“1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead,and because of His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:1-8

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These words from Paul are powerful and relevant still today:
“Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.” The Message comes first, don’t worry about your reputation, don’t worry about the opinion of others. Don’t be distracted by opposition. Don’t take to heart the culture around you. Simply, plainly, preach the message. Be faithful to the truth above all else. And this isn’t just for ministers. This is for all of us. The world wants to hear that message that confirms that what it is already doing is okay. They want their ears tickled, their ego stroked and their sins to be labeled as virtues. And what Paul tells to Timothy here is to expect that type of reception. So, in light of that, we are to be serious about getting the Lord’s Message out, fulfilling that work of the Great Commission.

Paul starts off with a command “I solemnly charge you…proclaim the message” because that is the command He was given. It translates through the generations. Jesus Commissioned His disciples, those disciples passed along that commission to everyone they discipled and so on and so on. It isn’t reserved for any one person, or any one group. IT belongs to all of us. Paul was pouring out his life as a drink offering, knowing that his life was just about over, his ministry almost completed, and so Timothy would need to take his place and help lead the charge for the Gospel. Timothy likely did the same thing, tradition holds that he died after being beaten to death with clubs in Ephesus, in an attempt to draw men’s hearts away from idol worship.

The heart that carries this message must be ready to encounter hardship. The message comes above all else, and we must all look to pour out our lives like a drink offering. The life that is invested in this world will only make an impact in this life. The life that is concerned about wealth or popularity or ‘just getting by’ rather than walking as Jesus walked, will receive its due reward, emptiness, disappointment and condemnation. And so Paul desires to keep Timothy’s eyes on the prize, not to count his own suffering as a deterrent, but to see it as that good offering, a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing. Paul reminds Timothy that have has been promised a crown of righteousness, as are all who have ‘loved His appearing.’

Itching ears cannot dictate what we say or what we do. We keep the main thing the main thing. We proclaim the truth, no matter what, in season and out of season, all believers, everywhere. Jesus will be the One who judges the living and dead, it is simply our task to share the Good News He has given us. Sound doctrine defines us, sculpts our understanding and shapes our worldview. It is our imperative that ranks above all else. Jesus Christ, the Righteous Judge, guides our work as we GoLove others through the telling and retelling of His great act of grace for us on the cross. We may falter and fall from time to time, but that truth remains, He was poured out for us, and as His disciples, we must do likewise for others in His Name.