2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NASB)
1 I solemnly 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:
2 preach the word; be ready
in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great
patience and instruction.
3 For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled,
they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their
own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and
will turn aside to myths.
Intro:
Paul’s Charge– Paul seeks to point out the seriousness of Timothy’s Divine commission
• This solemn charge carries the idea of giving a forceful order or directive
• God is our judge and He judges by a criteria revealed in scripture, not what people think
• When it comes to teaching and preaching we must understand that Gods judgment is more severe.(James 3:1)
Paul’s Command– Paul’s command to preach the word is the first of nine imperatives or commands that we find in this passage of scripture.
• In the New Testament to preach is from the Greek word KERUSSO which means to herald, to proclaim aloud publicly Gods’ word.
• To preach the Word is to proclaim the full council of God- Timothy 3:16
• In the last part of Paul’s command He reminds Timothy that he is to be faithful in season and out of season
• Timothy is not to compromise during difficult times
Paul’s Concern– Paul is concerned because he knows there is difficulty ahead for Timothy.
• A time is coming when people will not want to hear the word of God.
• Many will reject sound doctrine because they love their sin.
• People are willing to exchange the truth of Gods Word for a lie.
• Sound preaching confronts and rebukes sin however; people who love their sinful lifestyle will not tolerate it.
Application:
Now you may be thinking if this is instruction to the preacher, what does it have to do with me?
- Whatever is true for the preacher; you must hold the preacher to that. It is a point of accountability
- The responsibility of “preaching the word and handling it with precision and accuracy” as the pastors responsibility it is not limited to only him.
- As a congregation, what are you doing to make sure you handle the word of God accurately and with precision?
- Are you like the Bereans, in Acts 17 where they examined the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was telling them was true?
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