MOOR of the Word with Pastor Chuck Pourciau

This authority with which the pastor delivers the Lord’s message is built on a fourfold foundation. First, he has a strong commitment to the authority of Scripture. If he is in any way unsure of the veracity of the Bible, his preaching will lack authority. The second stone in his foundation of authority is the right interpretation of Scripture. If he is uncertain as to its meaning, how will he effectively proclaim the message. The third foundation stone is to enforce the teaching of the Word. If practicing members of the church are living in unrepentant rebellion against the teaching of the Bible, that is not okay. The fourth foundation stone is the church’s knowledge that the preacher does not need to say what they want to hear and that he must not worry that he may offend some. The entire family of faith understands that the preacher must proclaim what pleases God or be guilty of rebelling against God himself. 

The word translated “prescribe” means to command or to order. When a pastor is proclaiming the clear truth of Scripture, he doesn’t have to soft-pedal or apologize for it. In fact, he must not. He must declare it boldly and without hesitation. It must not appear as a suggestion or one option among many. He’s not just throwing out some ideas to be considered. He is delivering not his truth, but God’s truth. 

A godly pastor lives with home that is not motivated by instant gratification. According to this verse, he has fixed his home not on immediate results but on the living God. He constantly labors with a focus on eternity, on treasures that will not deteriorate, on building up treasures in heaven. Earthly acclaim is not his goal. Instead, he has his focus on the invisible kingdom in the realm of eternity. 

As helpful as it is, physical fitness is still an earthly treasure that doesn’t carry over into eternity. We must be sure that it doesn’t become the idol in and of itself. Rather, we seek fitness so that we may be most fully usable by God in this life. We must view it as a means to an end and not as an end itself. 

The pastor must “discipline” himself for the purpose of godliness. Discipline is from gumnazo, from which we get our words gymnasium and gymnastics. It means to train or to exercise and references rigorous, strenuous, self-sacrificing training an athlete undergoes. The very idea of disciplining himself means that it doesn’t just happen naturally but that it requires effort that is often unpleasant. 

No pastor will be effective without personal godliness, since beneficial ministry flows out of a godly life. Oswald Chambers: “Spiritual ends can be achieved only by spiritual men who employ spiritual methods.”

The guarding of the Christian mind is a crucial part of sanctification. We must cultivate our minds on the things of Scripture and not clutter them with that which fights against the Scripture we study. The pastor is to have a mind saturated with the Word. 

There is no place for foolish, silly myths that are in reality the doctrines of demons. The godly minister maintains his conviction and his clarity of mind by exposing himself constantly to the Word of God, not to demonic lies that assault the Bible. Under the guise of advanced theological education and academic arrogance, many a man’s love of the truth has been destroyed and his mind hopelessly muddled. May we all pour God’s Word into our minds and avoid foolish, demonic myths. 

If Timothy were going to be used of God to instruct and warn, he had to be a model of a good servant of Jesus Christ, not a demeaning taskmaster. The way to defeat false doctrine is not only by denouncing and refuting it, but also by positively teaching and living the truth. The primary focus of the ministry is to be positive, to build up the people of God, because sanctification is more than avoiding error, it is being built up with truth.

The weakness of the church results from pastors who do not do what Paul counsels here. They have failed to draw the line clearly between truth and error and build their people up in the rich and sound doctrine of God’s Word. Such weak preachers are often said to compensate by having what some call a “pastor’s heart.” MacArthur: “A pastor’s heart, however, is not measured by how good a man is at petting sheep, but by how well he protects them from wolves and feeds them so they grow to be mature and strong.”

Timothy will be performing a valuable service by “pointing out these things to the brethren.” The pastor should not be known for constantly negative preaching, but proper warnings do have their place. To fail is to fail to teach the whole truth and to mislead the hearers. 

The dietary regulations of the Old Testament were temporary, intended to teach Israel the importance of discernment and to isolate them from the pagan societies that surrounded them. To reimpose these eating restrictions now would be to manufacture a works righteousness system that denies the work of Christ and dishonors God.

Mandatory celibacy and abstinence from foods in general or particular is the teaching of demons. It denies the goodness of God’s creation, and robs him of the glory and praise he is due for that goodness. It also is a denial of God’s truth, as revealed in his Word. Mere externalism neither pleases God nor promotes genuine spirituality.