A Sober Exhortation to Preachers and Future Preachers

A Message by Larry Temple on

2 Timothy 4:1-7 KJV
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the
living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be
ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long
suffering and teaching.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to
their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves
teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to
fables.

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and
the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the faith.

In the 19th century our nation was visited by a renowned French author, historian, and
philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville. He came to America to look for the source of her greatness,
and this is what he said:

“I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors; in
her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world
commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it
in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution.

ot until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits AFLAME
WITH RIGHTEOUSESS did I understand the secret of her genius and power.
America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good,
America will cease to be great.”

I have a deep frustration with the current evangelical ethos in America today. I long to see
“pulpits AFLAME WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS “ once again. Many say about government, that
our governors are a reflection of the people who put them in office, and I believe this to be true, I
also believe that Christians in America are a reflection of the preaching they sit under. I feel the
American people have ceased to “be good” and have become the scourge of the world mainly
because of its preachers. We live in a time where many of the pulpits of our country are occupied
by pragmatists and cowards, men who are afraid to preach the “whole council of God.”

Whatever happened to biblical words like sin, righteousness, judgment, wrath, holiness, and hell?

All too often preachers who refuse to use these words are in effect believing that they are wiser
than God. Preachers all to easily can deceive themselves and this why Paul has given the young
preacher Timothy this exhortation and four directives or charges:
First he is to faithfully preach the word, second he is given an instruction “when” and “how” to
preach, third he gives reasons “why” he must preach, and fourth he is given a call to persevere.

In Paul’s first directive he commands Timothy to preach the word, verse one:

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the
dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word!

Paul “charges” or gives Timothy a mandate to Preach the word. In his mandate is a reminder that
he is to preach in the sight of God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will be his Judge. Paul reminds
him that he is to Preach “GODS word“ not his own. Paul knows that this young preacher needs to
be cautioned that he is handling the very words of God. Very similar words are found in James
3:1

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter
judgment.

So very often I hear modern preachers softening the tone of God’s word or moderating the plain
teaching of scripture. I understand their primary motive, they feel they do not want to “offend”
people and thus turn them away from the Gospel. These preachers refuse to use words like Hell,
Sin, Judgment or other words like these.

The problem with this kind of thinking is that: THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE, IS THE
LANGUAGE OF GOD

God wants people to hear his voice, and his voice is best heard through the unadulterated,
undiluted preaching of his Holy Word, not through the preachers pragmatic approach to people’s
sensitivities. Preachers must be cautioned not to soften God’s word or avoid preaching on certain
texts. When preachers do this, they are saying to God that they are wiser than Him when it comes
to dealing with people.

Again this is a weighty exhortation to preachers: THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE, its
promises, its comforts, its warnings, its harsh tone to the disobedient, all of it is…

IS THE LANGUAGE OF GOD

Preachers must be careful how they handle it, they must be careful of what they stress as
“important“, and what they stress as “as not that important“. I think of the words of Jesus words
in Mat 12:36-37

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account
of it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your
words you will be condemned.”

In Paul’s second directive he instructs Timothy “when” and “how” to preach, verse two:
“Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and
teaching.”
This “in season and out of season” is a clear call for preachers to be faithful to God and to His
word in all situations and in all circumstances, to be faithful to the word whether the
circumstances are favorable or not. Faithfulness to the ministry of the word is what he is called
to, not what he thinks is “effective”.

He tells Timothy to convince or to correct, which simply means it is the preachers responsibility
to teach his hearers where they are in error and to point out the sin in their lives. The word that is
translated “convince” in this text is the is the same word translated “convict” in John 15:8 when
used in speaking of the Holy Spirit’s ministry :

“And when He has come, He will “convict” the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne in a message he gave in February 1837 titled “conviction of sin” said
this about preaching:

Why should you say that we (preachers) are harsh and cruel and severe when
we begin to deal with your souls by convincing you of sin? Am I become your
enemy, because I tell you the truth?

When the surgeon comes to cure a corrupted wound, when he tears off the vile
bandages which unskillful hands had wrapped around it, when he lays open the
deepest recesses of your wound and shows you all its venom and its disease — do
you call him cruel? May not his hands be all the time the hands of gentleness and
love?

Or, when a house is all on fire, when the flames are bursting out from every
window, when some courageous man dares to alarm the sleeping inmates, bursts
through the locked door, tears aside the close-drawn curtains and with impatient
hand shakes the sleeper, tells him to wakeup and run A moment longer, and you
may be lost! Do you call him cruel? Or do you say this messenger of mercy spoke
too loud — too plainly? Ah, no. All that a man has he will give for his life.

Why, then, brethren, will you blame the minister of Christ when he begins by
convincing you of sin? Do you think that the wound of sin is less venomous or
deadly than a wound in the flesh? Do you think the flames of hell are less hard to
bear than the flames of earth? The very Spirit of love begins by convincing you of
sin; and are we less the messengers of love because we begin by doing the same
thing? Oh, then, do not say that we are become your enemy because we tell you
the truth!

We have moved a long way away from the preachers of old like this. It takes a lot of Courage to
step on peoples toes but this is exactly what Paul is telling Timothy to do! He tells him to rebuke
and exhort, this implies to be sharp or severe and to warn of the consequences of disobedience
and of future judgment.

Charles Spurgeon charged his student future preachers that it is their job to: “thrust the sword of
the spirit - into the hearts of men”

It is important to understand people don’t need the word of God toned down in order to swallow
it, they need it given as Paul says with all long suffering and teaching. He is telling Timothy to be
patient with people, as opposed to getting angry with them knowing that Godliness takes much
patient teaching and instruction. They are to give the word in strong doses but to be patient as it
says in Gal 5:9

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose
heart.

In Paul’s third directive he gives Timothy reasons “why” he must preach In verses three an four,
Paul warns Timothy what will happen to the sinful nature if it is left unchecked

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will
turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Isn’t this exactly what has happened in the modern Christian culture. Many of today’s
“Christian’s” have a shopping mall attitude about Christianity. We have leaders who fuel this
attitude with marketing schemes, and “specialized” ministries to meet every so called need
because “this is what works”

A Fox News article Called “Religion gets supersized at Mega Churches” helps makes my point:

These massive holy houses attract churchgoers by the thousands with

celebratory services that tout contemporary music, television screens and
sermons that aren’t “churchy,” according to the pastor of the nation’s largest
church. But critics say the sin-free pep rallies don’t encourage personal
transformation and reflection, keystones of religion. Instead of a pulpit, pews and
a group of familiar faces found at traditional community churches, megachurches
can resemble a campus. “They are so large you can select the activity that you
like,” said Ken Woodward, ewsweek’s contributing editor who covers religion.
“If you want to lose weight Jesus’ way, you can join the weight-loss program or
join a basketball team … These churches have so many people they don’t just
sponsor a team, they sponsor a league. “ot everybody can afford to join a
country club.” At the biggest church in the country, Lakewood Church in
Houston, Texas, Pastor Joel Osteen preaches to some 25,000 people each week —
and sin is not on the menu. Osteen said his goal is to “give people a boost for the
week.” “I think for years there’s been a lot of hellfire and damnation you go to
church to figure out what you’re doing wrong and you leave feeling bad like
you’re not going to make it,” Osteen said. “We believe in focusing on the
goodness of God.”

You see the spirit behind all this is a kind of pragmatic attitude that says: “hey its this is working,
is bringing people into the kingdom, right” It is easy to aim at Mega Churches but this pragmatic
spirit isn’t just found at these kind of churches it is all over modern evangelical Christianity. I
would say (I could be wrong) that most of the decisions made in evangelical churches today are
made solely based on “what works”.

But does this pragmatic approach really work in the long run?

What about the average American Evangelical Christian? How many can name all the ten
commandments? How many have read the whole Bible? How many Churches have regular
prayer meetings anymore?

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

Remember Jesus’ sobering words in Matthew 7

“ot everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. “Many will say to Me in that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your
name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Are these churches really helping and loving people if they keep the sobering truths of God’s
word far from their hearers because they are afraid of offending them? Preachers must be careful
not to become teachers that who “itch ears” and “turn ears away from the truth” and teach in
Paul‘s word‘s to Timothy here: “fables”.

We need bold and courageous Preachers who will Preach and teach “the whole council of God”.

In Paul’s fourth directive he calls Timothy to persevere in his preaching ministry, verse five:

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry.

Of all people the Preacher must guard himself because as Jeremiah said:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
It is so easy for the preacher to slip into self deception, and to do, as one man has said: to run
from the 3 “C”s of Conflict-Controversy & Confrontation to embrace the 3 “C”s of Comfort-
Compromise & Cowardice.

If the preacher cannot see the “deceitful nature” of his own “sinful heart” how will he teach
others? And if the preacher will not confront the “deceitful nature” of their peoples “sinful
hearts” who will? Oprah? Dr Phil? The politicians? The news media? No! God has given this
ministry to the Preacher! How many modern preachers are willing to take this call? The call to
confront people with who they really are? Wretched sinners who need God’s Amazing Grace to
help us overcome the sin that wreaks havoc in our lives.

This kind of ministry is not easy, it doesn’t always win them many friends, as a matter of fact it
some cases it could be very costly. But if preachers are not willing to carry their crosses and be
crucified (by possibly being called nasty names, having their intentions maligned or even being
falsely accused because they expose the deed‘s of darkness and bring them to the light, just like
our Savior did) how will those who sit under their ministry do the same and carry their crosses in
their workplace and neighborhood?

I once spoke with an old Methodist minister who after many years in the ministry said to me in
speaking of his congregation, “they know how to make old men like me shut up”, In it I could
hear the regret’s of an old preacher. I thought about what I would say to him if I ever get the
chance to speak to him again. I would encourage him, I doesn’t have to end that way, preach the
truth! - Who cares what it cost’s you now you’re an old man and you don’t have much to loose
GO FOR IT! You have only one life! You still have time fight the good fight, run the race! Finish
well so you will hear the words “well done good an faithful servant”…

Preachers are to Preach, Teach and Minister in such a way - as their death approaches they won’t
have any regrets. This way they can say with Paul the words he says to Timothy in verses 6 and 7
of this 4th chapter:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

May God raise up faithful Timothy’s all across our land so that our churches and our pulpits in
America will once again be AFLAME WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS!