Godly Examples

Wednesday night, in our introduction to the book of 2 Timothy, we thought about the need for endurance; the call to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, in the ministry that God has given each of us to do. And we said that one of the resources for such endurance is the power of godly examples. “You followed my … perseverance” Paul said to Timothy (3:10) – now keep following it (3:14)! And so we talked about finding examples of godly endurance which we might follow; and I mentioned, fairly briefly, that one source of such godly examples of endurance is to read the stories of the saints of old. With that suggestion in mind, then, here are a few such good reads (the first three of which are available on the PRBC Resource Rack ):

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson, D.A. Carson. Here is one of the most heartening books I have ever read. It’s the re-telling, as the title indicates, of the life of an ordinary pastor – a Canadian man whose ministry was never great or glamorous, who actually faced a good bit of disappointment, who eventually had to become bi-vocational, but who just kept preaching and teaching, discipling and evangelizing, visiting and praying, year after year after year. And in the end (and indeed, beyond his own life) the fruit proved marvelous. Not least is that his son, who wrote the book (sprinkled throughout with his father’s own journal entries), is perhaps the foremost New Testament scholar of our time.

Filling up the Afflictions of Christ, John Piper. This is the story of three men – William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton who (like Paul in 2 Timothy) suffered greatly in order to disseminate the gospel among those in darkness. But they kept going! And Piper tells their stories, briefly and marvelously, in this little book! It make for a good three-Lord’s-Day’s afternoon readings. (Piper’s bios of these men can also be read or listened to online at desiringgod.org).

Captain Allen Gardiner of Patagonia, Jesse Page. Here’s the story of a man who was not a preacher (but a ship captain!), but who labored, and labored, and labored for the gospel in spite of much difficulty. His death will sadden you, but his perseverance will inspire you. And the fruit of it was tremendous!

Singing in the Fire, Faith Cook. Cook employs her excellent writing skills to tell 14 brief stories of men and women (and one little girl) who suffered in various ways, but who kept going with and for Christ, “singing in the fire.” These brief re-tellings would work wonderfully for two weeks of nightly reading!

God Took Me By the Hand, Jerry Bridges. I just came across this title in an excellent review, by Geoff Thomas, in The Banner of Truth Magazine. It is now on my reading list! In it, the late Jerry Bridges, one of the excellent soul-physicians of our time, tells the story of his hardscrabble beginnings, growing up with health issues and exceedingly poor … and how God ‘took him by the hand,’ called him to Himself, and blessed his work of Bible teaching over many long years of ministry. What made me want to read the book, though, is Bridges’ statement that, over the course of his ministry, he experienced 25 years of definite blessing, 15 years of pain, and 16 years that “were neither particularly painful nor blessed.” That intrigues me! I want to know how he kept going through the painful years … and, especially, how he kept putting one foot in front of the other through 16 years of the mundane! I suspect you’d be helped by finding out, too!

So then … Paul instructed Timothy to continue in “perseverance” …  “knowing from whom [he had] learned” it (2 Tim 3:10-14). And now you know a few more people from whom you can learn it, too.

Endurance

I was struck by this word – “endurance” – in my Bible reading this week, as Paul lists it among the many qualities that make up a faithful ministry (see 2 Cor 6:1-10). And so I decided to do a little word study on the words endurance, endure, and so on … and put together a little article on what the Bible teaches on this matter.

Well! What I found was far more material, especially in the New Testament, that I had quite anticipated. The Christian’s need for endurance comes up over and over (and over!) again! There are famous verses like Matthew 24:13 (“the one who endures to the end, he will be saved”) and Hebrews 12:1 (“let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”). There are verses that pertain particularly to gospel ministers, like 1 Corinthians 9:12 (“we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel”) and 2 Timothy 4:5 (“endure hardship … fulfill your ministry”). There is (often!) the call, specifically, to endure persecution (e.g. Matt 10:22, 1 Cor 4:12, Heb 10:32ff.). And there are examples of endurance as well – Job in James 5:11, and Jesus in Hebrews 12:1-2. Indeed, I count something like twenty New Testament passages that speak of the believer’s endurance!

And I come to the same conclusion, concerning myself and my readers, as the one to which the writer of Hebrews came concerning his own readers: “You have need of endurance” (Hebrews 10:36).

Now much of the need for endurance discussed in the New Testament relates to the need to endure suffering for our faith. And that is something for us to keep in our hip pockets for circumstances that may arise in the not-too-distant future. If I live and minister long enough, I suspect I’ll be writing and preaching more and more on verses like 1 Corinthians 4:12: “when we are persecuted, we endure.”

But even before that day comes, we “have need of endurance”, have we not?

Sometimes we encourage people to sign on as Christians by holding out to them the ‘adventure’ of walking with God. And, of course, sometimes the Christian life is an adventure! But on most days and for most Christians, our lives (and even many of the spiritual aspects of them) are just … well … normal. Much of life is even mundane and run-of-the-mill. Sometimes even s l o w. We are not always called to do great things. And often we don’t have the greatest of gifts for doing even the everyday things to which God has called us. Our days are average, and so are we.

Then, on top of it all, sometimes life (and even more so, life on Christ’s narrow way) can be just plain hard. Exhausting. Painful. Sometimes even gut-wrenching. And all of this is not even including any specific persecution we may endure for our faith! Not to downplay the joy of the Christian life … but Christian joy is often accompanied by sorrow (2 Corinthians 6:10), and very often by the hum-drum.

And therefore, sometimes, we must simply put one foot in front of another (joyfully, yes … but also routinely and doggedly) – pressing on through all the ups and downs … and especially in the unchanging scenery of life’s flatlands. And therein lies part of the call for endurance – to keep truly following Christ; to not give way to the world’s way of living; to continue doing what God has called us to do, even when we are not at the peak of the mountain, and especially when don’t see immediate or spectacular results. Friedrich Nietzsche (of all people!) coined the striking phrase “a long obedience in the same direction” (taken up more recently by the Christian author, Eugene Peterson). And if an unbeliever like Nietzsche thought this was a key human trait, how much more the believer in Jesus Christ! Because so much of a life lived for Jesus is just that … a long obedience, an endurance, a perseverance to keep running the race that is set before us – eyes fixed on Jesus who, Himself, had need for endurance for 33 years in this sin-soiled world.

So press on, Christian friend! Don’t turn back. Don’t give way the American Dream. Put one foot in front of the other – looking to Jesus, keeping eternity in view, and with faith that “your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” And when you experience the joy of the Lord, even in the mundane or the miserable, you’ll know that it is really the joy of the Lord, and not just the adrenaline of the mountain top.

“You have need of endurance.”