SCRIPTURE AND MINISTRY.
2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
I). THE CENTRALITY OF SCRIPTURE.
2 Timothy 3:14-17.
1. Three times Paul addresses Timothy with an emphatic “you therefore" (2 Timothy 2:1) or “but you” (2 Timothy 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:14). In the first instance, this sets Timothy alongside those who refreshed Paul in his imprisonment (2 Timothy 1:16-18). Then it distinguishes him from those who ‘resist the truth’ (2 Timothy 3:8): ‘evil men and seducers who shall wax worse and worse’ (2 Timothy 3:13).
Timothy is encouraged to continue (to remain, to abide) in the things which he has learned: things about which he has “felt sure belief” (2 Timothy 3:14). After all, he knows from whom he has learned them. Paul speaks of the teaching as ‘my’ doctrine (2 Timothy 3:10), ‘my’ gospel (2 Timothy 2:8), the sound words which you have heard of ‘me’ (2 Timothy 1:13).
2. Furthermore, even before Paul came on the scene, Timothy had learned the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15) from his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). ‘Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it’ (Proverbs 22:6).
(a). The Apostle Peter defines ‘Scripture’ as ‘holy men speaking as they were moved by the Holy Ghost’ (2 Peter 1:20-21).
(b). The phrase, ‘Thus says the LORD,’ occurs over 400 times in the Old Testament.
(c). The Epistle to the Hebrews adds the voice of ‘the Son’ to the voice of ‘the prophets’ (Hebrews 1:1-2).
(d). Paul adds a quotation of Jesus (Luke 10:7) to a quotation from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 25:4) - and calls them both ‘Scripture’ (1 Timothy 5:18).
(e). Jesus says, ‘But I say unto you…’ (Matthew 5:22);
‘The words that I speak unto you…’ (John 6:63);
‘I have not spoken of myself… even as the Father said unto me, so I speak’ (John 12:49-50).
(f). Paul claims to be speaking ‘words’ which come from the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 2:13). The Apostle refers to his own teaching as ‘the word of God’ (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
(g). The Apostle Peter places the Epistles of Paul alongside ‘the other Scriptures’ (2 Peter 3:15-16).
3. Paul tells us THREE THINGS about Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
(a). The sacred writings are able to make us wise unto salvation “through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). The risen Lord Jesus opened up to His disciples ‘in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself’ (Luke 24:27; Luke 2:45). Other things are taught in the Bible, but only incidentally. Its main purpose is to infuse us with ‘the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
So from Genesis through to Revelation, we see Jesus and His salvation:
In type and prophecy (Old Testament);
In His life and saving work (Gospels and Acts);
In proclamation and application (Epistles);
And in the consummation of our salvation in Christ Jesus (Revelation).
(b). “ALL Scripture is out-breathed by God AND is profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16).
There are two propositions here:
(i). That, without suspending the individuality of the human authors, THE Author is God Himself: ‘The mouth of the LORD has spoken it’ (Isaiah 1:20);
(ii). AND it is useful for teaching truth, and for reproving error; for correcting wrong conduct, and for instruction in the right way (cf. Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11).
(c). The title “man of God” is occasionally used of prophets in the Old Testament. The expression has also been addressed to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:11). Here in 2 Timothy 3:17 it may signify Christian workers, but ultimately the ‘everyman’ of thorough-going Christianity: the man or woman who belongs to God.
None of us is going to reach our full potential in Christ Jesus unless we apply ourselves to the diligent study of Scripture. Only then will we be “complete, fully equipped” for whatever work the Lord has for us (2 Timothy 3:17).
II). PREACH THE WORD.
2 Timothy 4:1-5.
Paul has just given Timothy the assurance that “ALL Scripture is out-breathed by God and is profitable… that the man of God may be” complete, fully equipped for whatever work God has for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
“I charge you therefore before God,” continues Paul. This is an emphatic exhortation, such as we might hear in a court room: ‘I adjure you by God.’ Paul reinforces the solemnity of what he is saying by adding the name of “the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1). What great motivations to preaching: not only the commission of God, but also the prospect of Christ’s appearing and kingdom.
Against a background of false teachers, and hypocritical hearers who will not endure sound teaching, Paul exhorted Timothy to urgently preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2a). The young minister was to do this both when it seemed comfortable and seasonable (to the preacher) to do so, and when it seemed incredibly difficult.
To “preach the word” is to proclaim the message that God has already spoken. “The Word” is a name for Scripture: but “the Word” is also a name for Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:1). If we are truly preaching the Bible, then ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ will be at the very centre of our message (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2).
The preacher is a herald, making the message of the gospel known through all legitimate means: whether as the man in the pulpit in a church building; the person conducting gospel meetings in their own home; the broadcaster using the vast resources of television, radio, and internet to reach the widest possible audience; or as a town-crier in the market place. Or the scattered church, ‘gossiping the gospel’ wherever they go (cf. Acts 8:4).
Preaching involves reproof, rebuke, and exhortation (2 Timothy 4:2b). Reproof is an act of persuasion, exposing wrong thinking in a call to true repentance and amendment of life. Rebuke is sterner, confronting those who rebel against the word of God. Exhortation draws alongside and encourages.
All this is to be done with patience, and above all with “doctrine” = sound teaching. The preacher is also to be a teacher, whether in challenging the unconverted, or in building up believers in their most holy faith.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3). The time has come, and has long been present, when even in the churches sound gospel preachers have been marginalised, and “teachers” of ideas more palatable to the modern “ear” are sought after.
The fact of the matter is that people cannot bear to hear the truth. “And they shall turn their ears away from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:4). In other words, people shall perish for the lack of pure gospel preaching!
“But you,” says Paul to the preacher (2 Timothy 4:5).
“Watch in all things.” In other words, be steady. Dare to be different, to fly in the face of modern trends.
“Endure afflictions.” Persevere in sound teaching, even when people have a bad reaction to it.
“Do the work of an evangelist.” Make the gospel known, without watering it down.
“Make full proof of your ministry.” Keep at it, until your life’s work is done!
