2nd Timothy Study, part 21

Hey Y'all! Well, I am going to have more time for this today...so let's see how much we can do. :D Remember to pray before we start today. Oh, btw, remember the last study??? We did verse one, and it told us that Paul was charging Timothy on something, but we didn't know what it was...

2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Okay, to be honest, the first time I read this today I was so completely lost. And, well, to tell the whole truth, I still am very lost and confused, especially on verse two...so, hopefully, by the end of this I will know what Paul is talking about!

In verse two Paul gives Timothy a list of things he must do, the things that he charges him to do, of which God and the Lord Jesus Christ are witnesses.

1. Preach the word
2. be instant in season, out of season
3. reprove
4. rebuke
5. exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine

The first one is quite clear, it is "preach the word." To tell/teach people about the Bible/God/Jesus/etc. But one thing that Barclay says in his commentary, (that I have added to make more sense) is that he says "preach the word" first because it tells us that these are some of the things a Christian leader should do. Remember when we talked about Christian Leaders before?

The next one is quite confusing. "Be instant in season, out of season?" What in the world does that mean??? Well, I was really stumped, so I just let someone explain it for me.* The version he uses in his commentary, I don't know which it is, says it as, "be urgent in season and out of season." The Christian leader must be two things (in this area of teaching). The first is that he must be urgent, he must be instant, he must do it with a passion and do it with a great urgency! For we know not when Christ is coming.

The second is, that he must do it persistently, at every opportunity he gets, every time God opens a door, almost constantly. I say almost, because even preachers and teachers must eat and sleep for their bodies to function, and that is caring for God's temple.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19, King James Version)

Back to the subject, the next thing that a Christian leader must do is, "convict" or "reprove." To convict or reprove someone, is to tell them, and maybe other people, that what they did that was wrong. To "convict" someone, you are stating that they were wrong; does that sound hard to do? It does if you think about it! To go up to a Christian brother or sister, and tell them that they did something wrong is hard. Especially if it is someone older than you. But, does the Bible say to yell it as loud as you can in their face? No!

We must come to them personally, and with gentleness and kindness and respect, tell them what they did that was wrong. For it will be profitable unto them. We must build each other up, not tear each other down! Here are some great verses that back up my point.

1. Job 6:25
   How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
   Job 6:24-26 (in Context) Job 6 (Whole Chapter)
2. Psalm 141:5
   Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
   Psalm 141:4-6 (in Context) Psalm 141 (Whole Chapter)
3. Proverbs 9:8
   Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
   Proverbs 9:7-9 (in Context) Proverbs 9 (Whole Chapter)
4. Proverbs 19:25
   Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
   Proverbs 19:24-26 (in Context) Proverbs 19 (Whole Chapter)
5. Proverbs 25:12
   As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
   Proverbs 25:11-13 (in Context) Proverbs 25 (Whole Chapter)

I love Bible Gateway! Look! It even copied the links by itself! Yahoo!!!! Anyways, here is the link to the page, I didn't copy many of them, so I would advise that you read through them all.

The next thing that Paul says a Christian leader should do is, "rebuke." What does it mean to "rebuke" someone? Well, we've talked about this before too, so you should remember! If you don't, or you didn't read that one, then you can read it here. Since we've done it before, I am just going to let y'all go back and read it yourselves! Muhahaha!**

Now y'all, this is my favorite!!! "Exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." Why is this my favorite? Because the other ones are, well, harder for me, and not near as enjoyable! To exhort someone means to "to urge, advise, or caution earnestly; admonish urgently...to give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings...encourage, spur, press." Here are some great verses from the New Testament part of the Bible that kinda defines exhort, and gives us some examples of the early church doing it.

1. Luke 3:18
   And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
   Luke 3:17-19 (in Context) Luke 3 (Whole Chapter)
2. Acts 14:22
   Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
   Acts 14:21-23 (in Context) Acts 14 (Whole Chapter)
3. Acts 27:22
   And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
   Acts 27:21-23 (in Context) Acts 27 (Whole Chapter)
4. 1 Thessalonians 5:14
   Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
   1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 5 (Whole Chapter)
5. Hebrews 10:25
   Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
   Hebrews 10:24-26 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)
6. Hebrews 3:13
   But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
   Hebrews 3:12-14 (in Context) Hebrews 3 (Whole Chapter)

To read some more, click here. We must exhort/push on/encourage our fellow believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ! That is the best kind of encouragement you can get, that which is from other believers! But we must not only exhort others, we must do it with longsuffering and doctrine. What does that mean? Well, to exhort someone with longsuffering would mean that you endure hard things for the sake of the others, you are exhorting them through your sufferings. Paul was the perfect person to write this too, if you think about it! And also through doctrine, we must encourage them with the truths of the Bible, we must encourage them with not only our words, but God's!

Sadly, that is a good place to stop. I honestly didn't know that there would be so much meat in this verse! So, tomorrow we will, hopefully, be able to do verses three through five, at least three and four; depending on how much time I have. But, I shouldn't be saying that, God should come first in our lives, for goodness sake, He created us! We should schedule everything around our time with God, but that is hard in the world today, especially the U.S. I hope y'all are liking this! God bless!

In Him,
Buttercup :D

*Barclay. :P
**My weird computer laugh! Muhahahaha! LOL