By: Dale Weckbacher
2 Timothy 4:1-5
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:2 preach
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[a] teaching, but having
itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own
passions, 4 and 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)
Ask anyone that has served in the military and they will
tell you about the rigors of boot camp.
The reason boot camp is so rigorous is that its purpose is to prepare
the soldier for action in battle when that becomes necessary. A soldier that successfully completes boot
camp is a soldier prepared for action in battle.
The instructions to young Timothy contained in 1 and 2
Timothy are spiritual boot camp designed to prepare Timothy for spiritual
battle. Even though these instructions
were written specifically to Timothy, they provide instruction for all of us
who find ourselves engaged in spiritual battle to save our culture. Now, having come to the last chapter in our
study, it is time for action.
As we prepare to take action we must,
1)
Be ready to take action at any time (2 Timothy 4:1-2) – The door may open to share the Gospel at any time. Many are perplexed at what they see occurring
around them in our world today. We live
in the information age with instantaneous access to information, including bad
news. For those lacking the hope of
eternity with Christ, the receipt of bad news through some news alert on their
smart phone can leave them hopeless and in despair. As we strive to live our lives for Christ and
let His light shine in our lives, they will see a hope in us that they want in
their own lives. This is why we must be
ready to share our faith at any time for we do not know what may happen that
causes a friend, co-worker, or neighbor to ask us how we cope with the world
around us.
2)
Our sound teaching may be rejected (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
– In the information age in which we live, it is easy to find teaching suiting
our own passions instead of truthful teaching that may challenge us. Unfortunately, some churches, in the interest
of increasing membership, can water down the truth contained in the Word of God
so as not to step on anyone’s toes. We
too, in the interest of not losing friends or offending family members can
water down our sharing of the Gospel with others. Let us instead be like the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association that has thrived for 66 years preaching the truth of
the Gospel, refusing to water down the message.
(1) However, in many churches today instead of
preaching the Word they,
a.
Entertain (2)
– I enjoy worship at my church and
understand that there is an entertainment factor that creates an interest and
anticipation for the message that is to come.
However, in many churches today, that anticipation is disappointing when
the message is watered down. Instead of
simply being entertaining, our worship should be something preparing our hearts
for the message from the Word to come.
b.
Sharing instead of preaching the Word of God (2) – The purpose of preaching the Word is to
challenge the congregation to live their life in a Christ like manner in a
world needing Christ.
c.
Wooing (2)
– In the interest of not offending anyone, many have watered down to message of
the Gospel. After feeding the 5000 and
walking on the water, Jesus delivered a message foretelling his crucifixion and
the need for us to share in His suffering.
This message ends with many leaving and Jesus turning to the twelve and
asking them if they were going to leave as well (John 6).
d.
Intellectualizing (2)
– While intellectually digging deeper into scripture is beneficial, if the
message does not also stir the heart of the listener to either accept Christ as
their savior or live a more Christ like life, the message is empty.
e.
Abbreviating (2)
– Many churches today start up by meeting in rented facilities. These churches have a time schedule they must
adhere to. However, instead of
abbreviating the message, maybe they should do one less song or shorten the
announcements by encouraging people to read their bulletins.
3)
Be prepared for a fight (2 Timothy 4:6-8) – We
all have the desire in our lives to live at peace. When we accepted Christ, the peace of Jesus
Christ entered our lives giving us the assurance of eternity with Christ. However, Jesus cautioned us in John 16:33
that even though in Him we have peace with God, in this world we will have
tribulation or trouble. This tribulation
may take economic form as it did with bakers in Oregon. (3) It may take the form of loss of friends on
Facebook or Twitter. It may take the
form of rejection by co-workers, friends, or even family viewing us as some
religious extremist. It may even eventually
take on the form of government oppression viewing Christians as some sort of
terrorist organization. (4)
As the Apostle Paul faces death for his faith, instead of
complaining, he finds satisfaction in fighting the good fight and looks forward
to his Heavenly reward (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Paul is someone who suffered greatly for his faith and is a role model
for all of us to take action sharing the Gospel during times of opposition (2 Corinthians 11:16-33). Let us therefore
like Paul engage in spiritual battle wearing the armor of God (Ephesians6:10-20) remembering that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but
against spiritual forces of evil. Let us
also remember to spend quality time studying and learning the Word of God, praying
to our Heavenly Father, and spending time with other believers.
1. Chismar, Janet. ‘We Will Never Water Down
the Gospel’. billygraham.org. [Online] Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association, August 18, 2010. [Cited: September 10, 2016.]
https://billygraham.org/story/we-will-never-water-down-the-gospel/.
2. Walk in The Word.
5 Things We Do Today Instead of Preaching the Word. jamesmcdonald.com. [Online]
Walk in The Word, January 10, 2012. [Cited: September 10, 2016.]
http://jamesmacdonald.com/blog/5-things-we-do-today-instead-of-preaching-the-word/.
3. Fox News.
Oregon bakery owners pay more than $135G in damages over refusal to make cake
for gay wedding. www.foxnews.com. [Online] Fox News, December 29, 2015.
[Cited: September 10, 2016.] http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/29/oregon-bakery-owners-pay-more-than-135g-in-damages-over-refusal-to-make-cake-for-gay-wedding.html.
4. Starnes, Todd.
Pentagon Classifies Evangelical Christians, Catholics as “Extremists”. radio.foxnews.com.
[Online] Fox News. [Cited: September 10, 2016.]
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/pentagon-classifies-evangelical-christians-catholics-as-extremists.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment