Pastoral Epistles

2 Timothy 4

The chapter neatly divides into two parts. The first part consists of the charge given to Timothy in verses 1-8, while the second part consists of various personal remarks and concluding comments from verse 9 onwards. Deal with the second part first

Paul's personal remarks

From verses 9 onwards we have a picture of Paul as a rather lonely man.

his friends are not with him - some have deserted him, Demas - others have left him for legitimate reasons - but you can see a man who is missing his friends and who is the subject of opposition (Alexander) - he remains aware of God's presence with him day by day (v 17) - but there is nothing inconsistent in having an awareness of God's presence, yet have a yearning for human companionship - we were made for relationships - within families, at work, in church, in communities - the desire for human friendship is a natural human desire which is not necessarily assuaged by a relationship with God
he does not have his cloak - we wants to be kept warm - again he is aware of his physical needs and his physical comforts - winter is coming (v21)
he wants his books - speculation as to what they may have been - may have been his copy of the OT, his notes or even his certificate of Roman citizenship

John Stott notes that although Paul has 'finished his course and is awaiting his crown, he is still a frail human being with ordinary human needs. He describes his plight in prison, and expresses in particular his loneliness.' It is important here to realise that even spiritual giants have their physical needs and are not afraid to tell others of their needs in this respect.

Paul's charge

Preach the Word: be prepared in season and out of season; rebuke, correct and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction - the charge can be broken down into distinct components as follows:

"the Word" - God is a God of communication - not a God of silence - John 1 - Hebrews chapter 1 - God has spoken to us through nature, through the Bible and through Jesus - Hebrew 1 v 2 "in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" - the Word is not Timothy's word but God's word - it is the gospel - reference to the whole body of revealed truth
"Preach" - this is what Timothy is to do with the word - to herald it - stand before the public and proclaim it - picture of the town official or Emperor's spokesman who would make a proclamation in a public official - Timothy to be an official herald of the King of kings - so this is a specific charge given to Timothy not all of us will be heralds in this sense - but we are all witnesses, whether we like it or not - see 2 Peter 3 where wives are told to be submissive to their husbands so that they may be won over without words - we are all involved in God's plan to spread his word across the world - God has no other plan - may not be very efficient - in the case of missionaries, have to learn foreign languages and customs - but that is the way that God has ordained it - note that preaching is not confined to unbelievers - can equally be a herald when seeking to build up Christians in their faith.
"be prepared" - underlines the urgency of the situation - "never lose your sense of urgency" - however Henriksen translates this as "be on hand" - in the sense of being present or be ready - he sees no reason to adopt a different sense, such as "be urgent".
"in season and out of season" - in other words, not simply when it is convenient for Timothy - this builds on the urgency implicit in "be prepared" - he is to take every opportunity he is given - not saying that he is never to rest - God has ordained that we do rest - but that we do not switch off and say that today we are off duty so that we do not have to take any opportunity afforded to us - the "out of season" refers to us and not to our hearers - not saying that we should be indifferent to the position of our hearers - "this injunction is not to be taken as an excuse for the insensitive brashness which has sometimes characterised our evangelism and brought us into disrepute. We have no liberty to brash unceremoniously into other people's privacy or tread clumsily on their corns" (Stott)
"correct, rebuke and encourage" - must hold all three together - Stott distinguishes between argument, reproof and appeal - he argues that this almost reflects three approaches, namely intellectual, moral and emotional - some tormented by doubts and need to be convinced by arguments - some fall into sin and need to be rebuked - others are haunted by fears and need to be encouraged - Nute states that reference is to reason, conscience and will - must surely start with correction for the simple reason that we do not live as God intended us to live - so we need correction
1. correct - means confronting and exposing the faults of others - see John 16 v 8 fn 200 - Wuest states translates the word as "reprove" - Greek word is elegcho - speaks of a rebuke which results in the person's confession of his guilt, or if not his confession, in his conviction of sin
2. rebuke - means warning solemnly and censuring those who persist in wilful error or in wrongdoing - conveys idea of a sharp reprimand - Wuest states that the word for rebuke ("epitamao") refers to a rebuke which does not bring the one rebuked to a conviction of any fault on his part
3. encourage - in some other versions the word used is "admonish" - thus Hendriksen states that "hand in hand with pertinent rebuke there must be tender, fatherly admonition" - Wuest states that the word is "parakaleo" has in it the idea of "please, I beg of you, I urge you" - translates it as exhort.
with great patience - do not give up because the numbers who listen are few - some of us take a long time to learn a particular lesson - note how urgency and patience are to go together
and careful instruction - must prepare properly and be clear in what we say - if the preacher does not prepare properly and clearly people will not understand what it is that is being said. - striking fact is the length of time which Paul spent in various places explaining the scriptures to his listeners - spent months and years of his life in the one place, carefully explaining the "whole will of God" (Acts 20 v 27) - it is as Stott puts it, to be an "intelligent proclamation" - what is said in the pulpit does matter - need for systematic exposition of the scripture.

Note the contrast between the charge given to Timothy and the desires of certain of his listeners - they want to hear certain things - this describes our generation - but it also describes previous generations - shows there is nothing new under the sun - how are we to react in the face of such challenges?

be steady - well-balanced and self-controlled - in other words, do not panic - do not be deflected from your course - do not believe that you can do everything - but at the same time there is something that everyone can do;
endure hardship - in other words, do not give up - stick at it - but notice here that we are told here that hardship will come our way;
do the work of an evangelist - do what you are called to do - not all of us called to be evangelists but all of us are involved in witnessing - do not just preserve the intellectual content of the gospel but get out and spread it;
discharge all of the duties of your ministry - he is to fulfil them and he is to fulfil all of them

Finally Paul turns to his impending death - death can provide us with a sense of focus - we can see here what matters to Paul - we can lose sight of what matters in the frenetic pace of modern life - he uses metaphors - a drink offering - a soldier, an athlete - this is not a competition between athletes - it is a matter of finishing the course which has been set for you - he can look back and say that he has kept the faith - he has been a good steward of that which has been entrusted to him - and he awaits the crown of righteousness - in contrast to the sentence that he awaits from Rome - his confidence can be ours - in whom do we place our trust? And have you and I carried out the charge given to us?

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