Video Transcript: Preach the Word (John Piper)

Video Transcript: What I mean by Preaching (John Piper)

Let's pray together. Father, there are people in this text that have itching ears, that's not a good thing. They are keeping up teachers for themselves. It will scratch itches that they should not have, and are led away by various passions. And so I asked that as I preach, you would replace that carnal itch with a holy desire, a holy desire that welcomes the truth and does not walk away from it. And I pray that we would be given eyes to see the glory of Christ in this text and the glory of our hope. And the wonder of the ministry and the centrality of the preached word. And I pray this now in Jesus powerful name, amen. 

It has always struck me as strange that my heroes, most of them, people, like the Puritans, and especially Jonathan Edwards, almost never referred to themselves and their personal experiences in their preaching. You can read 100 Puritan sermons, and hardly know anything about the preachers. And surely, if we preachers are going to err that's the side to err on. Instead of excessive talking about ourselves, we should be talking about God. Because they knew that the power of preaching lay, not in the experiences of the preacher, but in the God breathed Word, The Word of God. And yet, how happy we are when God puts it in the heart of the Apostle Paul, to lift the curtain on his life, and his experience with God, and his sufferings, and in this case, his dying. So in verses six to eight, that's what we have. We have Paul's experience. And I'm like, as I would expect, his experience is not the main point of the text. It's a subordinate argument, for the main point of the text. That's what I would expect. That's, I think, the way it should be done. I learned that from him. And we know it's an argument and not the main point because verse six begins with, "for" you see that hope it's there in your version, it's not get another version for or because I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my departure has come. In other words, my death is at hand, Timothy, my course is finished. My reward awaits me just over the hill. Therefore, you know this, don't see that. When you read forward, and you find the word for it's a because it's a ground and if you start reading backwards, an inference follows from that argument. 

So you read it like this, verse five, you should then if you want to read backwards, since I have finished my course since there's this great rewards doored up for me, therefore, as for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Now reading forward again, because Timothy, I've done that I fulfilled my ministry. I finished my course I fought the good fight. And I want you to know for the sake of yours, I'm telling you fulfill your ministry and I want you to know that I have fulfilled mine. And I anticipate a reward I crown a reef a Victor's reef or a race done in a boxing match one I anticipate of Victor's wreath, the crown of righteousness that will compensate for any cost in this life. Know what you didn't know that so that you will have an argument under your ministry to finish it, fulfill it, Timothy fulfill it, that last phrase in verse five. That's the main point of these eight verses. Fulfill your ministry, don't, don't let suffering pull you away. And my argument, Timothy is that I finished mine. I'm gonna be rewarded mega ton to make up for whatever it's cost in this life to finish this ministry, a crown of righteousness can be put on my head. So now we see the structure, I hope you with me, the structure of verses 5 6 7 and 8 is half the text we've got now structurally. 

Verse five, the big main imperative, fulfill your ministry, including be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, those are specifics of the fulfill your ministry, and then an argument from his experience. I'm dying Timothy I'm going to be I'm going to be cut down here very soon. And I want you to know, I finished my race. I fought my fight, I kept the faith and a big reward is waiting for me. And there will be for you too. And everybody else who loves His appearing so Timothy, fulfill your ministry see the argument how it works. 

Now verses one to four, how do they fit into this flow of thought? In verses five to eight? verse two, gives more particulars of what it means to fulfill your ministry, Timothy. And then verses three and four, give another argument. So you got more specifics in verse two? And another argument in verses three, and four for why he should, do it. Fulfill your ministry in these ways in verse two, and then an argument so verse two, let's read verse two, preach the word. There's a specific way of fulfilling your ministry, be ready in season and out of season reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. So more detail from verse five, unpacking all the ways that a pastor should be fulfilling his ministry unwearied preaching of the Word of God. And then the argument in verses three and four, totally different from the argument in verses six, seven, and eight, the argument in verses 6 7 and 8 was seven through eight was positive. Finish complete, fulfill your ministry because I have an A great reward is in store for me and there will be for you, because you're one of those who loves His appearing. And this argument is totally negative. Not just reward is coming. Great opposition is coming. And the way it works is don't be surprised by it. I want to tell you ahead of time, so you won't stop preaching.

So you won't stop being urgent in season and out of season. That's the way the argument works. So let's read the argument. "For" there's the key word again, it's not their new version, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves. Teachers go down the street, across town. They will accumulate for themselves itching. I'm sorry, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. And we'll turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Okay, so here's the big picture. And if you wonder, where's verse one, it's coming because it's megaton in this text of explosives underneath preach the word. But let's get the big picture. Verse five, fulfill your ministry particulars, like verse five, be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, more particulars verse two preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, complete patience in teaching, fulfill your ministry, stay at it. Don't stop till it's full, and you're ready to be poured out in depth. 

And then, under this broad expectation to fulfill your ministry come two arguments, a negative one, verses three and four, in a positive one, in verses six through eight. Timothy, stay at this word saturated gospel laden preaching and teaching. Because time is coming, when people will no longer accept it. Now may sound like a strange argument. But if I were a young pastor, entering upon ministry with high hopes of having a fruitful ministry, and I didn't know that happens, I would be in jeopardy. So the way the argument works is Paul's telling them ahead of time to steal him, so that when people walk out of his services, who will not be itched, by the way he's scratching and they go across town to be scratched with the itch they want, crashed, he shouldn't be surprised.

And he shouldn't quit. It's not his fault. That's huge. That's the big argument. And then the second argument, verses six through eight, press on in your word saturated gospel laden preaching and teaching, fulfill your ministry because I have fulfilled mine. And I know what it cost me. Timothy finished my race. I fought the good fight. I kept the faith. And I promise you, Timothy, it's worth it. There is light up for me a crown of Victor's Rhys of righteousness. Today, it would be a gold medal hanging around my neck after I won 23 races or whatever.

Or fought the judo. And so Timothy finish it, may take you 30 or 40 years just finish it, and finish it. Wow. Now, should we stop here. So we have benediction. And that's the text. That's the text. But I think to fill up the rest of my time, what I'd like to do is take each of the arguments and apply them a little more, alright. And then borin on the particular of the big, broad, overarching point to fulfill your ministry, the particular that I think has most prominence, namely, preached the word and I'll argue why I think that not just because I'm a preacher, and I like that idea. So let's do that. Let's take the last argument first six through eight. The reason this argument works for why he should fulfill His ministry is because Paul is persuaded that a great reward awaits those who do that. That's why he says I've done it, fought the good fight I've finished my race have kept the faith in and now Timothy, what happens to people like that is that they get this reward.

So let's read verse eight. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day last day. Now, he's just referred to a good fight that he's fought. And he's just referred to a race that he's finished. Therefore, I take the crown to be not the crown of a king, or Prince, but the crown of a race winner. It's exactly the same word, as First Corinthians 9:26, where Paul says, They Olympians run for a perishable wreath slash crown, same word, we for an imperishable. So I think it's virtually certain that what he means by a crown is a Victor's wreath as he falls over the finish line and then mounts the platform and has the righteous judge who never gets a millisecond wrong, put the wreath of triumph on his head and you get all those letters of Jesus to the churches, he who conquers he who conquers he who conquers, same idea of whole firm to the end, conquer all the embattled unbelief of your life and you will be crowned, and the crown is called a crown of righteousness. Now, what are we to make of that crown of righteousness. Whether that means we are rewarded for being righteous, or whether the reward is final completed perfect. righteousness, both are true. I've got text and won't read them to you. 

Both of those are true. You will be rewarded for righteous things you have done and they'll reward you get will include being made perfectly sinlesslee righteous hasten the day. So whichever of those Paul is emphasizing, both are true, and we know will make it to stir in the full picture. Because we have learned from Philippians three, eight, that we don't simply embrace a righteousness that comes from law, but the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith there is imputed righteousness that we love the doctrine of justification. I don't think that's in view here. But it's just always there in Paul underlying everything so that if I'm ever told you will be rewarded for righteous things, I know perfectly well I'm not good enough to go to heaven. I know I in myself would never pass muster at the last day because the last day criterion perfection, God is holy, not gonna let me sin into heaven. I could never make it I know that. Therefore I'm always at the bottom leaning on Christ, leaning on his righteousness, by faith, having his righteousness counted as mine. Therefore, perfection is a given as I approach the throne, but you know, the fruit of that is in your life. Change in good deeds, and God is not so unjust as to overlook that Hebrews says. So. We stand on Christ's righteousness. 

We perform righteousness imperfectly. And we're rewarded for that with real perfect, sinless righteousness, which we will enjoy forever and ever. What's the key here to attaining that crown? Something very beautiful. And very, perhaps surprising. Paul says in verse seven, what he's being rewarded for is fought a fight was a good fight, fight I should have fought. Secondly, I finished the race. My life was a race My life was a fight. Sound familiar? Anybody? Your life is not a fight. You're not a Christian.

Simple, I have kept the faith. So my question is, what's the good fight? And he told us real claiming in First Timothy 6:12, fight the good fight of faith. What's the race? The race of faith. I'm crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life that I now live the race that I now run, I run by faith in Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, all of life is a running in faith and fighting for faith and keeping the faith every one of those is a faith thing. So what's he been rewarded for? A life of faith. It's not a hard life. Behold, come to me. All you who labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me from meek and lowly and heart you'll find rest for your souls For my yoke is easy. This faith.

Fight, run. To believe paradoxical. It is a mortal fight. And it's a fight to rest. Strange fight. Awesome fight. It's fight to rest in Jesus and trust Jesus and believe the promises of Jesus every day is that not our fight? If you're fighting the fight another way you need to be helped to get the battle in order. When you get up in the morning, you're fighting to believe when you go to work. You're fighting to believe when you come home, you're fighting to believe believe the promises help you love your wife. I'll help you take care of your kids. I'll help you do devotion. I'll help you witness to the neighbor. Driving I come back on my bicycle. I did a 10 mile ride on my small bicycle. Come down 11th right at 24th where the small mall is. So three guys over there. And I went by and I don't know the Lord doesn't talk to me. But more or less, he said once you get those guys, you don't get any pressure. Noel's not even here. She's a kid that's circled around have no idea what I'm going to say. What back there. And I stopped him these three Somali guys. And I said, Hi. I think God just told me to come tell you. And then I shared the gospel. Why did I say that? What was I saying? That's not in my manuscript at all. And I can't remember what point I was. I was trying to make. 

Oh, yeah, fight the good fight of faith. run the race of faith. Keep the Faith fight for faith, or Thank You, Lord. I'm Robin. And I'm thinking I don't want to do this Lord. I don't have no I don't know what I'm gonna say. I got about 10 seconds before I turn I just um that's that's called faith. Don't be afraid what you shall say in that hour, because the Holy Spirit will give you what you need. Act in faith. Do what you're sensing God is leading you to do a life of faith fight for faith. At that moment. The fight wasn't to be smart. If I was to believe God is for me, he loves these guys. He wants to use me that's a fight. The Devils get all kinds of lies he shooting at you at that moment why that's so pointless. And belief says Get out of my hair. Satan. Okay, that's a parenthesis. Let me see if I can find my place.

Oh, So what's being rewarded with the crown of righteousness? Answer. fighting the fight of faith, running the race of faith, keeping the faith a life of believing Jesus trusting the promises banking on the one who's promised to help you be with you every day. That's the life of faith that's being rewarded. And then and then he says and this is to include Timothy to make sure the argument works. This crown will be rewarded to me which is no encouragement to Timothy, if it can't be his. And then he says, and not only to me, but to all those who didn't say, believe, or fight the fight of faith, or finish their race, or keep the faith and say any of that. He said, this crown will also be given to everyone who loves His appearing, where does that come from? And surely we are to learn from this. Something about the essence of faith.

Because if what Paul is being rewarded for is keeping faith and fighting for faith and running in faith, and then he says, And you too will be rewarded for and instead of saying, faith, he substitutes, love is appearing. What does that tell us? It tells us that right at the core of saving faith is one thing, Jesus desiring Jesus, craving fellowship deeper, longer, forever with Jesus. Faith is not simply acknowledging facts about Jesus, it is one thing His appearing. And you know, you don't want somebody appearing if you don't like them. You know, love them, want them to be near. So what gets rewarded with the crown of righteousness could sit in different ways, a life of faith, or a life rooted in and driven by a passion to enjoy Jesus now and forever. You want him you want him? desire is appearing long for His appearing? So don't think this is just for pastors because it's addressed to Timothy he said, All who love is appearing, that's you, you will receive a crown of righteousness if you love Jesus. That's what the universe is for loving Jesus. valuing Jesus treasuring Jesus desiring Jesus, I use those other words, because so many people put do do do on love. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Yes, that's not what love is. 

That's its result. Love is loving him, delighting him, craving him resting in him, treasuring him, valuing him, counting him more precious than my wife, my children, my job, my fame, my everything. That's what love means. And people that love Jesus, get a crown of righteousness. And if God were to stir in the end of first Corinthians, let him be a cursed, who does not love the Lord? It's a big issue. 

Second argument, in verses three and four, maybe strikes even closer to home for congregations and not just pastors, because it's talking about us people, not just preachers. verse three, and four, for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. And I could apply this to Jason Meyer, as my Timothy. Right. And the primary preaching minister this church in in about three months, as he begins to stand behind the pulpit, and I'll do other things until April. Don't be surprised, Jason. I could say, if as you begin to preach on the full whole counsel of God and apply to our culture, people will not feel scratched where they itch, and will therefore walk away from the church. I would guess that a church decides it happens every weekend. And the reason users don't notice it is because they were only here for two or three weeks and then they're gone. However, I'm not going to apply it to Jason, I'm going to lie to you. Because it's talking about you. Here's the warning. I want you to feel as my loved Bethlehem, the root problem with the rejection of sound teaching. 

And the wandering off into mis, the root problem with wandering away is not intellectual, but emotional, and physical. Even. So notice, Paul does not say they won't endure sound teaching because of doctrinal confusion. And say that he says they won't endure sound teaching because they inch, the itch, here is the itch that has to be scratched. Their ears can be scratched with words. And pastors can try to learn what the itches in the communities are, and scratch them to keep the crowd and Timothy wasn't scratching where they itched, and therefore he said, they're gonna they're gonna find some other teachers, Timothy, so I'm pointing out that the problem is not intellectual first, it's itching or look at the next phrase, he doesn't say, they will accumulate teachers to sit there on ideas. He doesn't say that. He says they will accumulate teachers to sit their own passions. Whoa, what's that? What's that? What? How does teach you really two passions?

Well, under every fault doctrine, our bad desires. And ultimately, people embrace false hood in their head, to protect immorality in their soul and their body. So Bethlehem, the fight, that you're to fight is to replace the itch with the passions with with desires and passions and another kind of itching, that has to have truth. It has to have the word of God. Or just a set of desires that makes you welcoming to truth whether it's hard to hear or not. there's a there's a whole complex of desires and passions and God the itchings that when truth is spoken, you say, Oh, yes, yes, yes. Even if it has to cut off your hand and gouge out your eye. That's my prayer for you. That Jason will preach with faithfulness. And you will be given holy desires that welcome truth when it's spoken, rather than saying that's not scratching where it outta here. 

Bethlehem is a church that prizes preaching. And so we turn now to verse two, for our last observation. Verse two begins, preach the word. And I'm arguing now, that among all the particulars of fulfilling Timothy's ministry, this one is prominent, pre-eminent. And my reason for saying that, let's read it, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. My two simple arguments for why that's preeminence number one because it's listed first. But mainly because of the way it's introduced. Versus verse, verse five. I mean, verse one, is simply explosively preparatory for the command to preach, definitely values preaching.

There is a big, heavy pulpit. This is heavy, takes three guys to move this. It sits at the front and center of the room on every campus that has nothing to do with me. And everything to do with the preeminence of the Word of God preached. And the root of it in history is this text, verse one, and verse two, all through history, preaching, preaching, not just teaching, not just discussion of just all kinds of communication. But preaching has been prominent, where ever the church has flourished in strength and power in its culture, and wherever preaching has been belittled, diminished, dismissed, experimented with the church has languished, sometimes for centuries. What I want you to see here is that for the sake of your future, and Bethlehem health, is that that historical fact is not a fluke, or a twist of culture. And it's not a Protestant bias. It is the fruit of biblical truth. And I would say the fruit of Second Timothy four, one. Nowhere else in the Bible that I'm aware of, is there a verse just like this? First Timothy 5:21, comes close. But here, Paul introduces the command. Preach the word in verse two with five preceding intensifiers. 

I don't know what else to call them, phrases, clauses words, that are designed by God in the mouth of Paul to intensify and deepen and strengthen and heighten the command preach the word. So let's take them, one, I solemnly charge you, I add the word solemnly. It's there In some versions, because the word is testify with an intensifier on the front of it, which means intensify, solemnly, I mean, testify solemnly, or charged solemnly. So he starts with that I, I'm, I'm charging you. I'm testifying to you. And I mean for you to hear this in a solemn way, Timothy number two, in the presence of God, I'm not speaking in an ordinary way here, Timothy with ordinary seriousness, ordinary authority. I'm telling you this in the very presence of God. Here's the command Timothy, preach the word, and it's coming from God in the presence of God. So this, number three, and of Jesus Christ, both the Father and the Son have great concern in this matter. I'm commanding you to preach. And we are standing right now, as I command you before the throne of God, as the Father sits upon it, and the son at his right hand adding their solemnity and their authority to the command I'm going to give you in just two seconds. Preach the word. Number four, who is to judge the living and the dead? I suddenly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead. of the hundreds of things he could have said about Jesus.

Why this? I'm standing before Christ, and the father, as I tell you to preach the word. I'm standing with the before the Christ who will judge the living and the dead which surely means something like when it comes to preaching Timothy cannot dealing with ordinary things. We're not dealing with simply earthly outcomes like helping people get alone. We are dealing with Eternal outcomes as people face, the judge of the universe, whether they're dead or whether they alive, they're going to face him and you in the light of that preach, which is why the Office of the preacher is vastly more important than mayor, or governor, or senator or president. All they do is affect this world. You preacher, dealing eternal things. Timothy, the one before who knew stand will judge the living and the dead. And don't you ever, ever let that fall out of your mind as you stand behind that sacred place? 

Number five. And by His appearing and his kingdom, I saw only charged you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is the judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and his kingdom, this is a weighty intensifier, I saw them they charge you by the appearing and the kingdom of Christ. Timothy, I'm about to tell you the most preeminent command I have to give you about fulfilling your ministry, namely, preach the word. And I'm telling you, in the light of the fact that he's going to appear, and when he appears, he's going to be king. And this world will be his. And therefore, everything you've ever suffered for him will be worth it. And all those people who have left your church and wandered away into myths will be put to everlasting shame. Oh, Timothy, he's coming. He's come, come when he comes. The world rulers who threaten your life right now will be as nothing, He will be. Preach the word, this is huge.

I cannot escape that kind of intensifying introduction and draw any other conclusion from this text than preaching the word is preeminent. in Paul's counsel, to this young preacher. Just a few minutes left to say something about the content of the preaching and the nature of the preaching just a brief sentence, each one verse to preach the word, what is that referring to? Well, just take away the chapter division shouldn't be there, right? These chapter divisions were added 1600 years after the books were written. So just take it away, pretend it doesn't exist, because didn't. And now read it. Or 16 chapter three. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction for training and righteousness. The man of God may be complete equipped for every good work, I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing kingdom, preach that word. The Scriptures. I'd love to go off on a tangent here about those today who are constantly stressing what we ought to be preaching in Scripture. Instead of stressing preach the scriptures, but I will preach the whole counsel and every text is profitable. I wish I had 100 years to preach to you because I have left out so many things.

We're so thankful you are inheriting somebody who just pick up where I left off. And I hope go to a lot of the places where I didn't go. I don't think I've ever preached a sermon in 32 years on the Song of Solomon. Shame on me. Best love story you ever read. Preach the word. Preach the whole inspired, all profitable Bible. Last, what he's preaching in two minutes Jason's writing a book on that. Did you know that? He'll publish the book next year on preaching. I think that is incredible and wonderful. What is preaching the word here preach is the word Harold, Harold is not teaching. It's not conversing not sharing, is heralding heralding before there was internet or television or radio or telephones or telegraph was what a town crier did to bring messages, for example, from the king. And it would sound like this. Here ye, hear ye hear ye and people start to gather they know that's the voice has the Herald, the Herald standing in the town square, here ye, hear ye, he take his scroll, the king has a message for you, from the Royal scroll with the Imperial seal. 

All of you who have hated the king, belittles the king conspired against the king, are hereby instructed and invited and compelled by the king at cost of your life, to appear before His representative and lay down the arms of your rebellion. And if you will lay down the origins of your rebellion. And you were swear fealty to your king, he will, because of the sacrifice of his son on that day, pardon, all your treason, and all your discounting and thing of His glory. And at a time appointed by his counsel, he will come to you and He will live with you, and He will adopt you into his family and you will receive every conceivable blessing in his treasures. Thus, Seth, the king. That's heralding. It's not teaching. Oh, it's got teaching in it. We call it Bethlehem expository exhortation. It's a preacher, loving what he has seen. And being so thrilled with it, he just do you see what the king has for you. So, Bethlehem. may the Lord preserve the faithfulness of the preaching in the ministry of Jason Meyer, you should be praying that and add this to your prayer. May the Lord preserve your faithfulness, your faithfulness, as you love the preached word. Nothing can replace it. There is much more the church is much more the Church must do and be preaching is indispensable. And it's not about me, or Jason, or this big piece of wood. It's about the God breed book. Harold did. 

Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the book, and your mercy toward us to give us a book so that nobody needs to make John Piper their authority, or Jason Meyer, we have a book an inspired precious, God revealed testimony of the greatest things in the universe. So causes people not to itch in ways that truth doesn't scratch, but rather to have desires and passions, so that when the preached truth lands, it is welcomed with all their heart and we are a worshiping people and an obedient people over the word. I ask this in Jesus name, Amen.