THE GOSPEL PROTECTOR

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:13-14 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Christian ministers and pastors of the Word of God and the blessed Gospel message contained within must always be on guard. I say this because they are as prone to attack from the enemy as any other believer. I think a lot of people seem to forget this.

It makes sense if you think about it. One of the most fundamental tactics in war has been a focus on taking out a nation’s leader for if you can remove them, the people lack someone to follow and become easier prey.

Applying this to any church, the minister or pastor is that church’s human head. We know Jesus is the Head of the church but when it comes to the physical leadership and the preaching and teaching of the people, the minister or pastor is the one in the spotlight. They are the shepherd the flock (congregation) follows and depends on so if Satan can spiritually or morally compromise or corrupt the leader, then the flock will be left shepherd-less, unable to rely on the one they believed could trust. And anyone who knows anything about sheep knows that disaster strikes when they are without someone to guide them.

Why all this talk about the vulnerability of ministers and pastors?

Because the issue has existed for as long as the Christian church has. The words of caution we find from the Apostle Paul affirm this as he writes to Timothy, his ministry partner and pastor of the Ephesian church. Look at his words again here:

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 NLT

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we learn that there were issues within the Ephesian church regarding false teaching that had infiltrated the congregation, false teaching that included “myths and endless genealogies” that constituted nothing but “meaningless talk” and sparked “controversial speculations” that threatened to hinder the work of God (1 Timothy 1:3-4,6).

Concerned that Timothy might be swayed by the false doctrines, we find Paul exhorting him to “hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching” that the Apostle had instilled in his ministry ally from a young age when he welcomed him onto the missionary team in Lystra (Acts 16:1-5). Once received, the Gospel teaching from Paul was grounded in and “shaped by the faith and love” that Timothy had for “Christ Jesus”. This was the “precious truth” that was “entrusted” to Timothy, the precious truth that needed carefully guarded. And it’s the same precious truth that ministers and pastors need to carefully guard today.

So how can a minister or pastor do this? How can they protect the precious truth of the Gospel shaped by the love and faith they have in Jesus Christ, warding off the attacks of the devil in the process?

As we go back to our verses for today, we find the answer. For Paul tells Timothy to use the “power of the Holy Spirit” that lived within him.

This indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not unique to Christian leaders. Rather, it is the spiritually implanted gift of God that is granted to every single person, past or present, who has placed their belief in Jesus as Savior. He is the Advocate, Counselor, and now we can add, Gospel Protector, who is with us and for us, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All we need to do is rely and trust on the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and guard us, and we can be assured that we will be walking in the ways of Christ as we are to do as Christians and thwarting any efforts of Satan to derail our righteousness by bring us into sin.

Friends, what a wonderful blessing God has given us in the Holy Spirit! Let us stay connected to Him every waking moment so to remain spiritually safe and strong as we go forth to share the precious Gospel truth with other, the wholesome truth shaped by our faith and love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.