This week we have been looking at the concept of living life unfiltered and have seen how it combines evangelism, discipleship, and accountability together. Then last time we saw how because of how exposure to the truth convicts us and shows one need for accountability to keep us from straying because of the convictions we face. Today we will finish up this concept by looking at 2 Timothy 4:5, “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Sober-minded

Paul now personalizes his warning to Timothy by telling him to be sober-minded. What Paul is saying here is to remain faithful to the truth and not deviate from it. To be sober-minded is to be level-headed, vigilant, steadfast, and unwavering in your beliefs. The opposite of being sober to us would be the concept of being drunk, when you think of a drunk you see that their senses are dulled, and they are not in their best state of mind. It is when we are in this drunk state spiritually that we can be easily led astray. Again this is why accountability is so important. We have seen in past weeks how we need fellowship with other believers, accountability is just another aspect as we cannot be a Lone Ranger Christian; we are to help keep each other to be sober-minded to keep us from straying.

Endure Suffering

The next thing Paul tells Timothy is to endure suffering. We are never guaranteed an easy life once we become Christians, in fact we are told the opposite. You see we need to surround ourselves with those that will encourage and lift us up when we face suffering. That are willing to keep us faithful to Christ when we feel like we are ready to throw in the towel to avoid suffering. In turn we are then to be willing to do the same for them. It is much like when changing your diet or starting an exercise program. If you do it by yourself, eventually you will quit for some reason or another. However, if you have just one other person that is willing to encourage you and check on how you are doing you are more likely to continue on. The Christian life is much the same, things will come up that if you are by yourself you will eventually give up, but if you are in fellowship with others it makes it easier to bear.

Evangelism And Ministry

Paul finishes this out by telling Timothy to do the work of an evangelist and to fulfill his ministry. What this means is to first share the Gospel; Paul is basically restating what he said at the beginning “preach the word.” The second part of fulfilling your ministry is what I would like to focus on. As men one of our ministries is that of being the spiritual leader in our homes. We are to be leading and pointing our families to God. The way we do this is to again lead by example; we are to ourselves be drawing near to God, showing our families how they are to focus on God themselves. This is again why fellowship and accountability are important. We need others to help keep us focused on God in order to keep us from leading not only ourselves astray but to keep from leading our families astray as well. I said it earlier and I will say it again there are no Lone Ranger Christians.