Timothy. Timothy was young and timid. God is always there for us to give us strength. He gives power to the weak and those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength (Isa.40:29-30). Grace is something we receive that we deserve not, it is an unmerited favour from God. His grace would give us the boldness and courage to face the challenges in this world. With His grace I can face tomorrow. With His grace we can be satisfied as God said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you and My strength is made perfect in weakness”(2 Cor.12:9-10).
- To be a Steward: (2:2): We are stewards of God’s spiritual treasure. It is our duty and responsibility to guard the deposit and invest in the lives of others. If the early Christians and subsequent missionaries had not obeyed God’s command of being a steward, today we wouldn’t have the Word of God and Christianity would be extinct. It is God’s grace that today we have readily available, the God’s Word in every form (written, virtual) in every language.
Paul’s main burden was that Timothy to continue to invest the deposit in the lives of others and they in turn share the word of God with the next generation. Let’s not depend upon the strange and new philosophical ideas of men, we be grounded in the Word of God. God’s Word is like an ocean, we need to go deep into it to find pearls. God’s Word is like a rich mines and one must do hard-work to dig out of the rich mines of Scriptures of gold, silver, precious stones that hidden there. This strength can come only through God’s grace.
It is a God’s gift to teach the Word correctly and one must pray humbly to receive this gift. A steward must study diligently, understand and teach others. A teacher must be a good learner and listener too.
The Pastor duties: (2:3-7)
Apostle Paul gives 3-pictures of secular occupation in order to teach us to have effective ministry.
- A soldier: (2:3-4): Apostle Paul uses military language as it was very common in those days. It was a sense of urgent requirement and even a command as Paul uses the word “must.” A Roman soldier has a single minded purpose which is well disciplined and unquestioning obedience to his commanding officer.
In the same way if a believer is not willing to endure hardship, he will never accomplish much for God, rather he will give up the ministry soon. that’s why Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”(Matt.16:24).
Further a soldier has leave many things viz. self-will, independence, his home, his family etc. He cannot enjoy the civilian life or get entangled in the civilian life. He must be bold, courageous and does his duty with full devotion and earnestness. He is always looking to please his master. Likewise Timothy must please the Lord always. Our God is our commander. Like a soldier who is always obedient to his commander, Timothy and all the believers must always be obedient to the call of God and serve in this world as soldiers to win the spiritual war.
- An athlete: (2:5): Paul in his letters has given more than two dozen references to athletics, boxing, wrestling, running etc. (1 Cor.9:12,26, Eph.6:12) because the Greeks and Romans were fond of sports and games. Paul used the reference of Olympic games as an illustration. An athlete can’t make up his own rules, but follow the rules and regulations to win the prize. For some Christians they deliberately get into sin knowing that it is sin because they think that they can make some agreement with God, but in the end they would forfeit the crown even though they finish the target and no matter how skilful they are. Even if they win the race but broke the rules, they are disqualified. The local church is like a team of runners who are racing towards the goal. They must do it with full discipline, dedication and devotion to qualify and win the prize. Then only they can win others for Christ. So Paul advises Timothy to work like an Olympic
A farmer: (2:6-7): The final picture Paul gives is that of a farmer. In each case Paul speaks of diligence and perseverance. A diligent soldier gains the approval of his commanding officer. A diligent athlete wins the race. There is no place for idleness and lazy workers. Similarly a good farmer has to work hard. He has to prepare the ground, clear the weeds. When the harvest comes, he has to gather it. He has done all this for the owner of the farm. When this is done, as his reward, he would have the first share of the crop. Similarly believers should work hard to do what the Lord wants them to do. The Lord would bless those who work hard and reward them suitably in the future life.