SATURDAY July 5, 2025
Preach the Word!
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2
Let us reexamine Paul’s charge to Timothy. First, he was to preach the Word! He also needed to be ready. This suggests the idea of having an urgency of preparedness and being ready at any moment to preach. Christ was faithful. In any season, He would give Timothy a message to preach. Timothy was also urged to train others on how to preach the Word of God. He was to recognize those with the gift of teaching and pour into them (2 Timothy 2:2).
Not every one of us is called to preach or teach; we are not all gifted in the same way. God uses us all differently. He uses pastors in a certain way, and, as in Paul’s charge to Timothy, they were also urged to take up the spiritual armor and live up to what God had called them to do. Pastors are ministers in the hand of God. The charge to preach the Word was to be taken seriously. Pastors are to preach the truth of God’s Word uncompromisingly. They are always to be prepared and ready at any moment by having a message on hand to give to the people.
In his preaching, Timothy was to––convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching. The word convince means “to reprove.” There needed to be spoken words that would bring the unbeliever to a point of conviction about their sinful state. Timothy was also to use the authority of God’s Word to rebuke people who were doing things they should not be doing. He was also to exhort people. The word exhort is a word used for “encouragement,”––to help comfort people who are hurting. When ministering to people, there would be the need for longsuffering––patience. What was the main purpose of teaching? To teach people the truth of God’s Word!
All Christians can use the gift of exhortation, not only pastors. Every one of us has the ability to comfort and give God’s Word to someone who is going through a difficult time in their lives.
Wherever the Gospel is preached, no matter how crudely, there are bound to be results.
~Billy Graham~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
