2 Timothy 4:1-2
I charge you in
the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season
and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and
teaching.
Faithful
preaching of the gospel is the method that God has given His church to dispense
the riches of His grace to the world. The power and authority of the church is
in preaching! Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit stated so unequivocally,
that he was not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone
who believes (Romans 1:16). He
gave at least two important reasons:
(1)
in it the righteousness of God is revealed and
(2)
in it the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Romans 1:17).
For
the same reasons, I write to exhort you to take back your pulpit to the centre
of public worship because there is eternal good to be gained – the
righteousness of God, but also to escape the wrath of God! Therefore, he was called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, and he was
eager to preach the gospel to all (Romans
1:1,15). Preachers, you must not be ashamed of the gospel by turning to the
man-centred ‘gospels’ like philosophy, or ear-tickling business; rather be
eager to preach to all every time.
Human
beings are busy suppressing the truth of God by their thoughts, words and
actions. Introduce them to God by the message of the gospel of salvation by
grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. When there is a failure by
the church at this point, the only door of hope for sinners is shut. This is
the backdrop upon which the passage before us is written. Therefore,
1.
Here
is a the most serious charge to preach the Word
(v. 1)
This is a most explicitly solemn and divine charge. You notice it is given before God the Father and in
the presence of Christ the great and eternal Judge. God’s all-seeing eye is
keen to see if His Word is being preached faithfully. All this accumulation of
words here is meant to show the full intensity of this instruction. This is not
something that we can ignore or forget. It must be remembered and obeyed by all
at all costs for God will require an account.
This
is a perpetual charge. Timothy, you and
I are to bear in mind that this will be required by the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Judge. For this reason, Paul mentions Christ’s second appearing and His
kingdom. As long as we await this world changing event of the second coming of
Christ, as long as we are part of the commonwealth of the kingdom of Christ, as
long as Christ is our delight, we have both His mandate and a responsibility to
sinners to make Him known. Paul charges that Jesus Christ will judge both the
living and the dead. Why is Paul saying this? To make Timothy and us
be sure that we will give an account before Christ on whether we sounded the
gospel trumpet, as faithful watchmen. If
we persist in this, we will save both ourselves and our hearers (1 Tim. 4:16).
2.
Here
is a the most forthright charge to preach the Word
…
preach the word…(v.2a) The Apostle does not mince the
words given to Him by the Master, and in so doing sets an excellent example. He
directs Timothy to preach. He is to declare and proclaim the message as one who
has divine authority. The word preach here means is to be a ‘herald’, one who has been given both the
message and the commission of the Sovereign King, to speak on His behalf,
marching forth without delay with the unaltered message. In this charge authority,
faithfulness and urgency are urged. These constitute what it means to be a
herald. The work of a preacher of the gospel is not an indifferent thing; it is
absolutely important and necessary. Woe be to him if he doesn’t preach the
gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16). The
redeemed church of Christ is urged to carry on with this immediate commission –
preach the word!
The church is not charged to sing or
dramatize the word, or to practice a social gospel. If this is what the Lord
expects of us, He would have instructed us. While philanthropic activities have
their place, they must not be the central business of the church. The church
must, as of first importance, deliver the message of the gospel across the
world first and foremost by preaching. It is possible to have singing, music
and all the rest of them mistaken for entertainment. Don’t turn the gospel call
into a lullaby to put the unbelieving world to sleep! The faithful preaching of
the gospel cannot be mistaken by the world because it is the very equipment that
the Holy Spirit uses to open the hearts and eyes of the spiritually dead
sinners. Unless we use the sovereignly appointed tool of preaching the gospel,
we have nothing to give that has eternal value.
History shows that there is a great need
for every true church of Christ to deliberately make preaching the centre of
worship. Students of history know of the effects of the Reformation and Puritan
preaching in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The Great
Awakening of 18th Century, humanly speaking, could be attributed to
the preaching of George Whitfield, John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards and other
faithful preachers. C. H. Spurgeon was such a preacher and God blessed his
labours in London. The same is true of men like J.C. Ryle in Liverpool, and
Martyn Lloyd-Jones in London.
If preaching is not highly valued, then
churches greatly risk falling off the cliff. There are too many examples of
churches that have made preaching secondary – please do not add to their
number! In the Roman Catholic Church, the Lord’s Table was elevated too high
that it became the apex of their worship, to a point that they confused the
elements of the Eucharist with Christ! In most Kenyan churches music is the
main thing (considering the amount of time allocated in their worship service,
in practising, in the amount of financial investment on buying instruments or
paying workers and in the number of music personnel). This is not meant to
question the sincerity of worship leaders. Rather it is meant to bring a
redress in this area. This ‘worship’ sooner rather than later becomes an
entertainment muddle. When the Lord Jesus, through His apostle says, “Preach the word”, He is instructing
us to put the pulpit in the very centre of church life and of worship. Nothing
is more important!
3. Here
are the most clear instructions on how to preach the word
… be ready in season and out of
season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (v. 2b)
It
concerns both ministers and the church to seriously consider the account that
they must give shortly to the Lord Jesus Christ of the good news entrusted
them.
The church, by her ministers, is called to press upon this world all God’s
message with all earnestness. Preach the whole Bible – Genesis to Revelation,
verse by verse – precept upon precept, line upon line, until the whole counsel
of God is given. Do not withhold anything profitable by either adding (and so
obscuring the gospel) or subtracting (by preaching what you like). Yes,
exegetical accuracy is absolutely necessary. Be sure you have the right
hermeneutic tools before venturing up the pulpit. This is what it means to be
faithful.
The call is to be ready in
season and out of season for very
specific actions of reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with all
fervency of spirit. Specifically, the message is to call on their hearers to be
aware of sin, to repent of it, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their
only hope. The preachers are to do this with
complete patience – do not demand immediate result always, patience is
necessary with all. Paul demonstrates this when he says, “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the
faith-hearted, help the weak, be patient with them all (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
Good preaching demands sermons that are well structured and vividly
illustrated. Every sermon ought to reach every ear present and this requires
pointed application. Complete teaching demands
a well-balanced doctrinal diet or, in other words, every sermon must be
saturated with doctrinal substance.
In
and out of season means that it is to
be given when welcome and even when unwelcome. There was no invitation
letter from the Assyrian king inviting Jonah to preach in Nineveh, but there
was the word from God. Usually sinners are not going to invite us to preach to
them, although there are times when special events occur, e.g. deaths and
weddings! When they come calling you for these events, milk these opportunities
to the last drop.
Many are the times when we have
to press the message upon them. We have to acknowledge that the world is too
chained, blinded and stifled by devil’s deception to call out for help. It is
for this reason that we should not sugar-coat the gospel with any worldly
glaze. We must not make things comfortable for them; rather, our call is to
preach pure and unadulterated Word of God. Moreover, let not any opportunity
slip away. Do not shift off the duty, under pretence that it is out of season;
it is a serious message that must not be delayed.
It is a direct message of “reproving,
rebuking…” – tell people of their faults with gravity and authority, in
Christ's name. “Exhorting…” – Convince
wicked people of the evil and danger of their wicked courses. Endeavour in
teaching, by speaking simply but profoundly; directly but wisely; urgently but
patiently, in order to bring them to repentance. Do not leave them in
ignorance; rather instruct them so that they may be made wise for salvation.
In conclusion, you have read
the most serious, forthright and clear instructions on what is to be done in
the church of Christ. If you are a pastor,
labour in preaching, because your duty and business is to preach – “do your best to present yourself to God as
one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word
of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). If
you are Christian, let the word of God dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). But if
you find yourself in a church that is malnourished in God’s Word – leave it
before you starve to death. Look for a church that is deliberate in the
faithful and expository preaching of the God’s Word. Every true church of Christ must endeavour to have
the pulpit at the centre – therein lies your authority and the power. The
church is the beautiful bride of Christ when it is ‘bibline’ that is, speaking
the language of the Groom as in His Word.
This article appears on the Grace & Truth Magazinne, issue 124
ReplyDeleteYou may get your virtue copy on:
http://www.trinity.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Grace-Truth-124.pdf