Today’s Thoughts – 14 January 2021
By T. S. Candee on January 14, 2021 in Second Timothy Thoughts
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
As we continue to think about false teachers and how we must separate ourselves from them, we come to these wonderful verses by Paul about doing just that. The vessels that are honorable in verse 20 refer to believers in the church who have a right relationship with God. The vessels that are dishonorable are those that are under false teachings.
As Christians who desire God to use us, we must separate ourselves from false teachers and those who follow them. When we come in contact with something that is corrupt, we will become corrupt as well, thus proving us to be dishonorable in God’s sight. If we are to be “meet for the master’s use,” we need to “purge [ourselves] from these” and be an honorable vessel.
And with separation comes union with those who have also separated. We are to fellowship and spend time with those who “call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” After we have separated from the world, the flesh, the devil, and all the false teachings, we can follow righteousness, faith, charity (pure love), and peace. And we can do it with like-believers who are also separating and following the same things.
This is a perfect picture of what the local church should resemble. Howbeit instead, we have dishonorable vessels in our congregations. Let it not be so! Let us all desire to be honorable vessels for God, purging the dishonorable vessels from our fellowship, and instead, following after the fruit of the Spirit and fellowshipping with like-believers.
