Lesson for April 20, 2022
The Book of II Timothy
Chapter 4:1-8
Verses 1-2
“I solemnly 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:preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
When Timothy accepted the charge from Paul to carry on teaching Bible doctrine, he not only accepted it for himself, he accepted it for all pastor-teachers throughout the Church Age. Timothy had the responsibility to carry on the ministry that Paul started by continuing to be faithful in his ministry of studying and teaching Bible doctrine.
Who is to judge the living and the dead. There is coming a time when every believer will stand before Jesus Christ to be evaluated. This evaluation is not based on our sins. It is based on our response to God’s plan for us to learn and apply His Word and to grow-up spiritually. (Romans 14:12) This evaluation is called the Judgment Seat of Christ, it is for believers only, and takes place sometime shortly after the Rapture of the Church. (I Corinthians 4:5; 15:51-54; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:21)
Scripture tells us that our Savior has already departed to prepare a dwelling place for us, the Bride of Christ (as we will be called in Heaven). But before the Lord can reveal all that will be ours for the eternal state, we must all be evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is during our evaluation that we will be rewarded for executing the Christian Way of Life. (John 14:1-3; II Corinthians 5:8-10; Romans 14:11-12)
The Judgment Seat of Christ is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly. Believers cannot lose their salvation and will be happy for all eternity regardless of their spiritual status. But what a tragic waste of a life and what a tremendous loss of rewards if a believer fails to live their spiritual live. But most tragic of all is when they will stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ and have to explain to Him why they failed to glorify Him while they were here on earth. The implication, then, becomes obvious. What we do now can glorify God forever.
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. Paul was about to depart this life and was depending on Timothy to continue the ministry of teaching “the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.” Paul’s encouragement and command to Timothy was to continue the work that had been started by Paul and the other apostles.
Preach means to make a public proclamation, a herald making a public proclamation. The verb comes from a herald representing a king. Therefore, all pastors, and those who teach, are to be heralds for the King of kings, Jesus Christ. The policies of the King, the plan of the King, everything that the King wants the Church to know is preserved in the Canon of Scripture. “Preach” does not mean shouting, it does not mean eloquence, or using theological-sounding phrases. It means to proclaim accurate Bible doctrine. The word is a synonym for Bible doctrine, the Word of God.
The Greek word for be ready is “ephistemi,” which is a military verb meaning to stand by, to stand over, to be present or to assault. In season and out of season means to be consistent in your study and teaching of the Word of God.
Teaching accurate Bible doctrine involves reproof, rebuke, and exhortation. Reprove is the Greek word “elencho,” which means to convict in a court of law. A believer may be convicted of personal sin when listening to the teaching of the Word of God. As a pastor teaches various points of doctrine, a person may be convicted of something, and the pastor has no idea what it is. The Holy Spirit is the Person Who does the convicting, and He uses the doctrine taught by the pastor to accomplish this in the mind of a believer. (II Timothy 3:16-17)
Rebuke is the Greek word emitimao,” which means to censor, to punish, to reprimand. Reprimanding is often done by the Holy Spirit when the pastor is teaching. Certain passages can reprimand us when we hear them taught. This is a good thing if we respond properly to the reprimand from the Word of God. The pastor’s responsibility is to teach, and the responsibility of the one being taught is to respond in a positive way.
Exhort is the Greek word “parakaleo,” which means to come in alongside to help someone, to comfort, or to encourage. So, the pastor encourages by teaching the Word of God. The more of God’s Word you know, the more comfort or encouragement you will have. If you need comfort, advice, encouragement, or cheering up, the Word of God is your source!
With great patience and instruction. Patience is the Greek word “makroqumia,” meaning steadfastness, endurance, or longsuffering. It means a fixed purpose, to be unshakeable and immovable as a pastor in your resolve to study and teach and to allow no one to distract you from that function.
Instruction is the Greek word “didache” which can mean that which is taught or the act of teaching. Both meanings apply in the case of pastor-teachers. Paul told Timothy to proclaim the Word; be prepared (ready) when it is convenient, and when it is not convenient; discipline (reproof), reprimand (rebuke), encourage [comfort] by means of steadfastness (patience) and by means of doctrine (instruction).
Verses 3-5
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
There will always be believers who reject sound, accurate Bible doctrine. This is not something new. There are those in every generation who reject the truth of the Word of God. Instead of accurate doctrine, there are those who want someone to “tickle their ears” with a “feel-good” sermon, three points, a poem, and a prayer, or a power-of-positive-thinking message. The listeners to these types of messages may go away feeling good momentarily, but the feeling doesn’t last because it has no accurate doctrinal content.
All believers have a choice. Those who choose to reject truth through negative volition can easily fall for a false system of spirituality. Others will latch on to some minister they like or has a great personality and as a result they will turn away from Bible doctrine and believe whatever their nice minister says. (Galatians 5:7-12)
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship. The Greek word for sober is “nepho,” which means to be self-controlled or self-disciplined. Teaching requires a great deal of discipline when it comes to the study of God’s Word. Endure hardship means to endure any opposition that Satan places in your way.
Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry means that Timothy was to continue to share the Gospel as a pastor when he was teaching, and personally as he had the opportunity. The Greek word for evangelist is “euangelistes,” which means to communicate good news. Fulfill your ministry means to continue to carry out the ministry of studying and teaching accurate Bible doctrine.
Verses 6-8
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Poured out as a drink offering meant that Paul was about die. Paul lived by grace and died by grace. Dying grace is a believer’s experience of dying while relying on the doctrine in their soul for comfort and calm. If you live by God’s grace, you will be able to die by His grace with great happiness, knowing you are about to see your Savior. Dying grace removes the fear of death. Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the deep darkness of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod of protection and Your staff of guidance is with me.”
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Paul looked back on his life as a believer and stated he had been in a spiritual battle. Paul’s enemies were the same as our enemies, Satan, demons, and the world system. God had given Paul a plan (a course) to follow, and Paul fulfilled that plan to the best of his ability, under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul had guarded (kept) the doctrine in his soul and protected believers by teaching Bible doctrine accurately.
In the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. The crown of righteousness is for all believers who consistently live their spiritual lives. Believers who have failed to live their Christian lives under the power of the Holy Spirit and accurate Bible doctrine will not “love” the appearing of Jesus Christ at the Rapture. Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ are only for those believers who fulfilled God’s plan for their lives while on earth.