PT-4 “The Scope of His Commission” (2 Timothy 4:2b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/07/2025 9:48 AM

 My Worship Time                                               Focus: PT-4 “The Scope of His Commission”  

 Bible Reading & Meditation                                                             Reference:  2 Timothy 4:2b

            Message of the verse:  “be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

            I ended yesterday’s SD by writing the following paragraph that was quoted from John MacArthur’s commentary:  “He goes on to write “The preacher’s continuing responsibility is to expose, reprove, and rebuke sin.  Sin is that which totally separates unbelievers from God and which temporarily separates believers from close fellowship with their Lord.  Paul therefore counseled believers in Ephesus, ‘Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them’ (Eph. 5:11).”

            With that said I will move on to write that Paul had warned Titus about those sinners will infiltrate the church:  “10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain… 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,” (Titus 1:10-11, 13).

 

            Now in my study of Jude, which is also on these blog posts, he writes most of his letter to those in the church he is writing to about how unbelievers have crept into the church acting like believers, and I am not certain if Paul is writing to Titus about those who are doing this or if these people he is writing about are believers who are not doing the things of the Lord like they should be and causing trouble for Titus.  At any rate both types of people can infiltrate churches and this is of the Devil and it causes much trouble in churches and needs to be addressed.

 

            With that said sin must be addressed among believers as well, for if it is not then trouble can actually cause division and even end up in finishing the word of the church as there has been many times when churches split, and that is not a good thing, for I have been in a church that I joined four years after I became a believer and it ran smoothly until after the second Pastor left and then great trouble came in with the man who was chosen which caused me to leave that church after being there for 32 years.  It was a very difficult time for me and my wife.

 

            Paul addressed this problem in his first letter to Timothy where he writes “Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning” (1 Timothy 5:20).

 

            John MacArthur then writes “Paul next gives Timothy the positive imperative to exhort, which is from parakaleo, a common New Testament word that can range in meaning from simply calling out to someone to admonishing, which is clearly the meaning in this context.  It also carries the idea of encouragement.  After having reproved and rebuked disobedient believers under his care, the faithful preacher is then to come alongside them in love and encourage them to spiritual change.”  I believe that there is an example of this in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians as in his first letter to them he writes about a man who was sleeping with his father’s wife, now that is not talking about his physical mother, but another woman his father had married.  Paul was rebuking that church because they did nothing about it, thinking that they were suppose to allow that sin in their church.  This man was eventually thrown out of the church, but later on in Paul’s second letter to Corinth is shows that the man had repented and the church was not allowing him to fellowship with them, and Paul rebukes them again telling them because he had repented that they should then bring him back into their fellowship and not keep on neglecting him because he had repented.

 

            Paul had this kind of spirit in his ministry when he pastured those under his care.  As he reminded believers in Thessalonica, “You know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:11-12): cf. Col. 1:28).  MacArthur writes “Later in the letter he counseled those believers to do as he had done, saying, ‘We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men” (1 Thess. 5:14).”

 

            MacArthur then goes on to write “Not only are the things a preacher says and does important but also the way he says them and does them.  He is to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with patience.  Makrothume (patience) means literally to ‘abide under’ and therefore is often translated ‘endurance’ (see, e. g., Luke 21:19; 2 Cor. 6:4; James 1:3) or ‘perseverance’ (see, e. g., James 1:12; 2 Cor. 12:12).  But here Paul is speaking specifically of patience with people, with members of a flock who may have been persistently stubborn and were resisting their pastor’s admonitions.  But the shepherd is not to become exasperated or angry, remembering that he himself is firmly but lovingly and patiently held accountable by the Great Shepherd, our supreme example of patience.  Paul cautioned believers in Rome, ‘Do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?’ (Rom. 2:3-4).  If the perfect Son of God is so kind, forbearing, and patient with sinners, how much are His people obliged to have those attributes?”

 

            In the last word at the end of our verse we see the word “instruction” (didache) in the Greek and it is foundational to preaching, reproving, rebuking, and exhortation.  It is only through careful teaching of the Word that those tasks can be successfully carried out by one who is a pastor.  An unbeliever will not be convicted of his sin and come to salvation apart from some instruction from the Word of God about his lostness, his condition and his need for saving faith in Jesus Christ. Nor will a believer be convinced of his sin and brought to repentance and restoration apart from the work of the Word in his heart.

 

            MacArthur concludes this section by writing “It is not by a preacher’s personal authority or persuasiveness—no matter how well he knows Scripture or how highly he is gifted—but solely by the authority and power of Scripture itself, illuminated and applied by the Holy Spirit, that any ministry or Christian service can be spiritually effective and pleasing to the Lord.  In 4:2 Paul essentially reiterates what he has just declared, namely that ‘all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work’ (3:16-17).”

 

Spiritual Meaning for My life Today:  It is all about the Word of God, and that means that I am to study it, to read it, and through the aid of the Holy Spirit follow it.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Lord will continue to work in my life to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as I continue to share what He is teaching me.

 

7/7/2025 10:40 AM