In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
This charge was given Timothy, a great man of God whose faith and trust in God was passed down grandmother to mother to him, from Paul as he was in chains in prison. Many people believe the words of the bible were only for that particular time and really has no relevance for us today "it's so old-fashioned." It may be old-fashioned but no matter what era we are in the bible, nor God, doesn't change with the flippant thoughts and actions of mankind. The Bible's commands, principles and promises are timeless. We need to take the words of Paul to heart. He is telling us a time is coming that men, women and children will no longer adhere to the soundness of God and his Word that has been faithful and will remain faithful to the end of the ages. We must be prepared at all times and remain in the Lord not being quick to give up. Look at Paul's situation, he is in chains for Christ! That is tough but he isn't giving up he is praising God! Paul is also saying we need to give tough love and to give it in the name of the Lord. Is a sister/brother of Christ heading down the wrong road? Are you going to sit there and watch them fall or are you going to help them avoid the fall? This is also what he means with verse 2 to "correct, rebuke and encourage." It doesn't matter if they are our friend or not. What Paul warns in the scripture is already happening, there are many churches that don't preach the WHOLE bible. They preach of the Love that God has but never talk of the Wrath of God that will be unleashed for a time. They never hear of Hell only of the glorious Heaven that not everyone will be able to enter. Jesus is the key and the door is very small, you will have to squeeze through and can take nothing with you. Jesus' desire is that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9) but scripture states in Matthew 7:13 that many are on the broad road to the wide gate which leads to destruction. Are you on this road or someone you know? There is a way to change direction, switch roads and enter the small gate and that is 1)Admit you sinned - Repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness through prayer 2)Believe Jesus is Lord & God raised him from the dead - Ask Jesus to come into your heart 3)Confess - tell others what God has done for you. Life with God is much easier than going through life without him. Notice I didn't say there would be no troubles, there are troubles just like before you accepted Christ but it's now tolerable because we are never alone, God is always there either holding our hand or carrying us through. I personally like to think of life as a garden of roses, you have the beauty but there are also the thorns... they keep me humble. I go to God to praise him for both the delicate beauty and fragrance of the rose and the painful reminder I am human and need him for help and guidance every moment. I do hope we all take heed the words of Paul... Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
God bless...
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