2 Timothy 4: 1-5
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (ESV)
I have been reading 1 and 2 Timothy a lot recently. And I love them. I think that I am drawn to them so much because they give a clear charge to what a man or woman of God is supposed to do. Paul is charging one of his pupils, Timothy, with the work of taking care and edifying a church. There is no greater call, there is no greater charge. I read through these letters and I can always pump myself up by acting like they were written to me. “Adam, this is what I charge you…” This might be a little silly, but I don’t think it is that far from the truth.
Paul might have been writing to a certain pupil who is no leading a church, but the charge and the advice is for all of us who claim to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Any one can pick up these letters and take to heart what is written within them. And we need to. We need to take up these letters and learn what is expected of us and what we are charged with, especially if we claim to be leaders.
The first charge is to preach the word. We are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to all, we are called to have this be such an intimate part of who we are that we can’t help but have it spill from our lips. In order for us to preach and also for us to be ready always to explain our beliefs, the Word of God most dwell within us. It must be undividable from who we are and how we think. We must marinate in its richness. It must soak through to our most inner being. If this happened, we could not help but speak with God’s love, speak the truth of Jesus is to all we know, know intimately why we believe Jesus died for us. Soak up the Word of God! Dive in.
There is a reason for this. Paul warns of a time when people will just want to hear what makes them feel good and happy, they will only want to hear what they like. I have always found it funny that Paul says that the “time is coming” when this will happen because I have always found that it has already been here. Human want to only hear what they like, they only want to hear what justifies them and gives license to how they think and live. Think about it for a second. All the way back to Adam and Eve we have heard what we wanted. That is why when the serpent starts twisting the words of God, Eve goes right along. It scratched her itching ear. Why would the people put to death the prophets of God, if not because they want to hear teaching that justifies their lifestyles? This has been with us for as long as humanity has been in rebellion, and it is not going to change short of Christ coming again.
But this is why we have to be trained in the Word. We have to be able to refute and correct this false teaching that will continually draw people into false belief. We have to be so soaked and immersed in the Word of God that we can give the answer when needed, so that we can point the way and guide people back to Jesus Christ.
This is the charge. Paul gives it to Timothy, but it is also given to us by God. We who claim to believe in Jesus Christ have to take this to heart. It might seem daunting or an immense task, but we are called to it and can do it only because of Christ. It is the power of Christ working in the Word of God, speaking through us those around us, that makes this possible. It is the power of God through Christ expressed by us as the instruments to reach the world and to edify the church. This is the charge, the greatest charge.
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