Paul's last letter before he was martyred is coming to an end in our Sunday series, but by God's grace the message will live in our lives as we make important what God makes important and live for what lasts.
William Hendriksen summarizes the last chapter of the letter with the theme:
"The Apostle Paul Tells Timothy What To Do In The Interest Of Sound Doctrine
Preach It 'I charge you'
4:1-8 In season, out of season, for apostasy is coming.
Remain faithful in view of the fact that 'I am about to set sail.'
4:9-22 Items of personal information, requests, greetings."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hendriksen's synthesis of chapter four is helpful:
"Timothy must preach the sound doctrine. This is the final, most solemn charge which the apostle issues as he directs the assistant's attention to God and to Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in whose presence the charge is issued and received. Thus he places Timothy under oath to comply with the charge. If Timothy obeys, he will share in (and if he disobeys he will miss) the glory of Christ's Epiphany and Reign.
Timothy, then,must be a herald. He must forcefully and faithfully proclaim the divinely authorized message of salvation. Welcome or not welcome, he must ever be on hand with his good news. In this connection, he must reprove, rebuke, and admonish, doing all this with utmost longsuffering and painstaking teaching-activity. Let him bear in mind that the season will arrive--every age has such a season, but these seasons grow progressively worse--when men will not tolerate the sound doctrine. To be sure, they will still want to have teachers; in fact, 'heaps of them." But these teachers will be the kind that suit the fancies of men whose ears itch to hear interesting stories instead of the truth. Let Timothy then be sober, willing to suffer hardship, while he discharges to the full his evangelistic ministry. Let him do this all the more in view of the fact that Paul, who has fought the grand fight, has finished the race, and has kept the faith, is about to depart to the shores of eternity, in order that he may receive the wreath which he can justly claim as his own, and which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to him on the day of judgment, and not to him alone but to all those who have been looking forward with love and longing to the moment of their Lord's appearing, his brilliant second coming."
William Hendriksen summarizes the last chapter of the letter with the theme:
"The Apostle Paul Tells Timothy What To Do In The Interest Of Sound Doctrine
Preach It 'I charge you'
4:1-8 In season, out of season, for apostasy is coming.
Remain faithful in view of the fact that 'I am about to set sail.'
4:9-22 Items of personal information, requests, greetings."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hendriksen's synthesis of chapter four is helpful:
"Timothy must preach the sound doctrine. This is the final, most solemn charge which the apostle issues as he directs the assistant's attention to God and to Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in whose presence the charge is issued and received. Thus he places Timothy under oath to comply with the charge. If Timothy obeys, he will share in (and if he disobeys he will miss) the glory of Christ's Epiphany and Reign.
Timothy, then,must be a herald. He must forcefully and faithfully proclaim the divinely authorized message of salvation. Welcome or not welcome, he must ever be on hand with his good news. In this connection, he must reprove, rebuke, and admonish, doing all this with utmost longsuffering and painstaking teaching-activity. Let him bear in mind that the season will arrive--every age has such a season, but these seasons grow progressively worse--when men will not tolerate the sound doctrine. To be sure, they will still want to have teachers; in fact, 'heaps of them." But these teachers will be the kind that suit the fancies of men whose ears itch to hear interesting stories instead of the truth. Let Timothy then be sober, willing to suffer hardship, while he discharges to the full his evangelistic ministry. Let him do this all the more in view of the fact that Paul, who has fought the grand fight, has finished the race, and has kept the faith, is about to depart to the shores of eternity, in order that he may receive the wreath which he can justly claim as his own, and which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to him on the day of judgment, and not to him alone but to all those who have been looking forward with love and longing to the moment of their Lord's appearing, his brilliant second coming."
RSS Feed