Paul’s Plea
Reading Paul’s words in 2 Timothy, I see a few things that point me to Jesus. Let me read you verses 1-5, which were actually read out when I was inducted as pastor of my current church, so they are meaningful to me: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1–5 NIV)
I well remember Dr Thomas who led my induction service, reading that passage, and when he finished he closed his Bible and said we could conclude this service right there. Because that says it all.
The Charge to Preach
These are clearly words from a senior pastor (Paul) to a younger pastor (Timothy), pleading with him to keep faithful, keep committed, keep to the truth in a world that will distort it.
And so for we who are pastors, we read passages like this and we are reminded of the sober, serious calling we have to preach the Word of God and not our own ideas and thoughts; to correct, and rebuke and encourage people in our churches patiently and carefully; to keep our heads, and endure hardships as we do the work we do.
Paul’s plea reminded me of this, and I want you to know that I had a moment of recommitting to this as I read it that. As I shepherd you in some small way through these daily devotions, I want to teach with this sort of commitment.
Truth Over Popularity
But I think Paul’s plea here goes out to all Christians, not just the pastors. I think for those who are not clergy, this plea of Paul’s reminds us: be careful and thoughtful about the type of teaching you embrace.
It’s easy today to find teaching that just affirms you all day long. There are preachers all over the internet who will only speak that which is comforting. Only speak that which is easy. Only talk of that which is not confrontational. Only teach those parts of the Word of God that will not ruffle feathers.
The Importance of Hard Truths
We all need to hear Paul’s plea today and remember: listen to the Word of God even if it means being corrected, and rebuked by it.
It is the whole truth that we need to live our Christian lives well, even the truths about turning from personal sin, rejecting things that God calls evil, even if the culture around us tells us to accept such things.
Paul’s passion for what was true overrode his need to be accepted by the people around him. His passion for God’s truth made him unliked by many! Because he preached hard truths. But he stuck to them and didn’t let the godless world around him change the Word of God inside him.
Hear his plea today friends because it was for people like us, in our days of ear-tickling teaching that Paul prayed.
