Jesus’ Only Program: Preach The Word “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” 2 Timothy 4:2 2 Timothy 4:1-8 Here is Paul’s last will and testament to the Church. Now this gets personal for me, because Paul’s charge is specifically made to pastors who are called of God to preach and teach the Scriptures. But the whole Church can learn a lot about the importance of the Word from this passage. There’s no question here that Paul saw his death as imminent. These verses carry the solemnity of a will being read to the family by an attorney and then being carried out according to the wishes of the deceased. But there’s nothing morbid or gloomy about this. Paul wasn’t afraid of death, because he was ready. He was looking forward to hearing Jesus say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” And by the way, the “crown of righteousness” Paul anticipated isn’t just for preachers, but for “all” who love the Lord’s appearing. That includes you if you’re a born again child of God. I want you to notice what occupied Paul’s mind and heart as he wrote. It was the Word of God, the Word that Christ committed to His Church, the Word that we are commissioned to defend and proclaim, the Word that can keep the Church strong and pure if we believe it and obey it. Why was Paul so high on the Word? Because he knew it’s origin. You can’t fully appreciate how strongly Paul felt about the faithful preaching of the Word until you back up and read verses 10-17 of chapter 3. Paul knew that days of apostasy, times of falling away from the truth, were on the way. He wanted Timothy to be aware of the danger. But more than that, Paul wanted Timothy to know that he possessed the antidote to unbelief and error: the “sacred writings” (v.15), the scripture that was God-breathed and therefore totally reliable and profitable for every spiritual need we have (vv. 16-17). See the wisdom of god’s plan here? It’s what we talked about yesterday. We in the church have the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of god to guide and guard us. That’s why the Word we preach today is the same Word Paul urged Timothy to preach. God’s truth doesn’t change. If you knew you were going to die soon, what legacy would you leave behind that would benefit the body of Christ? Posted by David Coleman of The DC Ministry “Sharing The Gospel.”
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:49:55 +0000
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