At the end of our lives, there are probably none of us here today who would not like to hear the Lord say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” No doubt to be found pleasing to the Lord is a thought we all would delight in realizing. But what does an unashamed pleasing workman of the Lord look like? What should characterize the life of one whom the Lord finds faithful in his labors? This is a question with which Paul deals very specifically in his writing to Timothy in this latter part of the second chapter.

In many ways, up to this point, Paul has encouraged and exhorted Timothy for the mission. He has challenged him to take courage, to stir up the gift of the Spirit within him, to ensure that others have the gospel, and to be single-minded and devoted to his task at hand. However, Paul now moves into some definite exhortations that Timothy must do. And although Paul is specific with Timothy, he paints broad enough strokes with these exhortations that we might apply them to our lives as well, and in doing so be found a faithful servant and unashamed worker before God.

Therefore, we may see the following principles as such:

We must labor to know the truth by studying God’s word (2:14-18)

Paul tells Timothy in verses 14 and 16-18, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good but only runs the hearers … Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”

Within that, we see the repetition of not quarreling about words and of avoiding irreverent babble. Many times we engage in constant conversation consisting of speculation concerning things that do not matter. Yet we allow these things to consume us while neglecting the engaging of our minds in truth. But if you do this and are not being built upon the foundation of the truth as revealed to us in the word of God, it will lead you into untruth and godless living, just as Paul says, “It will lead people into more and more ungodliness” (16). For the word is an anchor for our souls. Therefore, be assured perverted doctrine will indefinitely lead to perverted practice.

Rather, we should follow the model given and exhortation found in verse 15 as Paul writes, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” We must focus on knowing the word and obeying its commands.

One of the sad states of the present-day church is that there is little confession among those claiming to be God’s people that the bible is actually God’s word. However, another sad reality is that those who do confess such must then follow up such a confession with the embarrassing reality that we do not know what God has said in his word. For if the bible really is what we claim (and indeed what it claims for itself), then we must be diligent in our devotion to know what God has said, to know God’s word.

People are oftentimes more zealous in the world for meaningless things than God’s church is to know his word. And I think we have deceived ourselves into believing it’s okay because culture has dipped so low into its view of study and understanding that which is written and true, that we have sunk to a similar view in relation to the bible. Then we justify our lack of knowledge by calling those who are diligent studiers of the word of God exceptional and intellectual. Such is like the man who fired an arrow into the barn and missing his target only to go and re-create the target around the place his arrow landed. We are sinking into what is culturally acceptable when we need to return to a standard set forth in the scripture. Therefore, we must hear Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to study and rightly handle God’s word lest he be ashamed in God’s presence, it must burn in our hearts until we obey such an exhortation. A people trying to stand for the authority and truth of God’s word while remaining scripturally illiterate is as unacceptable and unfathomable as someone who yells to turn up the heat in a house while leaving all the doors and windows open. It is the essence of hypocrisy – making claim with our words that is utterly contradicted in our actions.

So we must study and know God’s word and obey that which his word tells us is pleasing to him. Apart from this, one must be found ashamed in the presence of the Lord. Many will not heed this word and walk wayward, but we must not follow their pattern and must walk according to God’s word, not shaken by them.

With God’s faithfulness as our foundation, we must labor to live holy lives (2:19-23)

Clearly before an exhortation to holiness, we need to be grounded in the reality that we are God’s children by grace, he knows us, and it is not our holy living that merits his grace. Otherwise our striving for holiness would be undercut by the wavering caused by questioning whether God recognizes us as his own. But Paul aids us here, giving us a foundation to stand on, as he writes, “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (19a).

However, with that foundation, God’s children will be distinguished as those who live holy lives and we must labor to be described by such. Paul ends that verse writing, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (19b). Thus, Christians still struggle with sin, but they are those who hate it and labor to overcome it. They are those who strive and labor to live holy lives.

Paul gives an illustration here of two vessels, and shows us that we might make ourselves apt to be the greater vessel as he writes, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (20-21).

This makes sense to us. There is a reason why I might get Lili a vase for our anniversary but not necessarily a garbage can. Sure, they are both vessels. But one is for honorable use and one is to put trash in (i.e. for dishonorable use). And God tells us that we can make ourselves a choice instrument for him to use honorably by cleansing ourselves from dishonorable things. That is, as we cleanse ourselves from false doctrine and unrighteous living we will become choice instruments in the hand of God to be used by him. So the question is simply, “Do you want to indulge in the passing pleasure of sin or make yourself a choice instrument for God’s use?” It indeed is a simple question but it is not less than the question we must continually answer. You may not ask it as you encounter each temptation, but you will always answer it.

But how do we cleanse ourselves and make ourselves vessels ready to be used for honorable use? Paul writes, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who cal on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (22-23). We flee the lusts of our flesh at everyone opportunity, making no provision for sin, and we pursue holy things instead at the side of other believers. We must run from sin and run toward righteousness with the aid other believers.

And Paul mentions one more thing.

We must labor gently and patiently to bring the lost to a saving knowledge of Christ (24-26)

Paul writes, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (24-26).

First of all, listen to the situation of those outside of Christ. They are in the snare of the devil, captured by him to do his will. Those who are outside of Christ are to be pitied, not revered as what we hope to be, but pitied because they recognize neither their own state nor God’s saving mercies. And they are completely hopeless outside of God granting them repentance from their sins.

Therefore, do not be quarrelsome with them as if you are out to win arguments, but remember your hope is to reach them with the gospel that they might be saved. Therefore, be kind to them, teach them, patiently enduring their evil thoughts and actions, and when you correct them, correct them in gentleness.

The message of the gospel will be offensive to men, but we are not to be offensive in our presentation of it. Give the world no hindrances in yourself to the truth by your unkind, harsh, and impatient conversation. This is what is required of those who are God’s servant.

A worker who need not be ashamed in God’s presence and approved by our Lord is one who studies diligently the word that he might live and teach accordingly, lives holy, preparing himself to be a vessel useful for honorable work, and one who kindly and gently reaches out to those who do not know Christ, that they might repent and come to the knowledge of the truth.

So, may we this day begin a few simple things:

1) Begin (or continue) a constant and continual practice of reading and meditating on God’s word and study thereof.

2) Go to extreme measures to avoid sin in your life. This is surely what Christ meant when he said, “If you hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” Flee your youthful lusts.

3) Surround yourself with another or some other believers with whom you can encourage one another to righteous thoughts and actions and pursue them together.

4) Develop relationships with those who do not know Christ that you might speak to them the truth and as you do so, speak gently, patiently enduring their evil, and kindly leading them to hear the gospel.

These are simply a few things that we need to be about so that we might be characterized by that which we read in this text, as an unashamed workman, an honorable vessel, and a pleasing servant of the Lord. May his grace be with you. Amen.

THE LABOR OF AN UNASHAMED WORKMAN