TPreach the word. Three simple words. One powerful command.

The message of the passage is straightforward. You must faithfully proclaim God's word and sound teaching regardless of the world's acceptance or hostility. So, how can you faithfully obey this command to preach the word?

This passage teaches three things that are required of you to be faithful to preach the word.

To endure the hostilities of this world, you must remain faithful to the word of God, even if it requires you to stand apart from the world and unfaithful Christians.

Paul had known persecution and great suffering for the gospel. He knew that Timothy and the faithful church would likewise experience the world's hostility and the abuse of false teachers. He knew that under these pressures, there would be a great temptation to abandon the foundation of the faith.

Faced with the ever-growing threat of worldly hostility and spiritual imposters, how can you remain faithful to the Lord and mature in the faith? The Bible's answer is plain and simple: Hold firm to your faith and God's word.

This passage contains two commands that, when obeyed, provide for believers to remain faithful in a hostile world.

Competence and skill are not declared but demonstrated. The evidence of a workman’s competence and skill is proved over time when their work proves to be able to endure the test of time.

The primary task of every ministry of the gospel is to rightly and faithfully make God’s word known. There are temptations that work against this, but Paul warns Timothy not to swerve from the truth.

In this passage, the Bible gives two commands to keep you from swerving from the truth so that you might be an approved and unashamed workman. It also gives a test that testifies to the genuineness of your faith and approval before God.

The relationship of parent to child is one that Paul uses in this passage and is helpful in understanding the relationship between those who proclaim the gospel and those who receive it. Children do not always appreciate their parents' sacrifices and sometimes even rebel against their parents. What motivates all that parents do for their children is love.

In this passage, the Bible teaches how believers should respond to the gospel, the cost of ministry, and what motivates the preaching of the gospel.

Sometimes all you have is a few minutes. With this in mind I am excited to announce that I am working on a new podcast channel called “Sermon Shorts”. I will be posting 5 min or less clips from recent sermons. I hope you will subscribe and listen. The channel is already available on Apple podcast and will be coming to Google podcast, and other podcast sites very soon.

The following is an example of what each sermon short will be like. It is from a sermon I preached from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 titled “Our Identity is in Christ alone.” I hope you enjoy.