Portrait of a Preacher

By W. Ross Rainey [1]

An Exposition of 2 Timothy 4:1–5

Introduction

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry (2 Timothy 4:1–5).

In John Bunyan’s classic allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, the very first thing that happened to Pilgrim after he became a Christian was to be taken to Interpreter’s House. There he was led to a room and shown a picture on the wall—it was a portrait of a preacher. It is, wrote Guy H. King, “as if John Bunyan would impress upon the new convert that, while he is to become many things, his first responsibility is to be, in some sense, a preacher.” [2] Looking at the picture, Pilgrim sees a preacher with “eyes lifted to heaven; the best of books in his hand; the law of truth written upon his lips; the world was behind his back; it stood as if it pleaded with men; and a crown of gold did hang over his head.” [3]

What a portrait, what an inspiration, what a charge, challenge, and guide to any preacher! This was not intended for some special clergy class. Not at all. It was, and is, for any Christian, for every Christian should be—in one way or another—a preacher of the Word (2 Corinthians 4:1). Indeed, it was because John Bunyan was not some sort of ordained clergyman that he was thrown into jail, simply because he would not stop preaching.

Here in these verses we have a detailed Spirit-inspired portrait of a preacher.

The first thing we note is:

His Motive

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom (4:1).

A preacher’s motive for serving Christ had better be sincere and right. Why? Well, not only because of the serious tasks which are his (vv. 2–5), but because some day he must give account of his ministry, not before men or angelic councils, but before the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 14:12; 1 Corinthians 3:9–15; 4:1–5; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The “quick” are believers who will be alive on the earth when Christ returns for His Church (1 Corinthians 15:51). The “dead” are believers who have fallen asleep in Christ, whose bodies will be raised to put on incorruption when the Lord returns (1 Corinthians 15:52). Then, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, our Savior will review and evaluate with His all-searching omniscience the service of every believer.

No wonder, then, that the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “I charge thee,” or literally, “I solemnly witness” (see 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 1 Timothy 5:21). Let us remember that as in that day, so now, everything is open to our Lord’s view (Hebrews 4:13). Our knowledge of this should encourage every believer to serve Him faithfully, to press on midst the trials and difficulties we encounter as part of our training, and at the same time not to be afraid of man.

It was Andrew Bonar who said, “The best part of all Christian work is that part which only God sees.” [4]

The second main thing we see in this portrait of a preacher is:

His Manual

Preach the Word (4:2a).

The Apostle Paul’s firm command to Timothy was, “Preach the Word.” What you or I or anyone else may think about this or that does not really matter. What matters is God’s Word and what He has to say. Nothing can or should take the place of the Scriptures. The word for “preach” (κήρυξον, kēruxon) means to proclaim like a herald. All believers have this privilege and responsibility.

Warren W. Wiersbe has explained the word “preach” as follows:

In Paul’s day, a ruler had a special herald who made announcements to the people. He was commissioned by the ruler to make announcements in a loud, clear voice so everyone could hear. He was not an ambassador with the privilege of negotiating; he was a messenger with a proclamation to be heard and heeded. Not to heed the ruler’s message was serious; to abuse the messenger was even worse. [5] 

Today, throughout the professing church, we are experiencing “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11).

The third outstanding thing we observe about Paul’s portrait of a preacher is:

His Method

Be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine…But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry (4:2b-c, 5).

As heralds of God’s Word, we should be diligent and ready to use every opportunity to preach the Word, whether the circumstances seem favorable or not. We so often excuse ourselves for not laying hold of an opportunity to proclaim the Word by rationalizing that it’s not the right time or place. Granted, there may be a rare instance now and then when this is so. Nevertheless, Paul himself was a refreshing example of his own exhortation to “be ready in season and out of season” (v. 2b, NASB). By a riverside, in temple courts, on a stormy sea, and now again in prison he always found opportunities to make God’s Word known.

It was Francis of Assisi (1182–1226 A.D.) who said, “Preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary.”

During high school years, the late Dr. Walter R. Martin was a personal friend and classmate of mine at Stony Brook School. Walt was the founder of the Christian Research Institute, the largest of the cult-apologetic groups, and the author of numerous books. His best-known work is The Kingdom of the Cults. After graduation our paths crossed only once at a March 1970 CRI banquet in Wayne, New Jersey. I am told that he had no known hobbies. His life was his work, and, as his handpicked successor, Hank Hanegraaff, said of Martin, “He had fire in his belly until the day he died.” Hanegraaff recalls that when they traveled together Martin constantly looked for any chance, public or private, to share his faith. [6] Would that from day to day we all had the same burden, zeal, and outlook on life as Walt did!

As for biblical preaching, we note that there are three elements: “reprove” (conviction), “rebuke” (warning), and “exhort” (appeal). An old rule of preachers is, “He should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.”

Furthermore, the preacher must be patient as he preaches God’s Word. Visible results are often slow in coming. He must also be patient toward those who oppose the message he proclaims. Come what may, he has God’s promise that His word will not return unto Him void (Isaiah 55:11; see Psalm 126:5–6). In addition, the preacher must preach “doctrine” (v. 2). As Wiersbe has put it so well,

He must not simply tell Bible stories, relate interesting illustrations, or read a verse and then forget it. True preaching is the explanation and application of Bible doctrine. Anything else is just religious speechmaking. [7]

Lastly, in verse 5, we have four more details as to the preacher’s method. First, he must “watch” or, as the New American Standard Bible translates the opening words, “be sober in all things” (see 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8). Preaching the Word is a serious business. While there is great joy attached to preaching, the preacher must always keep before him the seriousness of his task. Second, as a soldier (2:3–4, 9), he must expect, accept, and “endure afflictions” in connection with his service (see 3:10–12; 2 Corinthians 6:1–10). It was the religious crowd that crucified Christ and persecuted Paul (see vv. 3–4), the context supporting the fact that most of Timothy’s sufferings would come from the same source. Third, even though the preacher may not have the gift of an evangelist per se, he must nonetheless seek to be a soul-winner (see Proverbs 11:30; Acts 20:17–21). Fourth, the preacher must “make full proof” or fill full his “ministry.” The word for “ministry” is diakonian (διακονίαν) in the Greek, which refers to Christian service in general (see Colossians 4:12, 17). It does not carry the formal significance which the word “ministry” has acquired today.

We come now to our last major detail in Paul’s portrait of a preacher—namely, a certain segment of his audience, which we have called:

His Myth-Minded Listeners

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (4:3–4).

Paul spoke of it as future, but the day has long since come when most people do not want the plain teaching of God’s Word, that is, “sound doctrine.” As never before people want to be entertained by the latest religious novelties. Why? Because they have “itching ears,” a term used only here in the New Testament. Thus they “heap” or multiply to themselves all kinds of Bible-denying specialists to scratch their itching ears. As A. T. Robertson has written, “Clement of Alexandria tells of speakers tickling … the ears of those who want to be tickled. This is the temptation of the merely ‘popular’ preacher, to furnish the latest tickle.” [8] Thus many professed preachers simply scratch the “itching ears” of the religious crowd with the latest fad, giving them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

The next step is to turn away from the truth altogether. As Robertson has said, “They prefer ‘myths’ to the ‘truth’ as some today turn away to ‘humanism,’ ‘bolshevism,’ ‘new thought’ or any other fad that will give a new momentary thrill to their itching ears and morbid minds.” [9]

Such people represent ripe fruit for the picking by modern day false cults. Statistics substantiate the fact that most of today’s cultists were former church members.

Observe the Apostle Paul’s emphasis on “sound” or “healthy doctrine” in verses 2–4: “Preach the Word…doctrine…They will not endure sound doctrine…They shall turn away their ears from the truth.”

It has been said that people who have turned away from “sound doctrine” “are afflicted not with the seven-year itch, but with the sevenfold ‘fleshly itch’ of: 1. Novelty, 2. Curiosity, 3. Excitement, 4. Sensationalism, 5. Popularity, 6. Flattery, and 7. Disputing.” [10]

Notes

1. Ross Rainey is an itinerant Bible teacher who resides in Plymouth, Michigan. He has been serving the Lord in North America since 1954 in the areas of evangelism, Bible teaching, conferences, and pastoral ministry. He is a former visiting instructor at Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park and has taught at Kawartha Lakes Bible School in Peterborough, Ontario.
2. Guy H. King, To My Son (Fort Washington, Pa.: Christian Literature Crusade, 1944), 110.
3. King, To My Son, 110.
4. Source Unknown.
5. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Faithful (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1981), 164.
6. Tim Stafford, ”The Kingdom of the Cult Watchers,” Christianity Today (October 7, 1991): 21.
7. Wiersbe, Be Faithful, 165
8. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 6 vols. (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1931), 4:629–30.
9. Robertson, Word Pictures, 4:630.
10. N. A. Woychuk, Exposition of Second Timothy, (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revel Co., 1973), 140.