Preaching: The Call to Excellence Rather Than Success

2 Timothy, written around A.D. 66, was Paul’s last epistle (cf. 4:6). At that time, Paul was imprisoned and treated like a criminal (2 Tim 1:16; 2:9). He was abandoned by all except one of the Christian brothers, Onesiphorus.[1] In this letter, he addresses Timothy who was serving in Ephesus. From both epistles to Timothy, it is clear that the Ephesians were still struggling with doctrinal issues which is somewhat surprising since Paul had ministered there for three years in the past.

Sadly, this same church would go on (30 years or so later) to be rebuked by Christ for failing to put Him first despite successfully defending against false teachers (Rev 2:1-6). According to the Lord, their doctrine was held externally by that time, but not inwardly. To put this another way, they correctly understood the teachings of Scripture and even upheld them by offering ready defenses, but they failed to allow those teachings to minister to their inner person so that they could die to their old way of life with its love of self and instead live in their new way of life which loves Christ first. Like many Christians today, they were not denying the truth, but their focus was on themselves, their feelings, and their own comfort. Ultimately, this church ceased to exist by the end of the 2^nd century.

In Paul’s Letters to Timothy, he did not, as John Macarthur explains (in his commentary on 2 Timothy) emphasize “the size, wealth, or influence of the church in Ephesus but rather its spiritual life and health under Timothy’s care. He did not concentrate on Timothy’s spiritual gifts, … but on his spiritual life and spiritual service.” Above all else regarding Timothy’s ministry, Paul was supremely concerned with the teaching of correct doctrine, with a sort of excellence defined by one’s handling of the Word.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 NASB I solemnly exhort 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Verse 1. “[S]olemnly exhort” indicated the seriousness of Paul’s directive. This directive is being given under the full authority of God and Christ. “[W]ho is judge of the living and the dead” is a reminder to Timothy that elders are held to a higher standard and will be given a stricter judgement (James 3:1). This judgement for Timothy will occur at the time of God’s judgement of believers. In this judgement, all believers will be rewarded according to their works produced by faith. To faithfully preach in the hope of receiving a reward from Christ, the preacher should seek to please Him whether or not men are pleased. As Paul teaches, pleasing people should never be the priority of a faithful minister (Gal 1:10). This verse ends with a reminder (“and by His appearing and His kingdom”) of the future that awaits Timothy.

Verse 2. Paul tells Timothy to “preach the Word”. The content of the preaching must be the Word of God, i.e. the entirety of Scripture including parts that cover doctrines that some object to. The power of authentic preaching lies in the proper handling of the Word. A biblical sermon must be grounded in the context of Scripture and in sync with its intended meaning. To properly capture the meaning of Scripture, the most responsible way to preach is expositional, an approach which focuses on revealing the full meaning and implications of Scripture. The preacher must help his listeners understand the text and apply it correctly. As Paul informs Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6, the minister must hold and teach “good doctrine”. Although it may be obvious, one should know that preaching sound doctrine requires one to use a proper hermeneutic, delivery approach, and principle of application. In 2 Tim 2:15, Paul commands Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” By performing such a ministry, the church should be led to godliness (1 Tim 6).  

“[B]e ready” in the phrase, “be ready in season and out of season”, was the same command given to soldiers who needed to be ready at a moment’s notice to go to war. Like soldiers, a true pastor must be like a Sergeant who is serving among his troops on the frontlines of battle. When the time to fight comes, he must be ready to arise from his foxhole first and face the barrage of bullets. Like a faithful minister, Christians should rise up and fight along with him: “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet 3:15 NASB).

Expecting resistance from the enemy, the preacher must be ready to preach sound doctrine even when it is despised. In 1 Tim 4:1, Paul says, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (NASB). We are most certainly in these later times. Many pastors and churches are choosing to avoid Scriptural teaching that gives offense to the culture at large. Some have even integrated the culture’s teaching into their own despite the clear teaching of Scripture. Some have applied secular philosophies to their interpretation of Scripture to the extent that the Scriptures are made to do their bidding and serve as a source for their deceptions. Many of America’s most prominent megachurches are led by false teachers who teach prosperity gospel, Word of Faith, and self-help approaches to Scripture. Even among Southern Baptists, many preachers are finding their preaching “out of season” because of the continued hyper-focus on initial salvation at the expense of sound instruction in the totality of Scripture so that its members could reach maturity in their knowledge of God.

Being ready, preachers must use the Word to “correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction”. To correct with the Word, the preacher must be ready to defend against false teaching and offer correct interpretation. Since “strange doctrine” was seeping into the Ephesian church (1 Tim 1:3 NASB), Timothy is being tasked with undoing this damage by addressing these errors by delivering solid, logical, and biblically based argument to correct the understanding of the Ephesian Christians. Timothy must also correct any behaviors not in sync with sound instruction.

Where “correct” focuses on the error in understanding and the sin itself, “rebuke” is directed against the sinner personally. The preacher, therefore, is tasked with delivering the word directly to the persons under his authority, even if that word brings judgement upon the person due to sins. This call to repentance must be delivered by all preachers wishing to uphold a gospel-centered pulpit. In the modern era, many churches are failing to rebuke sinners by not preaching on sin, hell, and the wrath of God as these subjects seem unpalatable to their culture at large. Many churches no longer practice church discipline as if sin suddenly disappeared from the ranks of the faithful in the modern era. With churches increasingly becoming corporate minded in their leadership structures and program-centered in their content delivery, the personal connection between pastors and parishioners has become all but lost making any personal correction or reproof all but impossible. This problem becomes even more obvious in those churches employing satellite campuses. Even members, caught up in their own worldly pursuits, have at best reduced Church to an hour or so on Sundays and have failed to spend the time necessary to develop significant relationships with other members. This lack of personal relationships among believers ultimately leaves many believers essentially pursuing the call to correct understanding and application of biblical doctrine completely on their own. In this situation, the church, discussed in Scripture as being a community of the faithful centered around God’s Word in close fellowship with one another and under the care of faithful ministers who personally care for them, becomes increasingly hard to find.

“[E]xhort” can mean anything from correcting and rebuking to encouraging and admonishing. Given the presence of “correct” and “rebuke”, Paul must be focusing more on the ministry of encouragement and admonishment. Biblical encouragement can never be divorced from the ministry of correction and rebuking. For the worldly, the encourager is seen as the person who always positively affirms people. For the Christian, to positively affirm a sinner in his sin is to hate one’s brother and sister and lead them away from God.

This ministry of correcting, rebuking, and exhorting must be performed with the utmost love and care: “just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess 2:11-12 NASB). It must be performed, Paul tells Timothy, with “patience and instruction” (2 Tim 4:2 NASB). The minister should never allow himself to become exasperated and angry in his ongoing instruction of God’s people. Ultimately, this ministry of the Word, spoken of by Paul in his council to Timothy, is to be replicated in the ministries of all Christians: “We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone” (1 Thess 5:14).

[1]Note to all Christians – Don’t practice this kind of Christianity and encouragement. Instead of focusing on yourselves, die to self and live for Christ. In this way, you will properly serve God as you serve others. Such people would never abandon Paul in his time of need.