Preach the Word

2 Timothy 3:1-4:8

Key Verse 4:1-2

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge. Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.” 

Today we would like to think about the Apostle Paul’s charges to Timothy, especially the charge to preach the Word, in three ways: First, who needs God’s Word [and in what way]; second, what will God’s Word do for them; and third, what should we do for them? (We will spend relatively more time on the first point than on the latter two parts; the reason for this being that understanding the kind of people we are called to serve is the key to saving people into God’s kingdom, just as a good doctor must have a good understanding of each patient.]

First, who needs God’s Word? 

Look at verse 1. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” Then in verses 2-9, the Apostle Paul describes what people in the last days will be like. The Apostle Paul’s description is quite colorful. The NIV editors subtitled this passage: “Godlessness in the last days.” The Apostle Paul gives 27 character traits that are true of people in the last days. The NIV translators characterize these 27 traits in a single word: “godlessness.” “Godless” means “without God.” They are the ones who do not know Jesus. They do not have Jesus in their hearts. Before we meet each of them individually let us first read verses 2-9. 

“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”

Now let us invite them into a conference room, not all at the same time, but one group at a time, so we can take a close look at each group and think about why each group needs a Bible study specifically, so that each of them might know Jesus in person and become Jesus-like people.  Remember: there are a total of 27 distinct groups. We can classify them into two sub-categories: those who are just evil and the imposters. In verse 13, the Apostle Paul uses the words “evil men” and “impostors.” Evil men are just that, evil – they are evil inside and out. But impostors are different. They look godly on the outside, but inside are evil, making them doubly evil. We will first take a look at the evil men’s categories and then the imposters’. It will take some time for us to complete the interview but let us be patient, for as we get to know each group the Lord will give us a heart for each of them.  Let us imagine in our minds two rooms, one large and one small. Let us put all 27 groups into the large room which we can call the Waiting Lounge. Then let us call the small room the Meeting Room. We will let the 27 groups wait in the Waiting Lounge. We will let each group come and meet with us in the Meeting Room one group at a time. Here is the list of all the “godless” people.   

    

lovers of themselves

lovers of money

boastful people 

proud people

abusive people

people who are disobedient to their parents

ungrateful people

unholy people

people who are without love

unforgiving people

slanderous people

people without self-control

brutal people

not lovers of the good 

treacherous people 

people who are rash  

people who are conceited

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

people who have a form of godliness but denying its power 

the kind of people who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women

people who are loaded down with sins 

people who are swayed by all kinds of evil desires 

people who are always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth 

people who oppose the truth

men of depraved minds 

people who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected

people who will not get very far because their folly will be clear to everyone 

Now let us interview. Let the first group come in. Here is the first group: Lovers of themselves. Who are they? They are like the Roman Emperor Nero. They need Jesus because they are self-seeking people. And the Bible says that for those who are self-seeking there will be wrath and anger. No wonder that after reaching the top of the world at the age of 30, Nero became disillusioned and burned down Rome, and then afterwards committed suicide. 

Next, lovers of money: they are particularly pathetic, for the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. A week ago (Feb 23 to be exact) a lady named Suze Orman published a book entitled Women and Money. The New York Times listed this book as the Best Seller. In an interview with the NYT she said that she is a 55 year-old virgin. And she finally came “out of the closet,” for she is gay. She has about $25 million. She said to the NYT, “I am going to marry my partner [Kathy Travis] soon.” The reporter asked her, “Why?” She said, “[We both] have millions of dollars in our name. It's killing me that upon my death, K.T. is going to lose 50 percent of everything I have to estate taxes. Or vice versa.” [Job 1:21 says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.” But apparently lovers of money find it very difficult to deal with the truth that they have to depart “naked”. Upon her death, will she be able to enter the “rest” promised for the righteous? Or will she have to suffer endlessly like the Rich Man in hell torment in Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus? That is a good question. But when we teach them the Bible, they can learn the way of eternal peace, joy, and rest.

Next, let us meet boastful people. According to Miriam-Webster, to “boast” means to puff up oneself in speech. The Bible says, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” But if they do not know the Lord, how can they boast in the Lord? So they need to be “in the Lord,” so they can boast in the Lord. 

Next up are proud people. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction.” So they too need Bible studies. 

Now let us think about those who are “abusive.” There are different kinds of abuse: child abuse, spousal abuse, parental abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and many more. There are so many who have been abused by others and who are abusive to others. They tend to hurt others in order not to get hurt. Abusive people need God’s healing. God is Jehovah Rapha – the God who heals. So they need Bible studies. 

Next let us meet children who are disobedient to their parents. Ephesians 5:12 says, “It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” This is particularly true with teenage kids who grow up under a single mother who has two jobs. They need lots of shepherding. They need someone who can spend time with them, praying for them and teaching the Bible to them. 

The next category is “ungrateful people.” When you are honest enough you will have to agree with me that all of us used to be and still are ungrateful to God at least to a certain extent. After all why did Adam fall?  He was not thankful enough for God’s provisions. So we need lots of Bible studies. 

Let us now invite into the room the unholy. A man is holy if he is set apart to serve the Lord who is holy. Likewise a nation is a holy nation if she is set apart to serve the Lord’s holy purpose. God called the U.S. to be a city on a hill. But once upon a time Billy Graham said that this nation has gone so corrupt that if God does not judge the U.S., the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will sue God for mal-practice. But the Bible helps man to know God’s purpose for each person and nation. So unholy people need lots of Bible studies. 

Next those who are without love please come into the room. It has been said that the coldest place in the entire universe is the heart where there is no love. What then will happen to this world when it is filled with people who are “without love”? It has been said, “The Bible is God’s love letter written in the color of blood.” So people without love need Bible studies. 

Then let us invite into the Meeting Room the unforgiving. A man I know well said, “The English word forgiving consists of two words, ‘for’ and ‘giving’. We forgive in order for us to give. According to his theory, unforgiving persons cannot give anything good to others. It is more blessed to give than to receive. If they studied the Bible, they too can learn what it is to forgive. 

Next up are slanderous people: slander is (are) an untruthful statement(s) about a person that harms the person’s reputation or standing in the community. Slanderous people cast stones even at those who are innocent. But being mindful of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery, Jesus said to her accusers, “If any of you is without sin let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Indeed, slanderous people need Jesus. 

Let us next meet people without self-control. God made man to be larger than the universe. Suppose that the toilet in your apartment is constantly leaking. You will certainly be annoyed. But a man without self-control is far worse than a leaking toilet. Imagine the whole universe leaking. In a public hearing against child-molesters, a group of parents with teen-age daughters urged the governor to implement a strong adult sex offender supervision program. But the governor asked, “Who will pay the taxes to cover the expenses?” And ex-president Kennedy said, “Ask not what America can do for you; ask what you can do for America.” There was a claim that by dialing #77 on her cell phone a college student was able to evade a rapist pretending to be a police officer. What if however college campuses are filled with rapists, sex-offenders, and child-molesters? What if you don’t have a cell phone? What if the battery has run out? Last Wednesday, at 12:15 p.m., two teenage girls wearing sun-glasses robbed a bank located in a quiet upscale town 28 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. What is chilling is that they were laughing as they held up a teller at a bank. What can we do for them? What is the solution? Again, the fundamental solution must always come at the root cause: that is, to get the Word of God out to many, particularly to those who are young.  

 

Next let those who are “brutal” come in. Once upon a time George Bush Sr. tried to paint the image of this nation with the catch phrase, “The United States of America - a gentler, kinder nation”. Then he started bombing the Middle East. Then on September 11 the World Trade Center tumbled down. George Bush Jr. said, “We will never forget 9/11.” Then he bombed Iraq. From that time on we have seen a flurry of suicide bombers spreading all over the places. And life in the U.S. has never been the same. As of today we are still at war against “terrorism.” There is brutality at home and brutality at school. What should we do? We need to get the Word of God to those who are brutal. 

The next category is those who are not lovers of the good. This category reminds me of Michael Jackson’s song entitled “Bad,” where he sings, “I am bad who is bad, I am bad who is bad.” Grammatically the lyric does not make any sense, but people liked it. Lots of teenage kids loved this song and kept sending fan letters to him saying, “Hello, Michael, you are the greatest.” This week’s Time magazine (March 7, issue) carried a feature article about Ellen DeGeneres who hosted the 79^th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars). The author of the article, knowing that Ellen is a lesbian, said, “When I heard that Ellen DeGeneres was going to host the Oscars, I thought, ‘They are sure playing it safe.’” Why? People are more lovers of the bad than of the good. But the Bible helps man to have a correct sense of what is good and what is bad. 

Now let the treacherous in. According to Miriam-Webster’s, “treacherous” means “likely to betray trust, providing insecure footing or support, marked by hidden dangers, hazards, or perils.” Basically, treacherous people are not reliable. They are unreliable because they rely on what is not reliable. The Apostle John says that we rely on the love God has for us, for unlike man’s love, God’s love never fails. So we need to invite the treacherous to the Word of God. 

The next group is those who are rash. Rash people are hasty people. They are impatient, and they proceed without due consideration. Romans 8:25 says, “If we hope for what we do not have we wait for it patiently.” But rash people say, “Get it now; otherwise forget it.” The Bible maintains that what is truly good is yet to come. To help them not to forfeit what is to come, we need to invite them to the Living Word. 

Still waiting in the Waiting Lounge are people who are conceited. “Conceited” means “having or showing excessively high opinion of oneself.” Once upon a time Simon Peter, Jesus’ top disciple, was conceited as well: he thought that he had a better idea than Jesus. So when Jesus talked about the way of cross, he took Jesus aside and started rebuking him. But Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” By and large, self-conceited people rely on human ideas more than what the Bible says. Naturally, they work as the devil’s instruments. 

Next are the lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. God is the source of lasting pleasures coming with no side effects. But the pleasures ungodly people go for are worldly pleasures like lust for what is of temporary importance. And seeking carnal pleasures does not give life to man. Rather, it wastes away man’s life. But as one dedicates himself to the Word, the Lord God reveals to him God’s will which is good, pleasing, and perfect.  

The remainder of the categories are the ones that characterize the “imposters.” Paul describes them as the kind “who have a form of godliness but [deny] its power, (They are so bad that Paul says that Timothy should have nothing to do with them) the kind of people who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins, swayed by all kinds of evil desires”. They are the ones who are always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Like the Egyptian magicians Jannes and Jambres, they oppose the truth, men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected, people who will not get very far because their folly will be clear to everyone. The main problem of the imposters is that they operate under the false idea that they can get the best of both worlds all at the same time. They also are ignorant of the power of God. When one lives a God-centered life, the Lord God, who is the source of powers to defeat all enemies, empowers him to overcome himself and the world and live a fruitful life. So we need to invite imposters to Bible studies, knowing that godliness IS the POWER. 

Second, what will God’s Word do for them?

Look at verses 10-17. “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Here Paul says that the Word (or simply the Bible) can do two things: first, it makes man wise to receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and second, it equips man to do every good work. 

The Bible is “God-breathed” which means “inspired by the Holy Spirit.” The Bible says that God’s Word is the sword of the Holy Spirit. So if one studies and eats it sincerely and prayerfully, like a good surgeon, the Holy Spirit performs a spiritual surgery, by releasing God’s life-changing power for those who repent and turn to God according to the Word. God’s Word will turn evil men to good men. God’s Word will make man to be godly inside and out. God’s Word will turn a godless man into a godly man, useful to God. This work of God in a man restores one’s inner man so that he might be fruitful and increase in number, as Genesis 1:26-28 say. When this happens, a man can fulfill his purpose of life. When a nation is filled with godly people, then that nation will become a powerful nation. 

Third, what should we do for godless people? 

Look at verses 4:1-5. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” In this passage Paul describes the work Timothy is called to do in seven categories: 

Preach the Word; 

Be prepared in season and out of season;

Correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction;

Keep one’s head in all situations; 

Endure hardship; 

Do the work of evangelist; and

Discharge all the duties.

These works are connected together but they come in a progressive order. When one preaches the Word, people will respond, and they will flock together to a person who preaches the Word. Then the servant must be prepared to serve them 24/7 (this is what the expression “in season and out of season” means). Then real shepherding should come, that is, correcting, rebuking, and encouraging. As he shepherds over the flock, he will soon realize that not all sheep are obedient. Some will cause troubles, some will start arguing. But still a shepherd should not lose his head (here, ‘head’ means Jesus Christ); rather he must keep his head, that is, Jesus Christ, as his Lord and Savior. As he keeps doing this, the Lord will find him worthy of receiving special bonuses called “hardships.” So Paul says, “You must endure hardship.” In all these, however, he must not forget one thing: that is, the purpose of shepherding: winning souls to Jesus Christ (which is what the work of an evangelist is all about). Along with all the above, a shepherd must still discharge all the other duties, such as financial administration or preparing environments both physically and spiritually. 

When this happens, how will the Lord reward the minister? Look at verses 6-8. “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” The reward is the CROWN of Righteousness (here the word “righteousness” denotes the God-like character qualifying man for the eternal life in the eternal presence of the glorious God.)

One word: preach the Word

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