2 Timothy 4:1-5 - Preach the Word

 

1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:  2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

The imprisoned apostle is coming to the end of his letter and the end of his life.  He uses some strong words with his successor.  "I charge you before God & the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead" (v1).   This will sure make you stand up straight and pay attention.   Timothy won't answer to Paul ... he will answer to God.  Paul's strongest exhortation is "preach the word" (v2) and he tells him to do it,  with strong conviction, because he knows what happens if they listen to the 'smooth talkers' (v3) that he has mentioned several times in this letter. If they don't hear and know the truth, they'll be under the spell of the fairy tales, and doomed as a result.     

This scripture is as necessary today as it was then.  People fill church buildings to hear  'believe in yourself'. 'love yourself', or 'here are 5 steps to improve your relationships'. Then there are the health, wealth and prosperity preachers,  who are also tickling ears and feelings of the biblically ignorant... spreading the lies that God wants you healthy and wealthy, leading the sheep straight to the wolf dens.  Some things never change, but the consequences are eternal.

Preachers were busy becoming liked and popular, much like today, more like 'life coaches' than Bible teachers.  They dress like 'bros', tell cute stories about themselves and appeal to the fleshly desires of the carnal mind and draw people away from the truth that saves.  That's why Paul uses such a strong exhortations... souls hang in the balance.  

"Preach the word".... in season and out.... when they want to hear it or not... when they applaud your and when they complain about the message... you don't change the content or your style... you preach the Word... not your words,  God's word.  It's not going to be easy, you're not going to be popular, it's going to take diligence and people will mock you.  That's why he tells Timothy to be watchful, to endure hardship and fulfill his ministry.  

  As he prepares to say 'farewell', he stresses with all he has left, that Timothy needs to 'preach the word' at all costs.  Paul has been watchful, endured hardship and fulfilled his ministry, and he exhorts Timothy before God to do the same.  The word of God is the power the Holy Spirit uses to bring conviction and salvation.  Paul knows it is life-changing. It changed his life and it changed Timothy's and it changed our own.  It is the reason he has endured his hard ministry. It is the reason that he is certain that he will soon be at the feet of his Redeemer.   Of all the things he wants to emphasize to his apprentice before he expires, it's this - Preach the word Timothy.