Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

2 Timothy 4 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Preach the Word”

4 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: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. ³ 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, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is laid up 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...

¹⁶ At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen…

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

In yesterday’s text, Paul described some of the conditions of the hearts and attitudes of men that would be evident in the last days. He said: that in the last days difficult times will come. ² For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. In today’s text, Paul continues with another attitude that we will see in the last days and an exhortation to Timothy to remain faithful to his calling. It says:    ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. ³ 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, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

Surly this too is evident in our culture and in the church today. I would never want to insinuate that these conditions affect all or even most churches, blanket judgments are never wise. But there definitely is a leaning, particularly in churches who are centered on their own growth as an entity, to make the message more friendly. Many of the doctrines being preached in growth oriented churches today mirror the philosophies of modern thinking. Between the pressure from within the congregation and the pressures from the outside societal leaning toward political correctness, it is truly difficult for pastors and preachers to remain true to God’s word. Because the cross has become an offensive symbol to so many, it is difficult to do what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.  

To know and preach Christ and Him crucified is not considered politically correct. It is viewed as narrow minded and intolerant. Verse 5 above says:  so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. In yesterdays text Paul said that the result of the actions and attitudes of self seeking men would be that they would be:   holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. 

We could say that this too is a condition which exists in much of the church today. There is a form of godliness, whether in liturgy, music, “persuasive words of wisdom” or even in good programs, doing good work in the community and beyond, there is a form of godliness but there is little of the power of God. There is little evidence of the miracles that were evident in Christ’s ministry and in the early church.  Again, Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, and so to preachers today is: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

No one likes to be reproved or rebuked and Paul instructs that it be done with exhortation, great patience and instruction. World philosophies have people believing a lie about discipline. They tell us that parents should not discipline their children. They tell us that schools should not include discipline in their instruction. Why then should we be surprised when they reject God. Hebrews 12:5-7 says: and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 7It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?…    Proverbs 3:12 says: For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.    Jesus Himself says to the last day church:  I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.… (Revelation 3:18-20)

The message of the cross is indeed an offensive message. The beaten and battered Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered on that cross so that the offensive sins of all mankind would no longer separate us from the holiness of God the Father. The church today can be like many other organizations, it can be a group of good people, socializing and doing good works. It can share a message that is acceptable to the politically correct philosophies of the day. The church can be an organization with;  a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.  Or the church can heed the instruction and exhortation of Paul, not sharing a message that tickles the ears nor a message of “persuasive words of wisdom”, but rather a message of;  “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified”, a message with the “ demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

Many say that the message of salvation through Christ and His cross is narrow minded. That too is true. Jesus Himself says:  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14) The wide path of human philosophies has a ditch on either side. There is a tendency to either go too far to the side of tolerance where there is no discipline or correction, or to go to the other side where there is only discipline, rebuke and condemnation, without love, grace, patience and instruction.

 The church today needs to find the narrow way, the way to, like Jesus, love sinners yet hate sin. The church today needs to follow the example and the commission of Jesus. In Mark 16, He says:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  

That’s a church with Godliness and power. May that be the church in our day.    Your kingdom come, your will be done,  on earth as it is in heaven.   Amen.