Faithfulness in Service

(Message delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Mar 19, 06)

Text: 2 Tim. 1:11-2:2

As Christians, we are saved to serve. One day we will be reporting to our Lord and King. What have we done for Him? How well have we served Him? I am sure every believer desires to hear his Master say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt 25:21).

Jesus commended the servant for his faithfulness. This tells us that the Lord looks not so much at how much work we have done but how well we have done our work for Him. Employers value workers who are industrious and productive—who go the extra mile. But Jesus has a different perspective on work. As far as He is concerned, it is not the quantity but the quality of work that counts. Some of us may do a whole lot of work for the Lord, but it may be a whole lot of wood, hay and stubble. Others may not do as much but the work done is of sterling quality—gold, silver and precious stones (1 Cor 3:8-13). What sort of work have we done for the Lord—is it faithful or unfaithful work? The proving fire of the Bema of Christ will reveal it (2 Cor 5:9-10).

Now, I am not saying that we should not work hard for the Lord, that we should be unproductive in our Christian service. Being hardworking is surely an aspect of faithful service. But bear in mind “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong” (Eccl 9:11), and “Wisdom is better than strength” (Eccl 9:16). So how can we make sure that the work we are doing for the Lord right now is of the wise and faithful type?

Faithful service is primarily truthful service. What we do for the Lord must be based on His Truth. If we serve the Lord according to His Truth, we will not go wrong.

In 2 Timothy 1:11-2:2, we learn two precious lessons concerning faithful service. How do we serve the Lord faithfully? We serve the Lord faithfully by

(1) Protecting His Words (1:13-14)

2 Timothy 1:13-14 says, “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”

Paul enjoins Timothy to hold firmly without wavering “the form of sound words.” What does this mean? It means sticking to the pattern of the infallible and inerrant words of the Holy Scriptures. The “sound words” here are the words of God as preached by the Apostle Paul—“which thou hast heard of me.” The “sound words” are not just the preached words of the Apostles of Jesus Christ but also the written words of the Holy Scriptures. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” The Apostles were infallible in their preaching and in their writing of the Holy Scriptures (1 Thess 2:13; 2 Pet 1:21). The Apostles were God’s specially appointed mouthpieces and penmen; whenever they spoke or wrote the words of God, they did so without any error.

Note that we are commanded to hold fast to “sound words” and not simply sound “truths” or “doctrines.” Many today who do not believe in the verbal perfection of Scriptures speak of the “truths,” or the “doctrines” of Scriptures being “inspired” or “preserved,” but not the “words.” But the Lord speaks of His written words being “inspired” (2 Tim 3:16) and “preserved” (Matt 5:18, 24:35). 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture (ie, the Written Word) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine.” Matthew 5:18 says, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle (ie, every dot and every stroke of every letter of the Written Word) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” “Sound words” means “sound words,” and not just “sound doctrines.” Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Genesis chapter one gives us the answer. Without the chicken, where the egg? Similarly, without the words, where the doctrines? Doctrines are expressed and explained by words. Words before doctrines is biblically and theologically correct.

It is required of every believer to hold fast to God’s words “in faith” and “in love.” We must study the inspired words of God faithfully and lovingly, not intellectually or scholastically. Now, I am not saying that our intellect or mind is unnecessary in our study of the Scriptures. What I am saying is that our intellect must never be over but under the authoritative Wisdom and Word of God.

Timothy was told not only to “hold fast” but also to “keep” or “guard” the gospel of Christ and the sound words of God (v 14). The “good thing” speaks of the quality of God’s Word which is intrinsically and ethically good. The psalmist describes the wonderful words of the Bible which convert the soul as “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Ps 19:10).

Such a precious and excellent thing as the Word of God must be safeguarded. The word “keep” (v 14) in the original has the idea of depositing money into a bank for safekeeping. Timothy was commanded to protect the precious Word of God with which he has been entrusted, and to guard it from every attack.

Today, the Word of God is attacked like never before. The fiercest attack on God’s Word today concerns God’s 100% preservation of His inspired words. The falsehood is spread that Christians do not possess a totally infallible and inerrant Bible today. The infallible and inerrant Bible is a thing of the past; the Bible today is simply not as infallible and inerrant as before. Those who do not believe in the verbal and plenary preservation of the Scriptures say that the Bible today contains some insignificant mistakes and believe that some of its original words have been lost. How should we respond? We must defend the Bible against every attack and never allow its inspired and preserved words to be changed or modified in the slightest degree (cf Rev 22:18-19).

That is the reason why we are True Life B-P Church. We have taken a separatist stand to defend the forever infallible and inerrant Word of God. It is not easy to fight this good fight of faith for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and that is why Paul tells Timothy to do this good work in the power of the Holy Spirit—keep the faith “by the Holy Ghost.” It is a spiritual battle. We need to pray! Pray for ourselves that we will always remain faithful to God and His Word— never to waver, never to doubt, but always believing and trusting in Him and His Word. Pray for all who oppose us. Pray that the Spirit will help them see the truth with the eyes of faith. Unless they believe in what Jesus has promised in His words, they will never come to the knowledge of the Truth.

How to be faithful in God’s service? Not only by protecting His Words, but also by

(2) Propagating His Truth (2:2)

Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” The Truth of God’s Word is preserved by propagating it to others who will do likewise. The sound words of God from the Bible must be passed on to “faithful” men (ie, men who are characterised by faith, men who are filled with faith, men who believe the words of Christ their Saviour without question). The sound words of God must never be entrusted to “heady” and “high-minded” men (3:4). Paul described such men as “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (3:5). They are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (3:7). They are men who “resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” (3:8).

Take note that Paul tells Timothy to propagate not something different but the same words and doctrines he had learned from the Apostle Paul. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Man is not just to live by God’s “every word,” he is also commanded to teach His “every word” and “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:20-27).

2 Timothy 2:2 is often used as a basis for the establishment of a Bible college or theological seminary. Dr Paul Contento who laid the foundation stone of Far Eastern Bible College said, “Without the Bible College, the Church would die.” That is true. But it is also true that “With the Bible College, the Church might die faster.” Why? Because of unbelief in the college or seminary! Many a church or denomination is dying because they have pastors who have been trained in seminaries which do not believe in the absolute perfection of the Holy Scriptures. China’s greatest evangelist—John Sung—was delivered from such a seminary by the grace of God. John Sung went to study at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The President of the Seminary at that time was Dr Henry Sloane Coffin. John Sung testified, “I was enrolled in a seminary that taught a ‘God-is-dead’ theology, under the caretaking of a principal surnamed Coffin. But this seminary became a cemetery to my troubled soul” (read John Sung My Teacher by Timothy Tow).

When Dr Contento said those words, “Without the Bible College, the Church would die,” he was thinking of a Bible-believing and Bible-defending Bible College. Thank God for FEBC—a Bible College that truly believes and teaches the Bible authoritatively and without apology, “It is written,” “Thus saith the Lord,” “rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” Thank God for our beloved pastor—the Rev Dr Timothy Tow—who as the principal of FEBC instituted the Dean Burgon Oath and required every director and lecturer of FEBC to swear absolute allegiance to God and His Perfect Word to the last book, chapter, verse, word, syllable and letter. FEBC intends to remain faithful to our Lord who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and to His forever infallible and inerrant Word until the day He returns.

The same perfect Word of God that Jesus and Paul and Timothy had, is the same Word we have today. Without a perfect Bible we Christians have no good news to preach. Dr Chris Marantika from Indonesia wrote in his book—Principles and Practice of World Mission (2002): “Enemies of Christ find it easy to attack the Bible … They will tell the … community the Christian believes that the Bible is full of human errors. They point to seemingly inconsistent passages in the Bible, and they quote well-known Christian scholars who believe that the Bible contains errors. These enemies argue, therefore, that the Bible is not the Word of God.”

“Even though most scholars in Indonesia believe that the Bible has errors, God’s people cannot accept this idea. The lay Christian … refuses to believe this Book … has any errors in it. Even if they cannot explain the concept of the inerrancy of the Bible, they accept it as a divine miracle.

“Evangelical theologians bear a heavy responsibility for explaining and upholding the fact that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. To do otherwise not only dishonors God, but it also makes Christianity a second-class, undesirable religion…

“In relation to the inerrancy of the Bible, we make two appeals … Firstly, do not send to the … world Christian scholars and missionaries who do not believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Secondly, do not support students … studying in seminaries and Bible Schools that teach the Bible is errant. Support those who go for in-depth study of the inerrant Word of God. The
need in the … world is for more workers and scholars who believe and teach that God’s Word is wholly without error.” Amen and Amen!

Conclusion

Let us be faithful in our service for God. We must be faithful to Him by (1) protecting His inspired and preserved Words from all kinds of attacks, and (2) propagating His Truth fully and completely to faithful men who will pass it on to others as well. May the Lord be ever with us to help us. Soli Deo Gloria!