Christian Living

A Bondservant of Christ

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
11/13/20
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“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

The Apostle Paul has written to his spiritual son and pastor of the Church of the Ephesians. In Ephesus, as in other Churches, there was a problem with the false teaching of doctrine. A twist of the truth could and did draw many a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ away from the truth of His teaching. The Apostle Paul was Timothy’s mentor and watched over him from a distance and wrote two epistles to Timothy recorded in the New Testament. While Paul, an Apostle of Jesus, was exact in his teaching, he was not a firebrand given to Hellfire and Brimstone. This kind of teaching brings anger to the listeners, Jesus never taught this way, and neither did Paul. Paul’s second letter to Timothy Paul teaches Timothy how one should win people for Jesus, who argue over the false teachings.

Paul begins these three verses by reminding Timothy that he is a bondservant of the Lord. A bondservant is a slave that is subservient to and entirely at the disposal of his master. It is kinder to use the word servant, but it holds the same meaning in the context of this passage. The followers of Jesus today consider themselves to be bondservants of Jesus, as He is their Master. Paul states it this way in his letter to the Corinthian Church. “For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.” (1 Corinthians 7:22) Whereas we once were slaves to our sin, we now are slaves to our Master.

Jesus is our Master, and our allegiance is towards Him alone. As His bondservants, we renounce all other masters and give our lives to Him alone. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) Being a bondservant of Jesus is not a life of drudgery for His burden upon us is light. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) As humankind, we are motivated by the endgame, which results at the end of our life in this world. We know the truth; there are but two destinations beyond this world that we are traveling to. One leads to the second death, and the other leads to eternal life in God’s Kingdom. “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” (Romans 6:22)

The truth is that we, as followers of Jesus, have been entrusted with the gospel message of Jesus. Because of God’s love towards humanity, we have been entrusted to sacrifice ourselves for others’ good and the glory of God. We are not to be quarrelsome with others presumptions or speculations because seldom are they founded upon the truth of God’s Word. They are the thoughts of men and are not founded upon the truth, and they are controversial and will lead to strife and confusion. The better way to deal with the opposition is to be kind to all, be able to teach, and be patient when wronged.

We must stand on the truth of God’s Word and be bold to speak it, but we must also deliver with humility and meekness. We are never to be overbearing, harsh, or thoughtless. This is the model of Jesus, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) This is the standard of God, and we can only be effective when operating in His standard. Any other measure will defeat our cause of molding others into the life of Christ.

We must not only be able but willing to teach. We need to meditate on God’s truth that we are ready to give testimony at every opportunity presented to us. “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15)

There will be those who wrong us, who mock us, and even may persecute us. The follower of Jesus must be able to hold up under this kind of treatment. We must not be resentful or return evil for evil but with good. Our Lord is forbearing with sinners, not wishing them to perish, and this is our goal, so we must not harbor the same attitude. During the ministry of Jesus, He accepted the insults and injuries, the slights and humiliations. If we allow ourselves to become the one we are trying to correct, we hurt the Church’s whole body. Peter wrote this of our model, the Lord. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.” (1 Peter 2:21-23)

A bondservant of Christ who walks by His Spirit will bear the fruits of His Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) We should not be quick to take offense when we are wronged but return it with a loving attitude, as our concern is for their spiritual welfare. We should learn to hear what those who oppose us are saying and wait upon the Lord to answer. “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.” (James 1:19) We are not to be judgmental, as this is not our place to decide. A self-righteous attitude is not ours to display as we work in the righteousness of our Lord. The bondservants doing the work of the Lord as His instrument, so follow the Holy Spirit to do His work.

We are Disciples of Christ and are also learning to follow where He leads. It is not a position of superiority but the position of a practicing student of Jesus. In this context, the opposition doesn’t mean differing opinions but those who disbelieve concerning the truth of God’s Word. They may have been deceived by false teaching or are those who are deceiving the truth. They must be admonished with compassion and be spoken the truth in love. It is not for us to change a heart but to speak the truth into the heart. “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15)

Repentance is the Lord’s work, and our work is to present the truth of God’s Word in a kind and gentle way. To correct those who have set themselves in opposition to the truth of God’s Word that they might turn their hearts to the truth. Our prayer would be answered that God would grant them repentance. It is our desire that through the truth, God would awaken repentance and the desire for truth in their hearts.

Through repentance, the believer is led out of the falsehood of deception and into the knowledge of the truth. This is more than just having the mere facts of the truth but having a deep spiritual understanding of God’s truth. The knowledge and understanding that God gives are for those who seek God’s truth. It is God’s truth that will dispel the foolish speculation of false doctrine.

It is becoming harder, it seems, to tell a Christian from a citizen of the world these days. The Christian is to become a peculiar person chosen by God to serve Him. Yet, many Christians blend in with the world and have become hard to find. They may, at times, stand up for Jesus. Still, they should also stand out for Jesus. as the Apostle Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) As the Church teachers pray and hope that their learners forsake their citizenship of this world and become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Kingdom citizenship should require them to come to their senses and return to sober thinking.

Being lost in this world’s falsehood, lost in the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life will lead to abundant sinful behavior. This spiritual weakness invites poor judgment and control of one’s mental facility. The conscience of their being becomes darkened and confused, the Holy Spirit’s convictions are paralyzed, and the will to righteous living is lost. Once the spiritual wall of protection is breached, Satan can enter in and build his stronghold. The first line of defense for the Christian is under the Lord’s protective umbrella; this is our hedge of protection. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

A firm knowledge of God’s truth is the way to escape from the snare of Satan. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, it was the Word of God that defeated Satan’s temptations, and our knowledge of His Word is our best offense. People have this lack of recognizing that they are but mere men, and the forces that we fight are stronger than we. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Our fight is against evil spiritual forces that are mightier than we, and this is the battleground that we truly fight on. Satan is the father of lies and deception is his weapon. If we do not know the truth, then we cannot recognize the lie. This is why knowing Scripture is essential, as all creation must abide by the Word of God. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

As Christians, we do not want to be held captive to the will of Satan, as all of his ways are evil. The Word of God is the only way to overcome our adversary, it is the only way to leave this world alive, and it is the only way to find our freedom in the Kingdom of God. “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, April 17, 2018