2 Timothy 4:1-5 Preach the Word

“1 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 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.”


When reading through this section you do not get the idea that reading the word of God is just something that should be done every once in a while. It is crucial for us as Christians to constantly be seeking God’s counsel in his word, exactly what he has revealed to us. Everything we need to live this life and fulfill our ministry is revealed to us through God, through his word. I know in my own personal life when I am not consistently reading the Bible I sometimes would rather seek counsel from other things (like television, radio, music, etc.). Any of these types of things are actually counseling us, although it may not be directly. It can be hard to hear what we need to hear—God’s counsel from his word or even a pastor or fellow Christian—but it is also the only counsel that will strengthen our relationship with God. It is much easier to seek counsel from this world because often the world likes to say, just do whatever pleases you and whatever temporary things here on earth make you the most happy. But as Christians we should know that this is a lie because seeking after temporary things here on this earth will only lead to temporary happiness, but not eternal happiness. Of course it is okay to enjoy things here on earth but it is when we are finding our security in them, and trying to convince ourselves that these things are truly making us happy, even though they consistently let us down; is when we are putting temporary things before God.

And also we need to make known the truth, because people are naturally always trying to search for truth. People will always need the truth, encouragement, rebuking, and exhorting and there will never be a shortage of this, which is why Paul says “be ready in season and out of season.” Paul knows how easy we often forget the truths and words of God, which is why we constantly need to hear it and preach it to ourselves and those we know in our own lives.