2 Timothy 4:2 | What is Preaching?

INTRODUCTION

A followup to “Will you let me be your pastor?”

In the sermon, “Will you let me be your pastor?” I said:

What is the business of the pastor?

At all times the pastor is a man of the book.

The elder is to be busy with the word and prayer.

And of what value is the Word of God?

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

So, right there, in the Bible’s own description of itself …

… we see why it’s not always easy for the people of a congregation to respect or acknowledge their pastors.

Because, the Word by which those pastors instruct them at times will not merely teach them …

… but will also reprove and correct them.

As a pastor, it isn’t my job to tell you what you want to hear.

Or, what will make you feel better for the moment.

The Word is not always immediately comforting.

At times a word of correction or admonishment that is needed.

Because, the labor of the pastor is to tell you the truth.

And the truth with set you free.

For this reason, our passage this morning says: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season

So, this morning we will ask what question:

What is preaching?

And what does this mean:

… for the preacher

… for the congregation.

PRAY

3:00

WHAT IS PREACHING?

I’ve been thinking a lot about preaching.

What am I doing here?

As I asked this question, I began to think through the scriptures, and obviously landed in this most important passage in 2 Timothy 4.

Before I decided that I would actually preach a sermon on this topic …

… I realized that a full definition of preaching would be valuable not only for me, but for the congregation.

4:00

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to coach and develop many new preachers.

A considerable amount of our time has been spent thinking through this wonderful and pithy definition of preaching.

Expository Exultation (John Piper)

Preaching gives attention to the Word.

Preaching turns our attention to the Lord.

Expository — A serious, attentive labor to Expose-Explain-Apply.

Exultation — The preacher enjoys the truth of God and his gospel in such a way that he demonstrates a heart that is itching to sing.

This is the image in my mind and my weekly prayer:

May God give the congregation anxious mouths waiting impatiently …

… for someone to give them a chord with which they can exclaim their praise!

And may the preaching, by the transforming work of the Spirit, fill their mouths with praise.

Exultation, worship, is the end of preaching.

In recently years I’ve added a word to John Piper’s definiton.

Now, this is dangerous, because who would presume to improve on John Piper’s teaching :)

To John Piper’s definition I have added one word:

Sacramental — By sacramental I mean, preaching is a God given, means of graceI. So preaching is an opportunity and a call to the people of God to partake of grace.

Preaching heralds the provision of the Lord and invites his children to gather around the table he has set.

7:00

APPLY

Connecting 2 Timothy 3:16 with 2 Timothy 4:2.

The Points of Today’s message:

Preach the Word

Reprove

Rebuke

Exhort

With Complete Patience and Teaching

These align with what we find in 2 Timothy 3:16.

All scripture is breathed out by God THEREFORE preach the word

It is profitable for teaching THEREFORE reprove

It is profitable for reproof THEREFORE rebuke

It is profitable for training in righteousness THEREFORE exhort

8:30

PREACH THE WORD

Read v1

I don’t think Paul could have launched this commission to Pastor Timothy with a more serious charge!

God is judge of everyone.

He has come and he is coming again.

His kingdom is forever.

In light of all of this … preach the word!

All Scripture is breathed out by God

If this is true, we have to preach this amazing news.

Mark 9:7 ESV

And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Having heard from God, ought we not also to speak what we have heard?

Preach = herald/public proclamation

Preaching isn’t advice giving.

Preaching isn’t private counsel.

Though the Word is certainly valuable for this …

… and the pastor as well as the whole of the church ought to go to the word and counsel one another by the Word.

But to preach is to herald.

Not to advise, but to declare.

12:00

APPLY

What does this mean for the preacher?

The preacher must be humbled under the Word as a herald.

The Scripture, which is breathed out by God and profitable …

… must first prove itself in the life of the preacher in his preparation and attention to the Word during the week.

There is a humorous and tongue in cheek quip: never trust a skinny cook …

… that I’ve adapted to: never trust a skinny pastor.

Paraphrase of Julian Freeman Preachers should be like good cooks; always snacking on the food we prepare for others.

The humor aside, what this means for the preacher is that one who has partaken regularly on the Word of God, surely will not have a thin, undernourished soul.

What does this mean for the congregation?

Where the preacher must be humbled under the Word as a herald.

The congregation must be humbled under the Word by the herald.

Does the congregation gather in expectation for the Word of God to be heralded …

… to be lifted up and publically proclaimed

… in their hearing, for the reproof, rebuke and exhortation of their own soul

… come what may!

15:00

REPROVE

The Scriptures are profitable for teaching THEREFORE reprove

This is the first application of preaching.

This is the step of explaining an error.

It is setting forth reason and argument against deception and vanity.

Colossians 2:8 ESV

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

How are you going to “see to it”? Reproof.

The idea of “prove” is very much in the meaning of this word.

It is to show the truth in the face of an error.

Or to test our thoughts by the truth of Scripture.

Preaching is a means by which we are transformed by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2) …

… by which we test and discern the will of God

… what is good and acceptable and perfect.

To reprove is to expose, bring to light or set forth (BDAG)

It is to refute error and to convince of truth.

The noun form of reproof is “convicting evidence”. Setting forth convicting evidence.

The business of preaching is to render a final verdict on our thoughts …

… and bring them into conformity with Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 ESV

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Preaching is to hold forth the truth in such a way that error is chased away [destroyed].

No wonder the scriptures say that not many should presume to be teachers:

As a preacher I can tell you that this is a fearful thing to wield this weapon of our warfare: it is not carnal, but divine!

This happens right here, in the gathering of the saints, in the midst of the congregation.

The preacher heralds the truth against error.

John Calvin If we were as teachable as we should be, Christ’s ministers could guide us merely by pointing out the right way. But as things are, sane advice and mere moderate exhortations are not enough to shake us out of our lethargy. Thus there is need for stronger reproofs and exhortations.

18:00

APPLY

What does this mean for the preacher?

The preacher must know both the truth of the word …

… and the errors that surround the people and are among the people.

Paraphrasing the Puritan, John Owen from his book, A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace, Sinclair Ferguson says, There are actually only ever two pastoral problems you will ever encounter. The first is this: persuading those who are under the dominion of sin that they are under the dominion of sin. That's the task of evangelism. And [second], persuading those who are no longer under the dominion of sin that they are no longer under the dominion of sin because they're Christ's.

I am often asking myself, how does the congregation have a tendency to wander?

What are the errors that surround us …

… in the broader church culture

… and in the culture of the world

… that might creep in and need reproof.

What does this mean for the congregation?

We aren’t born into a world filled with truth.

We aren’t born as a people possessing all wisdom and knowledge.

Therefore, listen with the posture that there is something to learn.

Every time I listen to a preacher I situate myself in this:

There is something from God’s Word that I have not yet understood, or that I have not believed ...

… that this preacher will hold out to me today.

Reprove me. Test my thoughts and prove again the truth in the face of my propensity to error.

19:30

REBUKE

It is profitable for reproof THEREFORE rebuke

This is the second application of preaching.

Having had our minds changed, and vain arguments destroyed …

… it is not right to admonish or warn of dangerous behavior.

First the mind, then the will.

Preaching’s purpose is not only to speak and correct an error, but to call for change in behavior.

Let me demonstrate the meaning of this word, rebuke, from a few places in scripture:

On Palm Sunday, when the people cried, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” …

… the pharisees tried to get Jesus to rebuke them. I.e. get them to stop it!

Luke 19:39 ESV

And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

Or, “Get them to stop it!”

This is why there are so many warnings in the scripture:

For example, Paul does not tell us the fruit of the spirit, until he has first warned of the works of the flesh.

In so far as there is sin and wandering from the truth in our lives:

The second purpose of preaching is to call the congregation to “stop it.”

Having heralded truth against error …

… the preacher heralds righteousness against wickedness.

23:00

Preaching is a warning against danger and a call to bring sinful behavior to an end.

Luke 17:3 ESV

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

APPLY

What does this mean for the preacher?

We need to take the warnings seriously.

Richard Baxter I preached … as a dying man to dying men.

Most of the preachers I know are not by nature argumentative or confrontational.

Most of us entered this ministry because we want to help people, not because we want to rebuke people.

But have we come to understand and trust the scriptures that so much of the hardship we experience in this life is actually the consequence of our own sinful actions?

If we want to help, we must be bold to rebuke.

What does this mean for the congregation?

How do we conceive of ourselves?

When you hear the Word, do you presume that you are the hero of the story.

Are you like Moses and David and Peter and Paul—mighty and faithful and bold and sacrificial?

Or are you actually like the real Moses and David and Peter and Paul—grumbling and violent, Christ-denying and a chief of sinners.

When we gather to hear the Word preached, do we say in our hearts and pray before our gathering …

… Lord, rebuke me.

Though my flesh would excuse and complain, rationalize and defend …

… may the good work of your Fatherly discipline do it’s necessary work in my life today.

26:00

EXHORT

Preaching is profitable for training in righteousness THEREFORE exhort

This is the third application of preaching.

Where the first two are negative, the third is positive.

Exhortation is to both comfort in affliction and to entreat, implore, to encourage and exhort toward the good.

It is to instill with courage or to strengthen with cheer.

Isn’t this precisely what a good Father does after he knows his discipline has been hard to receive.

What serious rebuke of our Father in heaven is not followed by loving exhortation.

As the prophet says, “a bruised reed he will not break.”

1 Timothy 5:1 captures the careful, gentle and encouraging sense of the word exhort/encourage.

1 Timothy 5:1 ESV

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers

Where rebuke may leave a person sapped of strength …

… exhortation seeks to restore to strength.

More than that …

Exhortation is a call to action.

1 Peter 5:1–2 ESV

So I exhort the elders among you …: shepherd the flock of God that is among you

Where to rebuke is to call to cease an action, to exhort is a call to begin or continue on in a new action.

It is to exhort, encourage and charge to walk in the way of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 ESV

we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

30:30

APPLY

What does this mean for the preacher?

For all the reproof and rebuke, that is not the final fruitful end of preaching.

v17 - The goal is that you would be complete, equipped for every good work.

Much like we have a prayer of confession, but wallowing in the reality of our sin is not the point.

We confess our sins to the Lord, because he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There are churches that seem to understand the application of preaching for reproof and rebuke, but little else.

The preacher must have a heart and a mind that is emboldened to see the people strengthened walk in newness of life.

There is none righteous.

It is by grace that we first believed and by grace that we walk in this faith.

So, we know that reproof and rebuke is not sufficient in itself to fashion any righteousness in any man.

No, we must be filled by the strength of Christ, emboldened by the preaching of his gospel.

2 Timothy 2:1 ESV

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

What does this mean for the congregation?

Gather with the expectation to go and be the church.

When we gather under the preaching of the Word, these two things are true:

In reproof and rebuke there will be much that is stripped away—so we may feel vulnerable and ashamed.

So in exhortation, we are cleansed and clothed—so we may feel strengthen and equipped.

33:00

Now, the three applications of preaching are actually complete.

But Paul adds this qualification to the young preacher, Timothy.

WITH COMPLETE PATIENCE AND TEACHING

Why patience? Because the goal is v17.

The goal is to be complete and equipped.

Patience implies:

It takes time.

It takes repetition.

It is difficult (complete patience).

Teaching is never done.

Preaching is never advising, suggesting, considering, thinking.

We must remain situated in the posture of teaching.

That is, when you preach, preach with the authority of a teacher.

Stand on the ground of the authority of the inspired Word that you teach.

Always, patiently, without wavering.

35:00

APPLY

What does this mean for the preacher?

There are times that I just don’t want to do it anymore.

I’m not even sure what I’m doing.

I can’t do it.

But we preach with patience.

As a preacher, we don’t take our cues from our perception of the fruitfulness of the preaching.

We take our cues from our faithfulness to the truth that is proclaimed.

And our discernment of the need of the congregation to continue to be taught.

It would be easy to conclude that preaching doesn’t work.

Just look at how slow is the progress, and how many are the setbacks and disappointments.

I think of the Apostle Paul as he begs the church not to be ashamed of him because of his suffering.

He is saying, not to be ashamed because his ministry of preaching the Word has suffered setbacks and difficulty.

I have seen men who have been faithful so long, but their church isn’t growing or they don’t see progress fast enough …

… and so they start to do other things.

They get witty or innovative or attractional or any other thing than preaching the Word in season and out of season.

NO! Complete patient instruction. Without wavering. Over and over again.

And God will do his good word by his Word.

And when there is great fruit, we will say, “Miracle!

The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes!”

It is the Word that works!

Acts 12:24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

And, I think of the parable of the seed and the sower in Mark 4.

What is increasing? What is multiplying?

The seed! The Word that is sown.

The power of the spread and growth of the church in all of history has been in the Word of God.

Steve Timmis I think success [in ministry] is … seeing the Word of God taken by the Spirit of God in the lives of the people of God and just changing them, making them more like Christ, and [non-believers] being attracted by the kind of corporate life [of the church] and seeing the Gospel as the only explanation for what is going on and them responding in repentance and faith.

The key in that quotation is the words “the Gospel as the only explanation.”

That is the power and mystery of the parable in Mark 4.

The singular cause of fruitfulness in the harvest field is the seed.

And that seed is the simple and clear gospel of Jesus Christ.

41:00

What does the mean for the congregation?

Read v4.

What are you itching for?

I pray that even this message today from God’s inspired Word in 2 Timothy has served this three fold application.

To reprove against any error or misconception about what preaching is in the midst of the church.

To rebuke any waywardness and sin in how the preacher or the congregation handles God’s Word.

To exhort you, that you would be strengthened to hear and believe.

What are you itching for?

Are you eager to continue your consideration of the Word this week?

Do you desire to gather into Community Groups and triads, around coffees and meal tables …

… to continue to receive the benefit of preaching’s reproof, rebuke and exhortation?

Are you eager to gather again?

In faith that the Lord would do by the preaching of his Word …

… what he has promised according to his Word.

43:00

APPLY

This week we looked at the aim and application of preaching.

Next week we will look at the content of the preaching—that which is heralded.

We preach Christ, and him crucified.

More than that, he is alive!

Romans 5:10 ESV

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

So, I am concerned that I would have preached preaching this morning.

But the content, the substance, the value of preaching is not preaching.

It is God’s word.

And the substance and center of God’s Word is the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Brother and sister, he alone is the righteous one.

Only he needs no reproof and is he for whom there is no rebuke.

It is only by Word of Christ, and by the gift of his Spirit, that you will be exhorted, yes, strengthened by grace.

It is only by his sacrificial death that you may be forgiven of your sin.

Not by any new argument of reproof or impassioned reproof.

It is only by his resurrection life at work in you that we will be made alive together with Christ.

Not by any word of exhortation or patient teaching itself.

We preach Christ.

And by Christ and his gospel, by faith in his grace alone …

… the Lord will bring you to completion

… equipped for every good work.

45:00