40 Rules For Christian Ministry (Part 1)

Now that we know how to be saved, how to study the Bible, and the importance of serving God – let’s look at the process of doing just that – serving God. I’m going to share with you 40 Rules for Christian Ministry. I did not make up these rules. They come directly from the Apostle Paul, which means they come directly from God.

I chose these particular rules because they are in Paul’s final letter. He was in a Roman prison – just days or weeks from dying for preaching the Gospel. I believe Paul wanted to share the most important things that Timothy would need to know to continue the ministry they had shared for many years.

Keep in mind that these are ‘rules’ – not suggestions. Christianity is not a ‘cafeteria service’ where you can pick and choose how you serve God. God is not in the ‘cafeteria’ business. He wants His people to obey Him, bring glory to His Name, and finish the work He gave them to do. The sooner Christians understand and do that the better.

Because there are 40 ‘ministry rules’ in 2 Timothy and I want to keep these podcasts brief, I’ll spread the rules over eight episodes.

[The first five rules are from chapter 1.]

Rule #1

Have genuine faith

Paul noted that Timothy’s faith in Christ was genuine. The Greek word is anupokritos and means ‘without hypocrisy, sincere, unfeigned.’ Christians cannot have a genuine ministry unless they have a genuine faith in Jesus Christ. One of the reasons I eventually became an atheist as a teenager was because of the hypocrisy I saw in church leaders. Their ‘faith’ did not appear to be genuine. I don’t remember any of them ever sharing the Gospel with me. The way they talked and lived outside the church building was so often opposite of what I heard the pastor preach from the pulpit. If your desire is to serve God and reach people for Christ, you must have ‘genuine faith’ in Christ.

Rule #2

Stir up the gift of God which is in you

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians and Romans that every Christian has ‘spiritual gifts.’ Paul told Timothy to ‘stir up the gift’ of God that was in him. The Greek words anazópureó to charisma mean ‘kindle afresh the grace-gift’ that God gives freely to His children. The purpose? So they can serve God and share God’s love and grace with other people. All Christians have spiritual gifts, but they often need to be ‘stirred up, kindled afresh.’ Our spiritual lives and ministry can sometimes become stagnant. We get distracted or lose interest in serving God and helping others. That’s when we need a ‘stirring, a rekindling’ of love for God and others (Mark 12:29-31).

Rule #3

Don’t fear, but have a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind

Christians are human beings. That means we have many ‘fears.’ One of those fears may be ‘ministry.’ If it was easy to tell people about Jesus, more Christians would do it. The sad fact is that less than 30% of Christians talk with unbelievers about Christ (Barna Research, Lifeway Research). Why so low? Some Christians fear rejection. Some think sharing the Gospel is culturally inappropriate. They fear offending people. Others believe it’s wrong to try to change someone else’s religious beliefs. Most Christians have never had any training in how to share the Gospel with someone. Whatever the reason – ask God to give you ‘a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.’ God has given each of us a responsibility to share the TRUTH about Jesus Christ. He is the ‘only way to the Father’ (John 14:6), so why would Christians not want to let unbelievers know that?

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14-15

Rule #4

Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, but share in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God

The ‘testimony’ of the Lord speaks to being a ‘witness.’ The Greek word is marturion and means ‘evidence given.’ It carries the idea of ‘suffering’ for giving that evidence. The word ‘martyr’ is a transliteration of marturion. The context also points to the real possibility of ‘suffering’ for Christ. Paul invited Timothy to share with him in the sufferings ‘for the gospel according to the power of God.’ The Greek word translated ‘share in suffering’ is sugkakopatheó and means ‘suffer together, be a partaker in afflictions, suffer hardship in company with, share another’s ill treatment and the pains that go with it).

Keep in mind that Paul wrote 2 Timothy from a Roman prison. He suffered there, but had also suffered in many other prisons during his years in ministry. He suffered when people would stone him and scream at him to leave their city. The idea of really suffering for sharing the Gospel with people scares a lot of Christians into not talking about Christ with unbelievers. They don’t want to suffer. Timothy had seen how much Paul had suffered for telling people about Jesus, so Paul reminded him not to be ‘ashamed’ (epaischunomai) of the testimony of the Lord. The Greek word means ‘to feel shame, be disgraced, be humiliated, be singled out.’

It’s easier to just blend in with the world and not be singled out as ‘different’ than everyone else, so many Christians don’t speak openly about their faith in Christ. Remember that Jesus ‘humbled’ Himself for us when He left the comfort of Heaven and came to earth to die for our sins. He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8)

He was ‘singled out’ for suffering FOR US. The least we can do in return is to tell unbelievers about what Jesus did for them by dying on the cross and rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8).

Rule #5

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you learned from Paul

The idea of ‘holding fast the pattern of sound words’ (hupotupósis echó hugiainó logos) is to ‘retain the example of healthy words’ that Timothy had heard from Paul. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul’s words, so that means he was speaking and writing those things that God had shown and told him. ‘Holding fast’ to anything God says is a smart thing to do. Timothy needed to hear that. So do we.

I’ll share the five more rules for Christian ministry in the next podcast.

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In Christ’s Love and Grace,

Mark McGee

GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack