… ²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

No terser commandment can be found in Paul’s writing. He “charged” Timothy before God, in view of Christ’s return for judgment and setting up the kingdom (vs. 1). Now, this is the command: “Preach the Word!” Every echo of that in every pulpit carries the same weight and strength as when the apostle wrote it down. At the core of Christian ministry is preaching the Word.

What this means is that the Word of God must be central to what the church does. In the context of Paul’s letter to Timothy, this is the antidote to false teaching and false teachers. But it is more than that. It is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). When Paul says “profitable,” he does not mean to imply that the Word (equated with God’s divine revelation which we now see as the written Scripture, the Bible) is just one of many useful things to help in the Christian life, if you care to use it. No! The Word is absolutely central, crucial. The writer of Hebrews says this,

[T]he word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)

So Paul asserts in no uncertain terms to Timothy, “Preach the Word!” Christianity rises or falls on the Bible, particularly the NT. Whatever else we do, it must square with the growing knowledge, understanding, and application of God’s teaching in our lives. God’s Word applies to every area of life. It pierces, discerns, judges motives, teaches, reproves, corrects, exhorts, and trains. Therefore, the Christian life must be saturated with the Word of God.

Preachers, elders, Sunday School teachers, small group leaders, parents, etc.—we must “preach the Word!” We must “proclaim” the Word in whatever situation we find ourselves, not just in the pulpit. It is our foundation, our final arbiter of truth, our manual for how we should live. We should be prepared at a moment’s notice (“in season and out of season”), no matter the circumstances, to instruct from the Word of God, the Bible. It should be central in our conversations as we fellowship with others, even when we are not serving in an official ministry capacity.

Lord, I want to be more “Word-centered” because only then can I be centered on the knowledge and person of Christ.