But As For You O Man Of God...
In the past several months I’ve had the opportunity of giving the charge to three friends of mine entering the ministry. One was installed as the pastor of a church plant and two others were ordained to the gospel ministry. I enjoyed each of the occasions. The worship, fellowship with God’s people and the privilege of exhorting these good brothers was a blessing to my soul.
Preparing for these charges got me to thinking about the ministry and those whom God calls to carry out. It’s a strange thing isn’t it. The heavens declare the glory of God. They display His matchless beauty, majesty, intricacy, care, order, power and sovereignty. Created in six days and all very good they are a shining example of God’s existence and good will toward humanity. They also humble us as we look into the vastness of space and realize that God created all these out of nothing and without the help of one single, solitary human. Yet with all its beauty and splendor the heavens will one day be rolled up like a scroll. Even in its grandeur the physical universe cannot compare to the eternal kingdom of the living God. This kingdom which has no end is an even more spectacular display of God’s attributes than the heavens are. For the kingdom of God doesn’t just reflect His glory, power, goodness, beauty, order, and sovereignty, it visibly and permanently demonstrates His love, grace, mercy, compassion and infinite justice in and through Jesus Christ.
It is this kingdom however that He’s entrusted mere men to guard, preserve and promote throughout the earth. We are His men, bound to His cause and charged to carry forth the gospel of His kingdom. What then is a man of God? What qualities should we look for in those who lead this most significant of endeavors? While most of us probably know the answer to those questions it’s good to be reminded of them as I was when giving the charge to three of my friends.
From Paul’s first letter to Timothy we learn that a man of God is one who holds and keeps a sacred trust. For us, truth is important, truth matters and truth is non-negotiable. We don’t change, trifle with or finagle truth just to fit current circumstances, stay relevant, skate the cultural cutting edge or please a particular ethnic group. For us different doctrines aren’t just a matter of cultural tastes, but an issue of life and death. What an individual, family, society or people group believe about God, Scripture, humanity, sin, salvation, Jesus Christ is not up for grabs. Those who claim to be called into the gospel ministry are compelled by the obligation to preserve and promote the truth we already have, not to twist and change it to suit our particular selfish needs.
In promoting the truth however we do not promote controversy for its own sake, nor do we seek to be harsh, caustic, unkind or arrogant. The evidence that the truth of God’s grace in Christ has soaked into our lives is a response of genuine love for God, His people, His truth and the lost. We’re not here to win arguments, but to serve people. Men of God approach the ministry not with underlying motives of gaining wealth, fame or a private group of disciples but with a whole-hearted desire to see God glorified, Christ honored and praised and the church built up. Men of God discover fulfillment in ministry not in wielding a great deal of influence over others, but because our great and glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ, our high priest, good shepherd and soon returning King delights in our feeble and flawed service to Him.
For Christ, The Truth and The Church
Lance Lewis