“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2) The Message puts it like this: “I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.”
Paul is exhorting Timothy in this letter as Paul is nearing the ending of his journey on earth. He is getting ready to pass the reins to Timothy so he is doing what teachers do – summing up their teachings in strong statements like this verse. Paul was an intense guy and he has built a relationship with Timothy over the years since he was a young man, and he is still imparting his passion for Jesus, for the word, for the message of the gospel, having confidence that Timothy will carry on the work of The Lord. For Paul, the hope of Christ’s return was so certain, so strong. This is why he used language like “Be ready!” “Stay on your watch!” “Proclaim the message with intensity!”
This is a timeless message, really. Since the Lord measures time differently than we do, we may not fully grasp the reality of the imminence of His return. To us, we think, wow, Paul was talking about this two thousand years ago and Jesus STILL has not come back. Seriously? He’s coming back soon? So how can this be a timeless message? But when think about what Peter says, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (II Peter 3:8-9). So there is a certain amount of urgency in Paul’s letter to Timothy when he says, preach the Word and be on guard. Don’t back off from challenging people; warn them; exhort them; rebuke them; and don’t quit! You might feel like giving up sometimes, especially when you don’t see change, or when you get backlash from a rebuke or a warning, but you can’t stop — you have to stay steady and stay the course.
Paul goes on to say, “You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant” (2 Timothy 4:3-5 MSG). We see that all over the western church today. We are often so quick to jump on the latest fad, the newest catchphrase or buzzword or pop theology. The truth of the Bible does not “change with the times” as it were — it stays the same regardless of the shifting sands of opinion or current thoughts and opinions. The reason for this is simple and clear (John 1 lays it out plainly), “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
So we can have absolute confidence, because God does not change (Hebrews 13:8), neither will the truth of His Word! Thus, we can preach the message with boldness, knowing that He will fulfill His promises!