Our Message (4:1-8)
Neal Pollard
This was far and away the most preached text I heard in chapel with the preacher students at the Bear Valley Bible Institute. Students, teachers, and visiting speakers would often turn to this passage, and with good reason. It distills the life and work of a preacher as well as any paragraph in the biblical text. It is the charge of a condemned man, a baton being passed to a younger man to keep running with the urgent message of the gospel. To do so, Paul spotlights this all-important message.
He mentions…
The Master of our message (1). Timothy appeals to the highest authority, God and Christ Jesus. He reminds him of three future, related events, all brought to pass by Jesus, that should motivate him to share the message. First, there’s the judgment at which time He will judge the living and the dead (cf. Acts 10:42; 1 Pet. 4:5). Second, there’s His appearing, which Scripture indicates as a precursor to the judgment (John 5:28-29; Rev. 1:7). In fact, Paul uses this language in the first letter (1 Tim. 6:14). There, Timothy was to keep up the good fight of faith, including “the good confession,” “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Third, there’s His kingdom. Here, this appears to refer to His reign and rule, which will be universally recognized and believed at His coming (Phil. 2:10-11; “If we endure, we will also reign with Him,” 2:12). This is a three-pronged reminder to Timothy about the author and the finisher of that charge to “preach the word.”
The meat of our message (2). And, “the word” is the meat of that message. It’s the standard of sound words (1:13), “the word of God” (2:9), the trustworthy statement (2:11), “the word of truth” (2:15), and “our teaching” (4:15). It is not that gangrenous talk, like Hymenaeus and Philetus spouted (2:17). While it is tempting to appeal to human wisdom, popular philosophy, a sin-validating compromise (as is described in the next two verses), the only thing that will prepare people for the appearing of the King to judge the world is “the word.”
The manner of our message (2b). Are their guardrails for how to present the word? First, their must be mental preparation. Timothy is to be “ready,” which includes fixing his mind to and being attentive to the task–whether convenient or unfavorable (Paul says “εὐκαίρως ἀκαίρως”–EUKAIROS AKAIROS). The idea is whether with or without support, approval, or appreciation. Second, their must be tactical flexibility. Different occasions and challenges call for different styles. Sometimes, one must support their message with proof, evidence, and arguments to convince a doubting hearer. Sometimes, one must support their message with correction, command, and conviction to convince a hard-hearted hearer. Sometimes, one must support their message with encouragement, consolation, and comfort to comfort a struggling hearer. Third, their must be practical wisdom. Whatever approach one uses to support his message, it all must be done with self-restraint and with the goal of achieving the goal of instilling the word in the hearts of the hearers. This text harmonizes well with something Paul says early in his first letter: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). If we keep our motives and moral integrity right, our manner will be, too.
The menace of our message (3-4). The basic challenge to preaching the pure word is some alternative message which appeals to the passions and desires of the hearers’ flesh. Paul warns of challenging times ahead when people will have a low threshold of pain for the truth, favoring fables instead. They will not endure, they will accumulate their own teachers, they will turn away from truth, and will wander after myths (3-4). While the deadly alternatives may change names and characteristics over time, it is a timeless concern. It amounts to an easier, self-serving, but destructive message.
The ministry of our message (5). Timothy’s work extended well beyond just lesson preparation. It involved mental preparation (“sober-minded”), practical endurance (“endure suffering”), soul-winning (“do the work of an evangelist”), and service (“fulfill your ministry”). What can penetrate hard hearts and reach struggling hearts? A man whose ministry supports and validates his message, who shows as well as says, and whose didactics is demonstrated by his deeds. Whether we are talking about men whose lives and livelihood revolve full-time around preaching or Christians who are striving to fulfill the Great Commission, character matters. We are to be what we tell others to be.
The meaning behind our message (6-8). Our message may impact our social lives, our mental health, our physical well-being, and our emotional stability, but it is first and foremost about preparing our souls for eternity. God’s Word has as its ultimate design getting us to heaven. Paul, the messenger, had gotten himself ready for eternity (6-8a). Yet, “all who love [Christ’s] appearing” would enjoy the same eternal fate! We share the word of God to prepare people for judgment and to fit everyone we can for “the crown of righteousness.” No effort or enterprise can compare with helping someone to be saved when Christ appears.
As we cultivate relationships, mentoring and training people for various purposes, developing friendships, and building our homes, everything must be driven by our God-given message. His Word is what it all is about! We must faithfully live it and declare it, “in season and out of season!”
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