Theological term
Ecclesiastical Accountability
2 sermons · All terms
The Conduct of a Faithful Minister
What does faithful gospel ministry look like in practice? Expounding 1 Timothy 4:12–16 at an ordination service, this sermon works through four apostolic charges Paul lays on Timothy: the minister must be an example to the flock in word, conduct, love, faith, and purity; he must give sustained public attention to Scripture reading, exhortation, and doctrine; he must meditate on these things and give himself entirely to personal growth in godliness; and he must persevere in both personal holiness and sound doctrine, because the stakes of gospel ministry extend to the eternal welfare of those who hear. The sermon closes with a direct charge to the ordinand and to the congregation forming a new church plant, and with an evangelistic appeal grounding the seriousness of the gospel ministry in God's concern to save sinners through it.
Free Grace Baptist Church - November 19, 2017 AM
Preached at the ordination of a new elder, this exposition of 1 Timothy 4:12–16 sets forth four charges Paul lays upon Timothy as a faithful minister of the gospel: the minister's example in life and conduct, his public ministry of reading, exhortation, and doctrine, his personal growth through devoted meditation on apostolic truth, and his perseverance in both personal holiness and sound doctrine. The sermon insists that ministers are made by God and vetted by the church, not self-appointed, and that the gravity of the office lies in this: faithful gospel ministry is the ordained means by which God saves sinners and sanctifies his people. The congregation is charged to receive the gift of an ordained minister with joy, to prize the public means of grace, and to reject heresy with earnestness alongside their pastor.