I Timothy 4:2
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine," I Timothy 4:2. A pastor is to preach. "Preach" in this verse is the Greek word "kerusso" and means to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel): - preach (-er), proclaim, publish. Especially to preach, publish, or announce religious truth, the gospel with its attendant privileges and obligations, the gospel dispensation. To preach Christ means to announce Him as the Messiah and urge the reception of His gospel. Christ should be the center and main focus of any and all churches. "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen," Ephesians 3:21. We preach Christ crucified, died, buried, risen, ascended back into heaven, seated at the right hand of God making intercession for you and I, and one day coming back to catch us away to forever be with Him. To preach Christ is to preach. There is a time and place for you and I to sit down and discuss the Bible, but a pastor is to preach. As a public crier goes out by order of the king to give an address from the king, we too are to go out and publish what our King hath given us to proclaim. The America that we live in today has pulpits that say very little about Christ but much about frivolous things. The pulpit is a platform given to us to proclaim and preach Christ.
We truly need good sound teaching. A pastor is also to be a pastor teacher (Ephesians 4:11). We should never quiet down or water down the message we are to preach. We are to preach Christ, and we are also to preach the word.
Word- logos- religious duties; i.e. doctrine, precept. It is obvious from this verse there is more to preaching than just preaching Christ. We are to preach religious duties, doctrines, and precepts. We are not to preach and teach the traditions of men and denominations. The Word is the tool used in the Christians life to cause us to become more like Christ. Preaching what Christ did, is doing, and is going to do is very important, but how are we as Christians to live until we die or Christ comes back? We are to live and die according to the Word of God. It is the pastor's responsibility to preach Christ, and preach the Word; even among opposition. It is easy for me to say this living in a free country. Lord help us. The standard of religious duties is the Word of God. How should a man treat his wife? How should a wife treat her husband? How should kids treat their parents? How should parents treat their children? How are we to treat others? What kind of church are we to be a part of? This is life and these questions are answered in the Word of God. We may not like the answers, but they are in the Word. "The preacher must present, not book reviews, not politics, not economics, not current topic of the day . . . but the Word. The preacher as a herald cannot choose his message. He is given a message to proclaim by his Sovereign" (Wuest).
The preacher is also to be instant in season and out of season. "Season" in this verse means opportune. This means there is no closed season for preaching. "Instant" means pressing; urgent; importunate; earnest. W.D. 1828 edition. Richard Baxter said we are to preach as a dying man to dying men. Our preaching is to be instant, whether it is convenient or not. We are to preach as if it is our last message to ever preach. We are not to preach to be men pleasers, but we are to preach the message God has given us from His Word. This is nothing to take lightly.
The next two words in this verse many do not do. This is obvious. "Reprove" means to admonish; convince of a fault. The tool used to do this is the Word of God. Simply preaching the Word reproves. "Rebuke" means to admonish strongly, with urgency, authority. Again, the tool used is the Word of God. It is the final authority. The preacher is to preach against sin in a convincing fashion. When a preacher preaches the Word, no one can rightly accuse him of preaching for self-gain. People love for the preacher to preach on sin, just not their own sin.
Preaching is to lift the standards, not lower them. Preaching is to sanctify life, not stain it (Butler). The preacher is to preach against sin and to earnestly plead with people to repent from sin and turn to Jesus Christ. The preacher is also to exhort. "Exhort" means to exhort in the way of consolation, encouragement, to console, comfort. The same tool used here is the Word of God. It is obvious there must be a balance in preaching the Word. In going verse by verse there will be a balance. The Bible is the tool that must be used over and over again because the Word of God points others to Jesus Christ, not to man. How many people follow after a preacher only to find that preacher is just like them, dependent upon the Saviour. The Bible exposes sin in our lives, it also encourages and consoles us. It is truth, therefore when we are exposed, we are truly exposed and when we are comforted, we are truly comforted. Our confidence is in the Word of God.
Notice the next part of this verse, "with all longsuffering and doctrine". This is the manner in which the preacher is to preach. "Longsuffering" means patience, describes more patience with circumstances. It is also one of the fruits of the Spirit. To preach the Word with all longsuffering is to have patience in preaching. Often a preacher will become anxious when he doesn't see the expected results. When he gets here, he is pressured to change the message and the method. When he does this, he has compromised. Preachers may change the message to get a bigger crowd or more decisions, this is not preaching in all longsuffering. We are to be consistent in preaching the whole counsel of God. Preach the whole Word. This means we must preach things even if we don't like them. It isn't if we like it or not, but if we are to be obedient to the Word of God, we are to preach the whole counsel of the Word of God. Only then are we good and faithful ministers.
Doctrine- to teach. The act of teaching, instructing, tutoring. The pastor is to patiently instruct others in the Word of God. We are all different and we all learn at different paces in different ways. The pastor must understand this and must observe this in the congregation where the Lord hath placed him. Some grasp the Word quickly and easily, others need to be tutored. Then there are those who don't know and don't want to know. There are many ways to get a donkey to the watering hole, but you can't make him drink. Amen.
We all need to be reproved, rebuked, and exhorted. A balanced diet of these things helps the church be balanced. This kind of church will be steady through the storms and through the good times. This church will be grounded upon the Word of God, not the word of a man. The pastor's duty is to be faithful to the Word of God. In being faithful to the Word of God he will be faithful to those he preaches to. To God be the glory.
