Yesterday we had missionary Sparky Clancy with us and he spoke to us from the text of 2 Timothy chapter 2:
2 Timothy 2:1-2
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 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.
There is a simple idea here that seems to have nearly fallen away from our churches in these days. It is apparent here that Paul’s method of assuring the spread and continuance of gospel work was found in passing along our faith, understanding and convictions to “faithful men”.
While in practice we certainly attempt to do such things, it also seems to me that we place our confidence rather upon the institutions we develop rather than solely in the “faithful men”. There is great underlying motivation to do this. If we trust in our institutions (ie. Churches, colleges, agencies, etc) we can escape our own personal responsibility in this matter of God’s business. It is a subtle difference to be sure, but I propose to you that untold thousands hide behind such “institutional” ideas in order to pursue their own self-centered agendas. You will find them hypercritical of our institutions and those in leadership only to mask their own carnal ways.
I think that a careful view of Christian history will show us that God’s business is secured and pushed forward by His faithful followers and they are the ones that are the real producers.
