Preach the Word

Sermon Text

2 Timothy 4:1-5

4 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: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 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; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

• Paul solemnly charges Timothy before God and Christ the Judge to preach the Word, making preaching an accountable and serious calling rather than entertainment.
• Faithful preaching must continue in season and out of season with sober-mindedness, patience, careful teaching, and willingness to suffer.
• Preaching applies both God's demands and his promises: it reproves, rebukes, and exhorts, bringing discomfort where correction is needed and comfort where hearers are afflicted.
• The church must not measure preaching by popularity, numbers, entertainment value, or techniques that simply satisfy itching ears.
• Ministers must preach sound doctrine faithfully, and hearers must receive it diligently, test it by Scripture, meditate upon it, and bring forth its fruit in their lives.

• Do I receive preaching as God's serious use of his Word, or mainly evaluate whether it entertained me?
• Am I willing for Scripture to reprove and rebuke me as well as comfort and encourage me?
• What standards do I use to judge whether preaching is faithful—biblical truth or popularity and immediate results?
• Do I test what I hear by Scripture and consider the passage in its context?
• How do I prepare and pray before hearing the Word preached?
• What truth from recent preaching have I meditated upon and brought into practice?
• How can I pray specifically for my pastor and other ministers to preach the Word faithfully and patiently?

Preaching

The public proclamation and application of God's Word by those called to the ministry of the Word.

Expository preaching

Preaching that explains a biblical text in its context and allows Scripture to set the message's agenda.

Sound teaching

Doctrine and instruction that faithfully reflect Scripture instead of accommodating the passions of hearers.

Reprove

To expose error or sin by the truth of God's Word so that correction can take place.

Exhort

To urge and encourage hearers toward faith, obedience, endurance, and hope.

Means of grace

The ordinary instruments Christ uses by his Spirit to communicate saving benefits and build up his people, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer.

Itching ears

A desire for teachers who affirm personal passions and offer pleasant spiritual messages instead of sound doctrine.