Wednesday 10 January
Read 2 Timothy 2:5-7
“Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.” (NIVUK)
No distractions (v4), no cheating (v5) and no slacking off (v6). That is what Timothy should expect in his Paul-given, and ultimately God-given, task. There are no short-cuts available and much reflection is needed to grasp this simple truth (v7). John Stott quotes Bishop Ryle and his classic book, Holiness, to summarise Paul’s point here.
“I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no ‘spiritual gains without pains’. I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them until harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness who was not diligent about his Bible-reading, his prayers, and the use of his Sundays. Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.” (JC Ryle, Holiness, p21).
Holiness is one of the ‘share of the crops’ that Stott, and Paul, believe flows from guarding and reflecting on the gospel. Holiness is attained with no distractions, cheating or slacking off, yet remains a gift from God.
