Articles
Finish the Job
One of Paul’s purposes in writing 2 Corinthians was to encourage the church at Corinth to complete the financial commitment they had made a year earlier to help needy brethren in Judea. The Apostle urged, “But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability” (8:11).
Finish the job. That is sound advice, applicable in many situations.
Let’s begin where Paul did. Finish the job of giving. Good intentions do not supply the need, either of the poor among us, the local church, or preachers abroad. “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18).
Finish the job of studying. Of course, we are never finished with this one. I am thinking about those New Year’s resolutions to spend so much time a day reading and studying God’s word—you know, the ones we keep a few weeks, then neglect, then finally abandon altogether. “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).
Finish the job of teaching. Good example is a starting place (Matthew 5:16). You cannot teach without it. But more than example is needed if you are going to convert people to Christ. You must speak to them about their souls. “If the name of the Savior is precious to you . . . will you not tell it today?”
Finish the job of repenting. Repentance is not just acknowledging that you are wrong. It involves sorrow for sin, but it is more than that. Repentance is a change of heart and a corresponding change of life. Don’t stop part way through the process. “. . . unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
Finish the job of obeying the gospel. Faith is essential, but faith alone does not justify (James 2:24). You must repent (Acts 3:19). You must confess Christ before men (Romans 10:9-10). You must be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). And you must “finish the course” by keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Don’t meet the Lord in judgment having met only some of His conditions for salvation.
Finish this article. Think about other things in the Lord’s service that you have started and need to complete.
