Preach the Word (Part 1)

The third chapter of 2 Timothy ends with Paul telling Timothy about the profit to be found in the inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Having told Timothy this, the fourth chapter begins with a responsibility which is given to Timothy and ultimately all Christians (2 Tim. 4:1). What is this responsibility? “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). This is a great responsibility that has been given to the entire body of Christ, not just those who stand in the pulpit on Sundays. Most understand the importance and meaning behind this charge. The basic meaning is that Christians are to proclaim God’s saving message to mankind at all times with patience and without compromise. Over the next few days, there will be a deeper study of this verse. While it is always best to have a basic understanding of what is being said, it does not hurt to do a little deeper digging. These set of articles will be divided into four sections as attention is paid to: The Action, The Content, The Period of Time, The Discipline, and The Attitude.

The Action (Preach)

Paul encouraged the young preach Timothy to “preach.” The meaning of this word in the Greek language is simply “to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel).” The idea of the public crier absolutely strengthens the point that Paul is making. A town crier was an individual who would go throughout the town or city loudly proclaiming whatever news needed to be heard at the time. One of the most important jobs this crier would have is that of running ahead of the king’s chariot shouting, “The king is coming!” His job was to make that news known to the townsfolk so they would stop what they were doing to pay the proper respect to the king. Keeping that in mind, what truth is it that Timothy, and ultimately, all Christians are to proclaim to the world around us? In his first epistle to Timothy Paul described the Christ as “…the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…” (1 Tim. 6:15). The job of the Christian is to proudly proclaim to the world, “The King is coming”!