BEN F. VICK, JR.
Paul, the prison-bound apostle, wrote to Timothy, the young preacher: “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; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:1-4). One might think that this solemn charge to Timothy, who had traveled on many evangelistic journeys with Paul, was superfluous. But Timothy, as well as we, needed to be reminded of our obligation to the Lord.
“Preach” is from a Greek word which means to proclaim, or herald, as a town crier. We are told:
“The herald was someone who had important news to bring. He often announced an athletic event or religious festival, or functioned as a political messenger, the bringer of some news or command from the king’s court. He was to have a strong voice and proclaim his message with vigor without lingering to discuss it. The herald’s most important qualification was that he faithfully represent or report the word of the one by whom he had been sent. He was not to be ‘original’ but his message was to be that of another.” (Rienecker/Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, p. 619).
In a brief study of the job description of a herald, we learn that he was a mouthpiece, devoid of all personal significance, without power to modify the message entrusted to him. It was the message that was all-important. Thus, preachers should lose themselves in the message they are delivering.
The message that is to be delivered is “the word.” There are other terms which are synonymous with “the word.”; yet, each has a different nuance. In the same context, Paul writes of “sound doctrine” and “the truth.” In other places the message is called “the gospel” (Mk. 16:15; 1 Cor. 15:1-4), “the faith” (Acts 6:7; Gal. 1:23; Jude 3), “Christ” or “Jesus” (Acts 8:5, 35), and “the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18).
The time of delivering this message is given in Paul’s charge to Timothy. He wrote, “...be instant in season, out of season.” Brother Marshall Keeble said this meant to preach it when they want it and when they don’t. The American Standard states, “...be urgent in season, out of season.” Gospel preachers must see the urgency of the message. Though we must be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” we cannot wait for a convenient season. Gospel preaching is always in season.
Preaching the word entails reproving. The word in the original means, “...to prove with demonstrative evidence, to convict, to reprove. It means to so rebuke another, with such effectual feeling of the victorious arms of the truth, as to bring one, if not always to a confession, yet at least to a conviction of, sin.” (Op. cit., p. 647). In the minds of some today, to fulfill this divine obligation would be to demonstrate an unloving attitude toward another. But those who think this way have drunk too long from the philosophers of the world. Because one loves the truth, his own soul and the souls of others, he will reprove sin (Eph. 4:15; Rev. 3:19).
Besides reproving, there is rebuking to be done in preaching. The Greek word from which “rebuke” is translated carries the idea of censure and sharp rebuke. If one is unwilling to execute this command, he need not get into preaching; or if he is a preacher and refuses to obey this command, he should get out. Paul commanded Titus, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Tit. 2:15).
A very important part of preaching is exhortation. Paul said to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” Those faithful to the word of God need to be encouraged to remain steadfast. If a father constantly criticizes his child, he will grow discouraged (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21). Preachers must regularly consider the spiritual food which they give to the congregation. “Am I preaching ‘all the counsel of God’?” is a query preachers must constantly consider.
The proclaiming of God’s word must be characterized by long-suffering. Sometimes preachers get discouraged because they see little results from their efforts. One might feel as did Elijah. Yet, preachers are admonished to be patient. Don’t quit. Never underestimate the value of one voice crying in the wilderness. Let us sow the seed and leave the increase to God. (I Cor. 3:6). Paul exhorted, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9). Remember: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:8-11).
The reason given in the text as to why Timothy was to preach the word is because the time could come when men would no longer stand, or bear, sound doctrine. Thus, they will heap to themselves “teachers, having itching ears”; i.e., teachers who aim to please their audiences. Some of these teachers are in the church today. I talked with one the other day, questioning his advocacy of choirs and solos in the worship. When I asked him what he believed the Bible teaches concerning the kind of music that is authorized in the church, he in essence said, “I don’t know; what do you think?” He was “field testing,” i.e., gathering information and then was going to formulate his beliefs. But preachers are not in the polling business. Why not go to the Bible for one’s information and then preach it? As brother Larimore said:
“Fortunately, I have never been drilled in elocution, oratory, gesture, etc. I escaped all that in my boyhood days, and providentially was spared that ruinous torture after I grew up. To my mind, it would be a wonderful advance in the right direction to spend all the time wasted in colleges and other schools in teaching how to gesture, etc., in teaching how to kill snakes, how to get out of a neighbor’s water melon patch when you hear something drap, ’how to pull a hen off the roost,’ and other useful and practical things of that kind. The way to preach is to preach. Just get full of spirit and truth and turn yourself loose. As a good old brother once expressed it, ’Just fill the barrel full, knock the bung out, and let ’er come.’ That’s the way to preach.” (Larimore And His Boys, p. 150).