2 Tim. 3-4 "For the time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound doctrine and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths."
Timothy was a young timid preacher of the Gospel who joined Paul's ministry during Paul's second missionary visit to Lystra. He may have been timid because he was young or could have been due to the fact that he had a Greek/Jewish background. Either way, Paul knew that he was timid and felt the need to encourage Timothy to preach the Gospel. Paul reminded him in the opening verse of chapter four saying, "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus.."
This is not an encouragement to take lightly that he would accompany it with "in the presence of God and Christ Jesus." This would have been known to anyone who was and is a true follower of Christ that Paul meant business by this encouragement. It wasn't advice that Timothy could just take or leave. What Paul conveyed in this message was an urgency and that Timothy should consider it very serious.
I wonder sometime why as Christians and Ministers today we don't listen carefully to the encouragement that is laid out in Scripture? If they meant so much almost 2,000 years ago, shouldn't they mean even more today? 2 Timothy was written around A.D 66 and even then Paul said that the time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound doctrine. If we took an honest look around us at the world today, our eyes would be opened to the fact that what Paul was saying has come to fruition. And we would have to be honest to say that it also seems that it is getting worse.
Today we have too many people who twist the Scriptures to suit their needs. Too many people who float from church to church until they are comfortable with what the preacher is saying. Too many people that only follow Christ on Sunday. Too many preachers who only give half of the Truth for fear of scrutiny. And preachers who preach a feel good message to keep "their" pews full; as if they were theirs and not God's.
The Truth is however, as Paul encouraged Timothy, God and Christ will return someday to set up an everlasting Kingdom and judge the living and the dead. As Christians, especially for ministers, we need to be prepared always to preach the Gospel Truth to anyone and everyone. Christ gave us the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19 to "go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
Paul told Timothy in the second verse of second Timothy to "Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not."
The word preach means to publicly proclaim. Paul was telling Timothy to publicly proclaim the Word of God to those that he encountered. He was encouraging Timothy not to be timid about the ministry that he was entrusted with and to "preach it whether the time is right or not (in season or out of season)".
We all go through times when we feel better than other times. Those times when we feel shy or timid to say anything at all much less the Gospel. So, we just keep it inside. Maybe Paul knew this about Timothy as well. We know that Timothy was timid, but maybe there were times when he wasn't and was bold about his faith. Then other times he felt the weight of what others were saying about him and it made him feel as if he wasn't worthy to preach the Gospel. He was too young or wasn't a full Jew and couldn't be trusted. Paul was telling him and you and I today that no matter what the circumstance is and no matter what we are feeling we need to be bold about our faith.
We need to be bold because there are too many people out there listening to the wrong message. There are too many teachers teaching the wrong doctrine. And those desires that people are chasing after aren't what they should be chasing after. We need to bring the full Gospel to people and not the watered down half Truth that is so common today. It is our duty as Christians to proclaim, "preach", the full Gospel Truth to everyone regardless of how we feel.
Let me ask you, are shying away from proclaiming the Gospel today? Has God laid it on your heart to talk to someone about the Good News and you have been putting it off. Let me encourage you to go forth and proclaim the Good News to whoever it is that God has laid on your heart. As Paul told Timothy in verse eight of second Timothy that "the prize awaits me- the crown of righteousness.. and the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing." The crown of righteousness for all who or eagerly await Christ's return and that means you to.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you would help us to be bold in the faith. Lord, just be with us as we boldly go forth and proclaim the Good News about You to all. Help us to overcome whatever it is that is stopping us from speaking the Word of God. Be with us and go before us as we live each day to honor You. Amen!
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