“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). This is the charge given to Timothy (v. 1), and by extension, to all preachers today. Many church members have different ideas about the work to be done by their preacher. Elders have come up with numerous expectations to be met by the man they have hired to fill this position. The Bible charges him to “Preach the word!”

“Preach” is from a Greek word referring to the work of a herald. In that time, rulers commissioned messengers to travel throughout their realm to deliver special announcements from the king to the people. The herald would make his proclamation in a loud, clear voice so everyone could hear. Adding and subtracting nothing, he simply repeated the message from the king.

In this epistle, Paul has told Timothy to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (1:13), to be diligent in his efforts to rightly divide the word of truth (2:15), and to continue in the things he has learned and been assured of – the Holy Scriptures (3:14-15). All Scripture is given by God’s inspiration and thoroughly equips His people for every good work (3:16-17). This is the word that must be preached. Not stories or opinions. Not traditions or the writings of men. The preacher is to sound forth the word of God in its purity and simplicity.

This is to be done in season and out of season. The Greek literally means “to stand by,” as one who remains prepared for when the opportunity presents itself. There is a sense of urgency in this word. The faithful preacher must always be ready and willing to preach God’s word when His people want to hear it, and when they don’t (vs. 3-4).

Faithful gospel preaching involves convincing. Not all preaching is pleasant to the ears. The Greek term means “to convict, confute, refute, usually with the suggestion of putting the convicted person to shame” (Vine’s). Preaching must never be unnecessarily harsh or meanspirited, but at times it does need to be pointed and plain, allowing good and honest hearts to feel the shame of their sins.

Preaching also involves rebuking. The Greek term means to express strong disapproval of someone; to tell transgressors to stop doing wrong. It is a message intended to forbid and stop undesirable actions. In Luke 19:39, the Pharisees call on Jesus to “rebuke” His disciples, meaning they want Jesus to tell them to stop what they are doing. When necessary, faithful gospel preaching both points out error and calls for people to stop practicing that error.

Preaching isn’t all negative. There are times when it is appropriate for the preacher to do some exhorting. This is the message of comfort to the afflicted. The weak and weary need to be encouraged to continue in the right path (Acts 14:22; 15:32; 1 Thess. 2:11; Titus 2:15; Heb. 10:25).

The heralding, convincing, rebuking, and exhorting must be done with “all longsuffering.” “The word is makrothumia, and it describes the spirit which never grows irritated, never grows annoyed, never grows weary, never despairs; it describes the spirit which never loses its faith in human nature, and never regards any man as hopeless and beyond salvation. The Christian patiently believes in men because he unconquerably believes in the changing power of Christ” (Barclay). In a world that conditions us to expect instant success, preachers must be patient, remembering that God allows His people to grow in their knowledge and understanding of His word (1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18).

The faithful preacher has a solemn charge from his Lord – to preach the word. He must be urgent and faithful in this task, employing balance to meet the needs of those who are listening. Those doing wrong must be challenged and corrected. Those doing right must be encouraged. All the while, the preacher must be longsuffering in his teaching.