2 Timothy 2:2
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others
also.”
The Christian’s responsibility is to bear fruit. Jesus says in John 15:8, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” You will never be a good Christian until you have fruit that remains.
However, you can’t have fruit unless you take what has been given to you and give it to someone else. That is what Paul was telling Timothy in the verse above when he said, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men…” If you want to have fruit that remains, you are going to have to stop being inward focused on yourself and become an outward focused Christian who trains others. According to these verses, there are five things you need to commit “to faithful men.”
First, commit to them the importance of being faithful. It is interesting the God didn’t say just to commit to men, but He said to “faithful men.” In other words, God wants the Christian to be faithful. You can’t stress enough the importance of being faithful to the LORD. Be faithful to the LORD’s church. Be faithful to the His Word. Be faithful to the LORD’s commission to win souls. It is important for every Christian to be faithful in all that they do, which means you must be faithful if you are going to commit it to others.
Second, commit to them the importance of endurance. God says to “endure hardness.” You will never be a good Christian if you don’t learn to keep going in hard times. There are going to be hard times that every Christian must endure, but the good soldier keeps going in spite of the hardness. This doesn’t mean that you will enjoy what you are enduring, but you must endure it. There will be things that you won’t like, but you must endure it if you want to please the LORD.
Third, commit to them the importance of staying focused. God warns the Christian about being entangled “with the affairs of this life.” My friend, you are going to have to watch that you don’t become sidetracked by good issues. There are many worthy causes, but you must stay focused on what the LORD wants you to do. Staying focused on God’s will for your life is imperative. Don’t get involved with anything that can sidetrack you, and don’t let anything you are doing pull you away from God’s will for your life.
Fourth, commit to them the importance of remembering. God talks about remembering the faith and remembering not to involve yourself in babbling that “will increase unto more ungodliness.” Be careful that you don’t forget the faith. Always measure everything you involve yourself in with the faith. In other words, let your faith determine if something is right or wrong. Don’t let your preferences become your measurement of right and wrong. Always keep the faith as the foundation for all practice and beliefs.
Fifth, commit to them the importance of studying. God commands the Christian to study His Word. If the Christian is faithful to studying the Word of God with a heart to follow the LORD, they will never fail to commit these things to others. My friend, stay in the Word, and the Word will keep you walking straight and committing to others so that you have fruit that remains.