1I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Messiah Yeshua, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Once again, Paul solemnly charged Timothy, something he had done several times before in his epistles to his young protégé. He once again used God and the Messiah Yeshua as his witnesses, this time referring to Yeshua as the judge of the living and the dead; the coming Judge, who will set up His kingdom after His appearing. These truths point to the seriousness and urgency of what Paul charged Timothy to do here because it recalled to Timothy’s mind that he was performing his ministry in full view of the coming Judge. Paul charged Timothy with at least ten imperatives, here, in this section. Firstly, Timothy was to preach the word. The Greek word "kerusso," here translated as "preach," refers to publicly proclaiming something, which in this case was the word. The "word," of course, refers to the written word of God, which he had just previously explained was useful for teaching, reproof, correction and training righteousness (cf. 3:16-17). In order to be able to publicly proclaim the Scriptures, one must, of course, know the Scriptures. This requires men of God to be great students of the word, which necessitates academic training, specifically in regards to the science of Biblical interpretation. That Paul listed this first also conveys its importance. As we noted in our comments for verses 16 and 17 of chapter 3, it's not that the word of God is simply one of many resources to learn how to live a godly life, it is the absolute resource. In our day, unfortunately, the word of God is seldom proclaimed. Instead, sermons are usually motivational speeches with random Biblical verses used sparingly. This method, however, debilitates the impact the word could have because, generally, the sermon is made up of man's thoughts, whereas the Bible is made up of God's thoughts. This is the great strength of expository preaching, which simply seeks to explain the meaning of the text, as opposed to using the Bible to elaborate on some extra-Biblical point. The Scriptures are God's primary means of communication with mankind, a great truth that has been lost to much of this generation's preachers. If we want to know what God has to say to us, we must learn the Scriptures and for the majority of the community to learn the Scriptures, they must be proclaimed. Also, expository preaching forces the preacher to go through every verse, preventing him from avoiding verses that might challenge theological or social norms within the community. In this way, God's word penetrates every area of the believer's life. This is why the man of God must be ready to proclaim the word both in and out of season. No matter what the circumstances are, the teaching overseer must be eager to proclaim the word of God. In other words, the word of God must be proclaimed when it's convenient and when it's not, when it's fashionable and when it's not and when it's politically acceptable and when it's not. Perhaps more to the point that Paul was getting at, the word of God must be proclaimed even when there's a chance of persecution.

With that said, Paul also instructed Timothy in the specific ways he was to proclaim the word. Firstly, he must reprove, which refers to exposition and refutation of error using the truth of the Scriptures. Once error has been exposed, he must then rebuke, which refers to the personal application of the reproof. In other words, not only should error be exposed, the person in error should also be corrected. Additionally, the goal is not to simply expose and punish error, the goal is to restore the person who has been ensnared by that error. The restoration process begins with an exhortation to repentance. The word "exhort," in the Greek, literally refers to coming along side the person. This is a beautiful image, conveying the truth that an overseer's job is to build up believers, not bring them down. The elder must preach the word by reproving, rebuking and exhorting but all of this must be done with great patience and instruction. He must have patience because sometimes it takes a long time for people to understand and apply the truth of the Scriptures. Also, the exhortation must also include instruction, for it is one thing to correct a person but it's even better to correct a person and then lead them on the right path of obedience.

3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

In verse 1 of chapter 3, Paul predicted that there would be difficult times, or seasons, ahead for true believers. Here, he explained that there will be times when people will not endure sound doctrine. The word here translated as “sound,” is the Greek word “hugiaino,” from which we get the English word “hygienic.” In other words, there will be times when people won't want to listen to healthy teaching, that is, the doctrines of the Bible. Let us be careful to note that the people Paul referred to here are not outsiders but those within the believing community. Rather than healthy, Biblical teaching, these people would rather have their ears tickled, which refers to hearing things that are pleasant. Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to hear pleasant things but they will do it at the expense of truth. In fact, instead of accumulating teachers who will simply preach the word as it is, they gather to themselves teachers who will teach things that are in accordance to their own desires, their own lusts. These same people will turn their ears away from the truth and would rather accept myths. Unfortunately, this is precisely what has happened to those within the communities that claim to follow the Messiah. Most churches do not preach the word but instead at best, gloss over the Scriptures and, at worst, completely ignore the Scriptures and simply have motivational speeches. To many within these types of communities, when the truth of the Scriptures is presented, they do not endure it and instead turn to misguided theologies that allow them to continue in their error. Perhaps the greatest myth to ever enter into believing communities, something that is still taught and believed today, is that Yeshua came to abolish the Torah and start a new religion, distinct from the people of Israel and the religion of Israel, Judaism. For those of us who will endure sound doctrine, like Timothy, we should be sober in all things. Being sober, here, does not necessarily refer to not getting drunk but more so to what being sober represents; that is, being stable, able to comprehend and unwavering. The implication is that those who do not endure sound doctrine are "under the influence," so to speak. We should, therefore, make sure to remain uninfluenced and endure hardship. Those who want to have their ears tickled will become upset when presented with the truth and persecution will result. We must accept the suffering that will come otherwise we will compromise because we can’t have it both ways. Not only that, we must not forget that there are there are still those who are lost and without Messiah. This is why Paul exhorted Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. The word “evangelist” literally means “a proclaimer of good news” and of course refers to the message of salvation in the Messiah; a message based upon repentance. It’s easy for someone who has a burden to teach believers to forget about unbelievers, so this is why Paul reminded Timothy to, in addition to proclaiming the word, also proclaim the good news to unbelievers. To cap off this list of exhortations, Paul simply commanded Timothy to fulfill his ministry. The word “fulfill” is the Greek word “plerophoreo,” which refers to fully accomplishing something. In this case, Timothy was to fully accomplish his ministry, specifically, by continuing in the things he had been doing and not giving up.

6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 

Paul, aware that his life was nearing its end, gave one final word of exhortation to Timothy. By declaring that his life was ending and how his life was ending, he sought to encourage Timothy to take up the mantle he had carried. Just as Joshua succeeded Moses, so too, Timothy was to succeed Paul. The specific reason why Paul had exhorted Timothy with such urgency was because Paul knew that he was in the final stage of his life. Paul expressed this by metaphorically comparing himself to a drink offering. According to the Torah (cf. Numbers 28:1-8), when a burnt offering was brought, it was to be brought with a meal and drink offering as well. In this way, there was essentially three parts to the burnt offering: the offering of the animal itself, the giving of the mixture of flour and oil and then, finally, the pouring out of wine. So, when Paul compared himself to the drink offering that was being poured out, he indicated that he was at the final stage of his life. This is made explicit by the following line, where he said that the time of his departure had come. 

7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 

He then encapsulated his life in three statements. Firstly, he confidently asserted that he had fought the good fight. This speaks of his unwillingness to give up or compromise. Throughout the many persecutions that Paul endured, he could have easily given in to those who were fighting against him. Just as a good solider fights right to the end, so did Paul fight the battle for the truth right up to his last breath. We should note that the believing life is a fight, a battle against untruth and the demonic forces perpetrating such lies. It would be easy to be bitter over such a life but Paul called it a good fight. In other words, Paul knew full well of the struggles that a true believer goes through but he considered the agony to be for a noble cause. Secondly, Paul proclaimed that he had finished the course. To finish a course, you must stay on the course and not stray. Too often, people lose focus, which prevents them from being useful in the kingdom. The type of course we are on is a marathon, not a short sprint! To finish this type of course requires perseverance and tenacity. Thirdly, Paul had kept the faith. To keep something refers to guarding it or observing it. In this case, Paul had guarded and observed “the faith,” which refers to revealed truth, the Scriptures. Though Paul was constantly being accused of abandoning the Torah and the traditions of the people of Israel, this was not actually true. In fact, Jacob, the Master’s brother, confirmed for everyone, once and for all, that Paul had not abandoned the Torah but “walked orderly” and “kept the Torah” (cf. Acts 21:17-26).

8in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Since Paul was at the end of his life, he looked beyond death and looked forward to the World to Come. Here we learn a valuable principle: a person who has lived a faithful life can expect reward in the World to Come. For Paul, he expected that a “crown of righteousness” was being laid up for him. The crown referred to her is not the Greek word that represents a king’s crown but something akin to what the winner of an athletic event would receive. The modern equivalent would be the medal that an Olympic athlete would receive, which is wrapped around their necks, like a wreath. The way the Greek is structured, the phrase “crown of righteousness” most probably should be rendered “crown which is righteousness.” In other words, it’s not that in the future we can expect to actually receive crowns but instead we will receive righteousness, which refers to the immortal and sinless state we will enjoy in our resurrected bodies. This type of construction is also used in James 1:12 and 1 Peter 5:4, there referring to our expectation of life and glory, respectively, when the Messiah returns. It is He, the Messiah, who will be the one who will reward us. Yeshua is the righteous judge, which refers to His sinless character and His ability to be completely impartial in His judgment. Paul expected to receive this reward on “that day.” The phrase “that day” refers to the time when Messiah returns and inaugurates the Messianic age, an age where godliness will rule the whole world. This promise of reward is not just for Paul but also to all those who have loved His appearing. The way you can include yourself in this group is if you have loved His appearing, with love being characterized by a submissive, obedient lifestyle, just as the Master said in John 14:21, those who love Him are the ones who keep His commandments. This does not mean that we are perfect but it does mean that those who are true believers will be grieved by sin and disobedience. Those who loved His appearance are those who wish that He would appear again and remove sin from us and this world.