2 Timothy 4:1-5 - PREACH THE WORD
- Chad Werkhoven
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
The Church's primary strategy is to provide 'food for your soul'.
2 Timothy 4:1–5 (NIV)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Canons of Dordt
Point 4 - Irresistible Grace
Article 17: God’s Use of Means in Regeneration
Just as the almighty work by which God brings forth and sustains our natural life
does not rule out
but requires the use
of means,
by which God, according to his infinite wisdom and goodness, has wished to exercise that divine power,
so also the aforementioned supernatural work by which God regenerates us
in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel,
which God in great wisdom has appointed to be
the seed of regeneration
and the food of the soul.
For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God,
to give God the glory and to humble all pride,
and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people,
by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel,
under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline.
So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church
should presume to test God by separating what God in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together.
For grace is bestowed through admonitions,
and the more readily we perform our duty,
the more lustrous the benefit of God working in us usually is,
and the better that work advances.
To God alone,
both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness,
all glory is owed forever. Amen.
Summary
There was a time - not too long ago - that churches all over North America set out to craft catchy mission and strategy statements, as these were supposedly the key to unbridled growth. A mission statement defines an organization's purpose and goal, while strategy statements give an overview of how the mission will be accomplished. Committees were formed, consultants brought in, and word-smithing ensued, resulting in rambling, run-on sentences which were then proudly displayed so that all would know the what, why & how of each particular congregation.
Having a mission/strategy statement for your church isn't a bad thing. It's just that the Bible had provided these statements long before they became trendy. Jesus launched the Church with the expressed mission to make disciples. And Paul here provides the strategy for doing so: PREACH THE WORD.
There have been times in history where this strategy has been very much in season; churches were full on the Lord's Day (and often on the days in between as well), and there have been lots of times when preaching has been out of season; literally translated, there've been good times and bad times to be a preacher. I like the way the NET Bible translates it: preachers must be ready whether it is convenient or not.
Paul writes that the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. In many regards, that time is continual. We've been reminded over and over this year of the noetic effect of sin, which causes people to instinctually flee from truth. So the fact that our culture seems to be so rabidly rejecting the Church's preaching ought not alarm you. It's nothing new; it only seems louder and more vicious since the internet amplifies it.
Dig Deeper
Paul here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, not only makes the church's strategy crystal clear: PREACH THE WORD, but he details what good preaching does. It:
CORRECTS - Biblical preaching exposes the sin of those who set themselves under it. It doesn't do so just to lay on a heavy guilt trip, but rather to point the sinner to repentance and forgiveness in the grace of Christ Jesus. Biblical preaching then moves the listener from sin into habits and actions consistent with the full counsel of God's Word
REBUKES - Calvin comments here that preachers must rebuke their congregations as needed in order to "shake off our sluggishness."
ENCOURAGES - Preaching is NOT just heavy handed correction and rebuking. It also brings consolation and encouragement. The actual word Paul uses here is parakaleō, which means to call out from alongside. It describes one person coming alongside another to motivate and build up. The Bible uses the noun form of this word to describe the Holy Spirit.
The Church's principle strategy - PREACHING THE WORD - must be done with great patience and careful instruction. It is the principle means of grace through which God saves His people.
These verses are critical for preachers like me to prioritize my work, but keep in mind that although you probably don't do so from behind a pulpit, you too are a preacher in that you are equipped and expected to proclaim the gospel in the contexts in which you live and work on a daily basis.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has given His Church a clear mission & strategy;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you would set yourself under solid Biblical preaching each Lord's Day, and that you yourself would informally preach the Word whether it's convenient or not;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Timothy 4
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