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HIGHLIGHT: 2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

EXPLAIN

Leaders: Feel free to use any of the “Explain” materials to guide discussion as it is needed or to expound on a certain area of the text as it comes up during your Life Group time, but the purpose of this section is to deepen your own personal understanding of the Word. Your members have access to all of this material as well.

It’s important to remember that Paul did not write this letter with chapter and verse divisions. So as we understand the passage as Paul meant it to be understood, we must take the entire argument into counsel. Notice the logical progression: a high view of the Bible (3:14-17) should lead to a high view of biblical preaching (4:1-5). People will twist Scripture to say all kinds of erroneous things, but it is our job as believers to do the work of an evangelist, and proclaim Truth as God presented it in His Word.

v.1 This begins the final section of Paul’s final letter, and it contains one of the most solemn charges in all of Paul’s work. He uses the word diamartyromai, which was a term used in legal settings to mean “testify under oath” or to “adjure a witness” to do something, and compounds it with the extravagant description of Jesus in order to express just how important he feels about what he's about to say. Andreas Köstenberger noted that this “appeal exceeds all previous ones in solemnity, intensity, and urgency. As Timothy discharges his duties as Paul’s apostolic delegate and in keeping with Paul’s own practice (2 Cor. 5:9-11), the apostle wants him to be ever mindful of the reality of God and the certainty of Christ’s return.” The upcoming charge is serious business.

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v.2 Though we may have been expecting a singular charge, Paul actually stacks five of them on top of one another, and all of them are centered around the Word. Remember, Paul has spent a significant amount of time up to this point reiterating Scripture’s power, and here he brings it full circle. Using the Word, Timothy is to preach, be prepared, rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

vv.3-4 Paul told Timothy to stick close to the Word and remember what he’s learned from his youth in preparation for what these verses reveal. There are going to be a huge number of false teachers spinning all manner of elaborate tales about the way the Universe works, the things Jesus taught, and the way people should interact with each other. Paul implores Timothy (and, by extension, us) to not stray from the things we’ve known to be true because we received them from godly men and women and from the Word, itself.

Not everybody who opens a Bible and starts talking is preaching the Word. Not everything said with “religious” language is truth. Not everything spoken from behind a pulpit is trustworthy. Paul’s picture of this reality is a sobering one: people thirsty for something they don’t understand flocking to the ones who use just enough religious talk to disguise their ultimately self-serving teachings. These people do not extract meaning from Scripture; rather, they read themselves into Scripture.

Without Scriptural grounding, people are attracted by myths or fables. They are attracted to the myth that the universe came about by chance. The myth that you must earn your way to God. That God only loves people who are good. That you should think of yourself as superior because you’re a Christian. That being a follower of Christ will bring you earthly riches. That Christianity is incompatible with reason. Without the structure of God’s Word and sound teaching in our lives, we run the risk of falling prey to any number of the fantasies floating around us.

v.5 “But as for you” draws a sharp distinction between Timothy and the types of people Paul just mentioned. Paul’s final ministerial exhortation to Timothy is powerful, personal, and practical:

Exercise self-control in everything—do not be given over to passions in any extreme. In Ecclesiastes, the teacher put it this way: “Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?” (7:16-17). Timothy is to exercise self-control in every aspect of his life.

Endure hardship, because hardship is sure to come. Ministry is fraught with hardship. Yes, there are wonderful blessings that come with it, but there will also be severe affliction. Take both in stride.

Do the work of an evangelist—perhaps Timothy was not naturally gifted in this area like Paul was. Perhaps you aren’t, either. That is okay. You can still do the work of an evangelist, and thus fulfill your ministry. One does not have to have a degree or a position on a church staff in order to share the Gospel with others; it’s something each believer is called and empowered to do.

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APPLY Your Leader Guide will have material that the participant guides do not have. The bolded material is what the people in your group will have, the other material is only for you to help guide discussion.

This guide can be as strict a script or as general a resource as the leader needs it to be.

1. What stuck out to you or challenged you in what you heard in the sermon or read in the text?

2. What are some things that culture teaches that run counter to the Gospel? What can you do to guard against falling into that kind of teaching?

Examples of this kind of teaching are almost too plentiful to name. We’re taught that any doctrine that makes exclusive claims must be false, because truth is whatever’s true for each individual, for example. False teaching also exists within Christianity. People will distort the Gospel or use it as a platform to turn a profit. They will teach things that are unscriptural in an attempt to gain a following. It’s more crucial than ever to be watchful and aware of what people are teaching and what kind of teaching we seek out.

3. Underline the five commands Paul gives Timothy in verse 2. Why are each of these so crucial as we live out the Gospel in our own contexts?

We must preach the Word, not a watered-down Gospel or something primarily intended to please people. John Stott wrote, “We have no liberty to invent our message, but only to communicate ‘the word’ which God has spoken and has now committed to the church as a sacred trust.” The Word is not something we should use to address “felt needs” or something to bolster personal agendas; it’s something we should faithfully study in order to learn what it says—not what we want it to say.

4. How do you see our culture full of “itching ears”? Why is it so tempting to let our desires take precedence over God’s Word?

It is easy to make ourselves the center of our world, and the center of the Word. Think of the notion of “scratching itching ears” like Donald Guthrie put it: these people merely want to have “‘their ears tickled,’ as if what they heard merely scratched their eardrum without penetrating further.” Most don’t seek out teaching that will challenge them, that will make them seek to destroy the flesh and put on the things of the Spirit. Unfortunately, much of the time the opposite is true.

5. What is “the work of an evangelist”? Do you do that work naturally? How can you encourage one another to share the Gospel in your everyday lives?

RESPOND Challenge your group to respond either privately or corporately:

• Which of Verse 5’s exhortations is hardest for you to live out? What can you do to focus on improving in that area this week?

Encourage one another through email, text messages, or coffee dates throughout the week to build up and encourage each other.

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