1. Seven Cameos of the Faithful Christian

2. The first cameo is of a steward (v1-2). We are stewards of the spiritual treasure God has given us. We are called to guard this deposit and invest it in others lives. They too are to pass it on.

3. The second cameo is of a soldier (v3-4; 8-13). A good soldier... *endures hardship (v3), *avoids worldly entanglements (v4), *magnifies the CO (Jesus)(v8-9), *thinks of the whole army (v10), & *trusts the CO (v11-13).

4. The third cameo is of an athlete (v5). Paul had already encouraged Timothy to exercise like an athlete (1Tim 4:7-8). Here he urges Timothy (& us) to obey the rules so we do not get disqualified. If a competitor won, but had broken the rules, he was stripped of his crown.

5. The fourth cameo is of a farmer (v6-7). Farming is hard work, often involving long hours. Mostly the rewards are very poor. Ploughing, sowing, watering, harvesting are likened to various aspects of ministry. A farmer needs patience. But also, the farmer enjoys the first taste of what he has grown.

6. The fifth cameo is of a workman (v14-18). The sense here is to be diligent in the work so that when the work is inspected for quality control, there will not be any need to redo it bringing shame. An approved worker will be conscientious to study God’s word diligently and will apply it to his own life.

7. The sixth cameo is of utensils or vessels that perform different functions (v19-22). He divides them into either honourable (true teachers) which are valuable or dishonourable (false teachers) which are not valuable. Timothy’s name means ‘God-honouring’. So Paul was telling Timothy to live up to his name.

8. The seventh cameo is of a servant (v23-26). The word Paul uses is ‘slave’. Slaves had no rights, and were totally at the mercy of their masters. Paul is the slave of Jesus. Paul encouraged Timothy to keep on teaching those who opposed him, and hopefully they will recover (v26).

9. The seven cameos of a faithful Christian : *Steward*Soldier*Athlete*Farmer*Workman *Utensil / Vessel *Servant

10. © 8 th October 2011 Kevin Sarlow