practical lessons of the Pastoral Epistles: the soundness of a church depends on ministers and leaders who are sound in their faith and practice.

The Apostle Paul focuses on Timothy, the example of the good minister, who must pursue spiritual priorities and pay attention to his lifestyle and calling. The minister is to be a model. In the minister’s life and ministry God's Word and its application must be central. Attention to these basics will make a critical difference.

Some spiritual priorities most essential for the development and maintenance of a sound spiritual life:

-Nourishment from God's Word (4:6)

-Training in godliness (4:7-9)

-Mission (4:10)

-An exemplary Christian lifestyle

-Exercise of spiritual gifts and calling (4:14)

-Requires diligence and progress

The one called to leadership in the church has received God's special appointment. God's choice of Timothy was announced or verified through prophecy and then publicly recognized as the elders laid hands on him (compare 1:18; Acts 13:2-3). Ordination in the church today functions similarly, to recognize God's binding choice and publicly bless the minister for service. The gift makes ministry possible. The calling makes ministry obligatory or necessary.

One reward for dedication like this is progress. Progress in the faith would close the mouths of Timothy's older critics. But more important, progress of this kind is evidence of a vital and deepening relationship with the Lord. If the leadership of a church pays diligent attention to personal spiritual priorities and sound worship principles, its ministry is bound to bear fruit. The Fruit of Effective Ministry (4:16)

Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them. Paul describes the end result of the good minister's efforts in Christ as salvation: you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Salvation is indeed the goal. In biblical vernacular it signifies a process of development that begins with belief in Christ (conversion) and the gift of new life in the Spirit (regeneration) and will end (our glorification) with the return of Christ. In this life we experience the process of salvation as stages of growth in "Christlikeness," [putting on the new self] (Col 3:11), working out our salvation (Phil 2:12)

Essential to growth, however, is the ministry of God's Word in preaching and teaching in the church, from which we draw spiritual nourishment, as well as the modeling of godliness by the more mature for those younger in the faith.

Essential, too, for the salvation process is faithfulness in carrying out the calling of God. Effective ministry is ministry in which the Word of God is applied to individual lives and to all situations in life.