2 Timothy 2:20, 21 - Vessel of Honor or Dishonor?

2Ti.2:20, 21; Vessel of Honor or Dishonor?

2 Tim 2:20, 21 (KJV)  But in a great house there are not only 
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some 
to honour, and some to dishonour. 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. 

2 Tim 2:20,21 (CEV)  In a large house some dishes are made of 
gold or silver, while others are made of wood or clay.  Some of these 
are special, and others are not.  That's also how it is with people. 
 The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure will 
become special.  Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, 
and they will be able to do all kinds of good deeds. 

2 Tim 2:20, 21 (TLB)  In a wealthy home there are dishes made of 
gold and silver as well as some made from wood and clay. The 
expensive dishes are used for guests, and the cheap ones are used in the 
kitchen or to put garbage in. If you stay away from sin you will be like 
one of these dishes made of purest gold--the very best in the 
house--so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes. 

That is a practical truth which Jesus had stated long before, in 
the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt 13:24-30, Matt 
13:36-43). The point of that parable is that the wheat and the tares grow 
together, and, in the early stages, are so like each other that it is 
impossible to separate them. He stated it again in the Parable of the 
Drag-net (Matt 13:47-48). The drag-net gathered of every kind. In both 
parables Jesus teaches that the Church is necessarily a mixture and that 
human judgment must be suspended, but that God's judgment will in the 
end make the necessary separations. [Barclay Commentary] 

In the shop of a blacksmith, there are three types of tools.
There are tools on the junkpile: outdated, broken, dull, 
rusty.... 
There are tools on the anvil: melted down, molten hot, moldable, 
changeable.... 
There are tools of usefulness: sharpened, primed, defined, 
mobile. They lie ready in the blacksmith's toolchest, available to their 
master, fulfilling their calling....  
We are all somewhere in the blacksmith's shop. We are either on 
me scrap pile, on the anvil, in the Master's hands, or in the 
toolchest. (Some of us have been in all three.) .... 
From the shelves to the workbench, from the water to the fire....
I'm sure that somewhere you'll see yourself....
The rubbish pile of broken tools, the anvil of recasting, the 
hands of the Master--it's a simultaneously joyful and painful voyage. 
And for you who make the journey -- who leave the heap and enter 
the fire, dare to be pounded on God's anvil, and doggedly seek to 
discover your own purpose -- take courage, for you await the privilege of 
being called "God's chosen instruments." (From On The Anvil by Max 
Lucado) [Inspirational SB] 

The practice of godliness involves the pursuit of holiness 
because God has said, "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). Paul 
tells us that we have been called to a holy life; we have been 
redeemed for that purpose. Any Christian who is not earnestly pursuing 
holiness in every aspect of his life is flying in the face of God's 
purpose in saving him. 
What is holiness? The best practical definition that I have 
heard is simply "without sin."..... 
John said he wrote his first letter so that his readers would 
not sin (1 John 2:1). Most Christians seem content not to sin very 
much, but John's goal was that we not sin at all. Every sin, no matter 
how small it may seem to us, is an affront to God's authority, a 
disregard for his law, a spurning of his love. Because of this, sin cannot 
be tolerated in any form, to any degree.... 
.... When Paul was instructing the Ephesian Christians about the 
importance of holiness he said, "So I tell you this, and insist on it in 
the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do" (4:17). 
He insisted on holiness, and he did so with the Lord's authority. 
Holiness is not an option but a must for every Christian.... 
If we want to train ourselves to be godly, it must be holiness 
in every area of our lives. Jerry Bridges [Time With God SB] 

Honored vessels are cleansed vessels (2:20-21). Paul gave three 
descriptions of how to find cleansing: flee lusts (2:22); refuse arguments or 
speculations (2:23); and be patient and gentle (2:24-26). These attributes 
describe a useful vessel (2:21) and one that will keep the gospel, not 
self-interest, in mind (2:10). [New Bible Companion] 

What kind of vessels are meet for the Master's use?--Empty 
vessels. When we empty the soul of every defilement, we are ready for 
use. 7BC918   

The treasure of the gospel is in earthen vessels, and it is 
God's power alone that can make them vessels of honor. TM404   

Today you are to have your vessel purified, that it may be ready 
for the heavenly dew, ready for the showers of the latter rain; for 
the latter rain will come, and the blessing of God will fill every 
soul that is purified from every defilement. It is our work today to 
yield our souls to Christ, that we may be fitted for the time of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord--fitted for the baptism of the 
Holy Spirit. . . EV701,2 

The choices you and I make each day either tarnish us or polish 
us to a higher degree of purity and usefulness. [Victor Bible 
Reader's Companion] 

"Behold, LORD, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My LORD, 
fill it. I am weak in the faith, strengthen me. I am cold in love; 
warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor. 
I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am 
unable to trust You altogether. O LORD, help me. In you I have sealed 
the treasure of all I have. Therefore I will remain with You, of 
whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give." Martin Luther [The 
365-Day Devotional Commentary]