Does “Preach the Word” Mean What You Think it Means?
Does “Preach the Word” mean what you think it means?
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 longsuffering and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-2)
I have heard many preachers get the nuance of this command wrong.
There is no doubt that this passage is about the focus of pastoral activity, but if you think that the primary focus of that activity is dissecting and explaining the text, you would be incorrect. Ironically, I am going to dissect and explain the text of this passage to demonstrate that the dissecting and explanation of the text is not what it is about.
Preach the word.
Certainly, an essential pastoral role is teaching—making disciples. “Pastor-teacher” is one of the gifted leaders God has given to the church. But this word is κήρυξον which means to proclaim or to announce as a herald. The image of this word is not reading the word and giving the sense as Ezra did (Nehemiah 8:8), but rather proclaiming and arguing for the gospel as Paul did in the synagogues and public spaces around the shores of the Mediterranean.
Word in verse two is that ever-present New Testament word, λόγον from λόγοs (logos). This word is not synonymous with γραφ (graphe) which is most often translated scriptures. If Paul wanted to use γραφὴ here he would have. He used it just a few verses before in 2 Timothy 3:15-16.
The λόγοs is broader in its concept. It includes the written word but is much more than that. In its most general meaning, it is about the revelation of God to man. It is the message of the New Testament, of all the word of God. Jesus is the Word. The Bible is the Word. The gospel is the Word.
Thus, the command is not to dissect the writings (scriptures), but to proclaim the message (gospel).
When Timothy first read these words, the mental image of slaving over the text and explaining it in detail did not come to his mind. Instead, he was reminded to do as Paul had done in his ministry.
Boldly proclaim the New Testament message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sadly, as seminary-trained pastors, we often do the former instead of the latter. Both activities are essential aspects of the pastor’s job description. If we do not declare the gospel to the lost on a regular basis, we are not fulfilling our ministry.
Be ready?
Again, this is a word often not properly explained. Interlinears often translate verse two’s ἐπίστηθι as stand in. The KJV translates it be instant and others translate it be ready. None of those really get the gist of the word. Consider Paul’s use of it in the immediate context.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand (coming upon me). (2 Timothy 4:6)
TDNT1 gives various uses of the word—stand next to, stand by, stand near, approach, be in earnest, be pressing, approach.
The picture is not the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier standing alone out in the wind, rain, snow, and ice. It is more like what Abraham Lincoln said of McClellan who could never find exactly the right moment to go on the offensive.
“If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.”
It is a command to constantly engage in the task of proclaiming the New Testament message (the gospel and its implications) to people. We must constantly be engaged with people, not just the text and the pulpit. We are commanded to do it when it is convenient and when it is not.
Every command that follows is related to engaging with people—reprove, rebuke, encourage. We know that these commands are often more appropriately fulfilled in personal conversations rather than from the pulpit. I am concerned that we sometimes hide behind the pulpit to avoid personal interactions that are hard and uncomfortable but also essential for gospel ministry.
Paul wraps up the entire appeal to Timothy by urging him to fulfill the task of the gospelizer.
. . . do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).
If we are not doing the work of an evangelist, we are not fulfilling our ministry. One of the reasons that our churches are weak is that their leaders are only fulfilling half of their calling. We must be teachers, which includes making disciples. But we must also be evangelists.
Don’t be half a pastor. Fulfill your ministry.
Kevin Schaal preached a message at our Annual Meeting, recently concluded at Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. Follow this link to listen.
- Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, entry number 2186. [↩]