Characteristics of a Great Church
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Characteristics of a Great Church
Characteristics of a Great Church
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Verse 19 is a continuation of verse 14-19 and is dealing with the believers work and approval before God.
In I Timothy 3:15 “if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”, Paul is telling Timothy how Christians should behave with one another and not necessarily within the church building.
As we come back to 2 Timothy 2:20 we see that Paul is referencing to the quality of the body of believers rather than the size of its buildings or membership.
The word great comes from the greek word MEGAS and means both great, loud, or overcome. When Paul says a great church he is talking about a church that is a body of believers that is living victoriously and is a voice of truth.
In the following verses Paul lays out the steps needed to have a great church.
Do you desire a great church?
What does a great church look like to you?
Are you helping to make this church a great church or are you a hindrance?
1. There must be a truthful inventory.
1. There must be a truthful inventory.
Verse 20 shows that there are 2 categories of vessels within the church. As a result one will bring glory to God while the other is the unworthy Christian that is not to be mimicked.
God is fully knowledgable concerning our heart and value to His church but are we aware? Do we know where we are spiritually?
Often those who
A. Gold and Silver
A. Gold and Silver
Those things that have a place of honor. There is a distinct difference in the 4 components mentioned. All are naturally found in the earth but 2 are common place and have minimal value while the other 2 are rare and beautiful.
Gold and silver both have value . However, their value is only in what we place in them. Likewise our value is found in Jesus.
What makes these precious metals valuable?
Both are malleable. That it is they are easily shaped.
When they hold their highest value they have been purified.
They are reflective.
Easily repairable.
B. Wood and Earth
B. Wood and Earth
Those that are used but are not pure.
It is nearly impossible to remove impurities from wood and earth.
Wood is difficult to bend and clay can be molded but once set is unmovable.
They are absorbent rather than reflective
C. A self purging.
C. A self purging.
This will be evident by our sanctification and ability and willingness to work.
One of the greatest dangers is when we no longer seek growth. If we come to a place where we think we have it all figured out and defiant, then we are usually in worse shape than we could imagine.
2. There must be a maturing of the Believers.
2. There must be a maturing of the Believers.
A. A rejection of a dishonorable lifestyle.
A. A rejection of a dishonorable lifestyle.
2 Tim. 3:1-7
a. Self-promoting
b. God denying
c. Fleshly focused
B. A Pursuit of Godliness.
B. A Pursuit of Godliness.
a. Righteousness
b. Faith
c. Charity
d. Peace
3. From the pastors heart.
3. From the pastors heart.
We must move forward
We must move forward together
We must not get ahead of God
We must have the right team in place
We must be wiling to adapt to new methods and ministries
We must never forsake the God, Gospel, or the Gifts that has been given to us. (We can move forward without forsaking where we have been.