II Timothy 4:2-5

II Timothy 4

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

I think we all naturally wonder from time to time, what is my purpose? Why am I here? Maybe you already have a calling from God to be a nurse, teacher, pastor, etc. But even beyond your position or job, what is your purpose? Yes, we are here to glorify God, but Scripture is clear that part of the way we do that is through obeying the great commission- we should be spreading the Gospel, baptizing, and making disciples.

This passage in II Timothy encourages the believer to do those very things. Paul charges us to ‘preach the word’ and be ready in season and out of season. He encourages us to reprove (correct), rebuke, and exhort (encourage) others.

What struck me in this passage were verses 3 and 4 that say there will come a time when people won’t regard sound teaching and instead they will find the message that suits their own agenda. They will turn away from truth. I think we are definitely here already. The spread of universalism and atheism is alarming.

When reading this, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. Like God is saying we have a window of time where maybe a person would be responsive to the Gospel, but if we don’t tell them, they will turn away and seek their own gospels. It is an urgent matter!

Verse five says do the work of an evangelist and fulfill you ministry. We have to tell the story of Christ. We must fulfill our purpose. We cannot be passive. We cannot simply wait for others to come to us and ask questions. Take every opportunity you have and share your faith, thus fulfilling the great commission.