"Preach the Word."

“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: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 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; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

(rf. 2 Tim. 4:1–5NKJV)

            The Apostle Paul in his last letter of ministry writes to his son in the faith, Timothy. He has all along been encouraging his protégé to be strong and of good courage, to go forth in faith to serve the Lord in his particular calling as a pastor of his flock. Paul is basically in this letter “passing the baton” to Timothy, knowing that he is wrapping up his ministry on earth, preparing to make his transition to the very Presence of the Lord to whom he has given his life in service all of these many years. He wants Timothy to follow his example and to be faithful to the Lord even as Paul has endeavored to be.

            To that end, Paul warns Timothy of a time yet to come when the fickleness of people within the Church will desire their felt needs met and to follow the latest trends (“according to their own desires”), rather than the solid spiritual food of Scriptural teaching and “sound doctrine”. This growing, vocal group will pursue after non-truths (“fables”) with no regard that their path is leading them far away from Biblical truth. Because “their itching ears” need so desperately to be scratched (or are perceived so), this activist movement within the Church will not be satisfied with the few leaders who agree with their perspective, but not only will gather more, but will “heap up for themselves teachers” whose purpose is to expound and exponentially grow the movement all the more. In other words, in the mind of Paul, this is a very dangerous and potentially poisonous situation of which Timothy must not only be aware but must stand against! How then does the normally reserved Timothy do this?

            Paul’s response for Timothy is quite simple: “Preach the Word”! Paul understands that there is no greater power nor weapon in hand than that of the Scriptures articulately and expertly wielded. Paul has been educated by Gamaliel in the Old Testament (rf. Acts 22:3) and by Christ Himself in its connection to the Gospel and His teachings (rf. Gal. 1:11-17). Paul knew the power of the Word firsthand. Therefore, he knew by holding to the simplicity of sharing God’s Word with the Church consistently and with boldness by the power of the Holy Spirit, Timothy would be able to halt the advance of their pernicious beliefs and reverse the course of any headway their poison may have made in the life of the Church. Paul knew that by pursuing this course, Timothy would undoubtedly experience many “afflictions”; however, the way of faithfulness is a difficult one, as Paul knew well. The only way to safeguard the well-being of the Church was for Timothy, like Paul, to continue forward with the message of the Gospel of Christ unchanged and undiminished, sharing it with all (“do the work of an evangelist”), making the most of his particular calling (“fulfill your ministry”).

            This same encouragement is needed in our day. It is as if the Apostle Paul looked down the halls of time and disclosed to Timothy what was happening in the 21^stcentury American Church. We are definitely a consumer-driven entity, if we are to be honest with ourselves. Our likes and wants determine where we go to church far more than where God is most worshipped and where our spiritual gifts can be best used. If we are the least offended in something, we either decide that we will not go to “that church” any longer or any church for that matter or we will begin to “shop around”.  We are no better than those Paul speaks of: “according to their desires”. 

            An entire book could be written on how Scriptural truth has been jettisoned in favor of politically correct positions that provide cover for all manner of sinful behaviors and acts that, when are taken objectively into account by a thorough exegetical study of the Bible, are found to be abhorrent to God. What is being created is a new religion altogether in the name of God that nullifies all sin, the need for forgiveness, and the requirement for Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. This new religion, a counterfeit of Christianity, would be desirable for all and to all, but requires nothing from anyone other than belief in a Jesus of pure love with no change regarding life or repentance from sin.

            Paul’s words to Timothy are the same antidote for this poison in our day: “Preach the Word”! One must know the truth in order to point out and do away with the counterfeit. As one who long ago pledged his life to serve the One who saved his soul, I personally have chosen to follow both Paul and Timothy in the same vein. There is no other means of true salvation than is found in the blood of Christ Jesus. Jesus came “to save His people from their sins” (rf. Matt. 1:21). My hope is that His people will not be easily led astray by the appeal of their own desires but will hold fast to the lasting truths and “sound doctrine” of the Scriptures for only in them is true life found.