Word Studies on
Preaching
In addition to the several word
studies in other articles, we offer the
following.
II Timothy
4:2-4
The charge
is to preach the Word. The English word "preach" brings
to our mind at once the picture of the ordained
clergyman standing in his pulpit on the Lord's Day
ministering the Word. But the Greek word here (kerusso)
left quite a different
impression with Timothy. At once it called to his mind
the Imperial Herald, spokesman of the Emperor,
proclaiming in a formal, grave, and authoritative manner
which must be listened to, the message which the Emperor
gave him to announce. It brought before him the picture
of the town official who would make a proclamation in a
public gathering. The word is in a construction which
makes it a summary command to be obeyed at once. It is a
sharp command as in military language. This should be
the pattern for the preacher today. His preaching should
be characterized by that dignity which comes from the
consciousness of the fact that he is an official herald
of the Icing of kings. It should be accompanied by that
note of authority which will command the respect,
careful attention, and proper reaction of the listeners.
There is no place for clowning in the pulpit of Jesus
Christ.
Timothy is to
preach the Word. The word "Word" here refers to the
whole body of revealed truth, as will be seen by
comparing this passage with I Thessalonians 1:6 and
Galatians 6:6. The preacher must present, not book
reviews, not politics, not economics, not current topics
of the day, not a philosophy of life denying the Bible
and based upon unproven theories of science, but the
Word. The preacher as a herald cannot choose his
message. He is given a message to proclaim by his
Sovereign. If he will not proclaim that, let him step
down from his exalted Position.
He is to be
instant in season and out of season in this
proclamation. The words, "be instant" are from a
word which means "to stand by, be present, to be at
hand, to be ready" (epistemi). The
exhortation is for the preacher to hold himself in
constant readiness to proclaim the Word. The words, "in
season," are from a word which means "opportune" (eukairos), "out
of season," from a word which means "inopportune"
(akairos).
The preacher is to proclaim the
Word when the time is auspicious, favorable, opportune,
and also when the circumstances seem unfavorable.
So few times are still available for preaching that the
preacher must take every chance he has to preach the
Word. There is no closed season for
preaching.
In his
preaching he is to include reproof and rebuke. The Greek
word translated "reprove" (elegcho),
speaks of a rebuke which results
in the person's confession of his guilt, or if not his
confession, in his conviction of sin. The preacher is to
deal with sin, both in the lives of his unsaved hearers
and in those of the saints to whom he ministers, and he
is to do it in no uncertain tones. The word "sin" is not
enough in the vocabulary of our preaching today. And as
he deals with the sin that confronts him as he preaches,
he is to expect results, the salvation of the lost and
the sanctification of the
saints.
The word
"rebuke" (epitimao)
refers to a rebuke which does
not bring the one rebuked to a conviction of any fault
on his part. It might be because the one rebuked is
innocent of the charge, or that he is guilty but refuses
to acknowledge his guilt. This word implies a sharp,
severe rebuke with possibly a suggestion in some
cases, of impending penalty. Even where the preacher has
experienced failure after failure in bringing sinners or
saints to forsake their sin, or where there seems little
hope of so doing, yet he is to sharply rebuke sin. He
has discharged his duty, and the responsibility is upon
his hearers to deal with the sin in their
lives.
Not only is
he to speak in stern language against sin, but he is to
exhort. The word "exhort" (parakaleo) has
in it the ideas of "please, I beg of you, I urge you."
Thus, there is to be a mingling of severity and
gentleness in his preaching. He is to exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. The word
"longsuffering" (makrothumia)
speaks of that temper which does not easily succumb
under suffering, of that self-restraint which does not
hastily retaliate a wrong. The word "doctrine" (didache)
is
in the Greek, literally,
"teaching." It speaks of instruction. Vincent says in
this connection: "Longsuffering is to be maintained
against the temptations to anger presented by the
obstinacy and perverseness of certain hearers; and such
is to be met, not merely with rebuke, but also with
sound and reasonable instruction in the truth."
Calvin says: "Those who are strong only in fervor and
sharpness, but are not fortified with solid doctrine,
weary themselves in their vigorous efforts, make a great
noise, rave ... make no headway because they build
without a foundation." Or, as Vincent says, "Men
will not be won to the truth by scolding," and then
quotes another as saying, "They should Understand what
they hear, and learn to perceive why they are
rebuked."
The
exhortation to proclaim the Word is given in view of the
coming defection from the Faith once for all
delivered to the saints. The word "endure" (anecho) means
literally, "to hold one's self upright or firm against a
person or thing." It is a perfect description of the
Modernist and his following today. The Greek word
translated "sound" (hugiaino), has
the idea of 'healthy, wholesome."
The word "doctrine" (didaskalia,
teaching), is preceded by the definite article. It
is Paul's system of doctrine to which reference is made,
the Pauline theology. "After" is from a preposition
whose root meaning is "down" (kata). It
speaks of domination. "Lusts" is in the Greek, epithumia,
"cravings." These who set themselves against Pauline
theology are dominated by their own private, personal
cravings. Those cravings consist of the desire for
personal gratification. They, having itching ears, heap
to themselves teachers. The Greek makes it clear that
the itching ears belong to the people. The word "heap"
(episoreuo)
means "to accumulate in piles." It speaks of the
crowd electing teachers en masse, an
indiscriminate multitude of teachers. These teachers
give the people what they want, not what they need. The
word "itch" (knetho) in its
active verb form means "to scratch, to tickle, to make
to itch," in the passive, "to itch." It describes that
person who desires to hear for mere gratification, like
the Greeks at Athens who spent their time in nothing
else but either to tell or to hear, not some new thing,
but some newer
thing (Acts 17:21). The
comparative form of the adjective is used here, not the
positive. Ernest Gordon, commenting on this verse says:
"Hardly has the latest novelty been toyed with, than it
is cast aside as stale and frayed, and a newer is
sought. One has here the volatile spirit of the Greek
city, so in contrast with the gravity and poise of
the Christian spirit, engaged with eternal things." Such
is the spirit of Modernism with its teachings of the
divinity of mankind, and the relativity of truth, its
rejection of the doctrine of total depravity, the
sacrificial atonement, the resurrection, and the
need of the new birth, catering to the desires of a
fallen race. It gratifies man's pride. It soothes his
troubled conscience. The desire for the gratification of
one's cravings is insatiable, and is increased or
aggravated by having that desire satisfied. Hence the
heaping to themselves of
teachers.
The words
"turn away" (apostrepho),
carry the idea of "averting." That is, those who
follow these heretics, not only turn away their ears
from the truth, but see to it that their ears are always
in such a position that they will never come in
contact with the truth, like a country windmill
whose owner has turned its vanes so that they will not
catch the wind. Notice the active voice of the verb
"turn away," and the passive voice of the verb "shall be
turned." The first named action is performed by the
people themselves, while in the case of the second one,
they are acted upon by an outside force. The second
occurrence of the word "turn" is from a verb (ektrepo) which
means "to turn or twist out." In a medical sense it
means, "to wrench out of its proper place," as of the
limbs. It is used of a dislocated arm, for
instance. When people avert their cars from the truth,
they lay themselves open to every Satanic influence, and
are easily turned aside to error. Instead of being in
correct adjustment to the truth, namely, that of
seeking it for the purpose of appropriating it, these
people have put themselves out of adjustment and
have been consequently wrenched out of place. They have
become dislocated, put out of joint. Like a dislocated
arm which has no freedom of action, they have given
themselves over to a delusion which incapacitates them
for any independent thinking along religious lines which
they might do for themselves. They are in much the
same condition as those under the reign of the Beast
who, because they refuse to receive the love of the
truth, are the victims of a strong delusion (II Thess.
2:10, 11). The word "fable" (muthos) is
from a Greek word which refers
to fiction as opposed to fact. And surely, the
teachings of Modernism are fictional as to their
nature, for they have a theoretical basis, the unproved
hypotheses of science, naturalism and
evolution.
Kenneth
Wuest — Taken From The Pastoral Epistle
in the Greek New
Testament
