2 Timothy 4:1-2 (NASB)
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
In this passage, Paul first points out the seriousness of Timothy's divine commission. "Solemnly charge" translates a form of the verb diamarturomai, which here carries the idea of giving a forceful order or directive. The solemnity of Paul's "charge" is drawn from the fact that it is tied directly to the awesome majesty of the One who commissions men to divine service. Those who are called to proclaim and interpret the Word of God have the most profound responsibility that the Lord places on any man. It is for that reason that James warns, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well" (James 3:1-2). No human being apart from Jesus has ever spoken perfectly, not even the prophets or apostles, except when recording God's revealed Word. James readily included himself ("for we all stumble") among those who speak imperfectly and who therefore must take special care to prevent their imperfections from clouding their testimony and besmirching their Lord's name.
That responsibility is especially fearsome in that it is carried out "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus." Service of "Christ Jesus" not only is done before His constant watchful eye but also will be subject to the judgment of this infinitely greater Magistrate, "who is to judge the living and the dead" (cf. Matt. 25:34-41; Acts 10:42; 17:30-31).
A teacher-preacher's ultimate accountability is not to a board, a local church, a denomination, or any other human institution, no matter how doctrinally sound and godly it may be, but to the Lord, who has called and empowered him and who one day will judge him. Paul both preached and lived in the light of that truth. He could therefore ask Galatian believers rhetorically, "Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10).
The faithful minister of Jesus Christ is commanded to "preach the word," which focuses on the content of what is proclaimed. By "the word," Paul doubtless means the entire written Word of God, His complete revealed truth, which the apostle also calls "the whole purpose of God" (Acts 20:27) and which he has just referred to as "the sacred writings" and the "Scripture" (2 Tim. 3:15-16).
A teacher-preacher cannot continue to faithfully "preach" and teach God's "word" unless he carefully protects its truth. "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you," Paul had warned in his previous letter, "avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called 'knowledge'" (1 Tim. 6:20). Near the beginning of this second letter he admonished, "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus," and, "Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you" (2 Tim. 1:13-14). He also implored Timothy to handle "accurately the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15), because truth that is poorly retained, guarded, and handled inevitably will be poorly taught.
After declaring the marvelous truth first proclaimed by the prophet Joel ( Joel 2:32) that "whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved," Paul asks rhetorically in his letter to the church at Rome, "How then shall they [unbelievers] call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" Again quoting from the Old Testament, this time from Isaiah 52:7, the apostle then exults, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:13-15).
