Sometimes, followers of Christ suffer from an excess of individualism.  Increasingly, people do not want to be instructed because they believe that they are competent to follow Jesus in their own way.  But we can only come to God through His way, and we can only please Him as we obey His Word.  At any point the church is one generation away from extinction unless God’s truth is passed on to those who have become entangled by the lies of their own flesh, the world and the devil (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Paul urged Timothy to overcome his natural shyness (2 Timothy 1:7) and reticence of instructing older people, and discipline his personal life so that he could teach the truth to the church – otherwise he would be a bad minister (1 Timothy 4:11-16).  Paul implied that there was no point in believing and living the truth if it is not passed on (2 Timothy 2:2).  The Christian faith is essentially confessional: once we understand it, we need to share it so that the church may grow in maturity and the unsaved might find their Saviour (Romans 10:8-11).

Every Word from God is nourishing.  Like milk for a baby (1 Peter 2:2) and meat for an adult (1 Corinthians 3:1-3), it contains all we need to start to live in Christ and then to grow into maturity so that we can serve Him faithfully.  Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35).  Without Him and His Word we will have no spiritual life, and nothing of value to bring life to others.

Those who bravely tell the truth and personally apply it to the lives of believers are described as ‘good ministers’.  But those who are more interested in pleasing the community around them or making a name for themselves are ‘bad ministers’.  Although it is hard to tell people that they need to change, that is all part of the work of a ‘good minister’.  Only the truth from God’s Word is strong enough to defeat the lies of Satan - who holds on tightly to people whose minds he has captured.  It is not enough for any servant of God, including Christian parents and leaders in the workplace, to know the truth: we must tell it, explain it and apply it.