A CHURCH THAT PREACHES THE WORD

Text: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

1. Preach The Word (vv. 1-2)

• v. 1 – Paul paints a picture for Timothy, a picture of Timothy one day standing before God Almighty in a heavenly

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  giving testimony before God concerning his own ministry on earth.
  • God will Judge everyone (i.e. the living and the dead) including preachers, apostles, church members, etc.

  1)

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  the Word

  2) Be ready

  3) Reprove

  • The term reprove means to “prove,” “convince,” “refute,” or “persuade.” It carries the idea of
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    incorrect ideas with correct ideas.
  • When God’s Word is preached, one of things God wants the preaching of His Word to do it correct wrong thinking and wrong ideas with right thinking and right ideas.

  4) Rebuke

  • To rebuke is to call attention to wrongdoing and assign responsibility.
  • It is closely related to “reprove,” except that the desired response is
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    instead of conviction.

  5) Exhort

  • The name for the Holy Spirit (Gr – Paraclete) is derived from this verb, parakaleo, which pictures a coach encouraging an athlete-in-training.
  • A coach challenges and corrects, but a coach must also comfort and encourage.

2. Preach Faithfully (vv. 3-5)

• Why?

  1) They will not

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  (vv. 3-4)
  • Charles Swindoll:
    Paul is saying here that “people will find the truth of God to be so torturous to their sinful desire that they will refuse to endure it.”

  2) You will fulfill your ministry (v. 5)

  • The word fulfill in Greek means “to bring to complete
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    or satisfaction.”
  • The word for ministry simply means service.

  • Paul encouraged Timothy to bring his ministry to complete fullness.

  • We do this when we serve others practically, physically, financially, spiritually, etc. to the fullest extent possible.

  • The point it to serve in such a way that it allows for the person you are serving to be saved and to come to a place of maturity and fruitfulness.

Bottom line: To fulfill the ministry God has given to us we must be known for preaching the Word.