Richard Baxter is one of my heroes! He was one of the greatest small town pastors in the history of the Christian church. For 19 years (from 1641-1660), he was the pastor of St. Mary and All Saints Church in the village of Kidderminster, England, where he preached powerful sermons, went house to house catechizing families, and engaged in ministry that helped transform the whole community into a people who loved and worshipped God. While at Kidderminster, Baxter wrote his famous book The Reformed Pastor, which is one of the greatest manuals on pastoral ministry ever written (and it is still widely read today).

            Throughout his ministry, Baxter often found himself at odds with the Church of England’s hierarchy, and he was eventually barred from ministerial office and not permitted to return to Kidderminster, nor was he allowed to preach. He even spent two years in prison for preaching the gospel. For the rest of his life, he was forbidden to pastor another church, but he continued to wield incredible influence in and around London though his sermons and spiritual writings.

            In the days following his disbarment from Kidderminster, he distilled his philosophy of life and ministry into a single sentence. He wrote: “I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.”           

            As a pastor and preacher, Richard Baxter’s words resonate deep within my soul. Like him, I am a dying man preaching to dying men and women. Let’s face it, we are all dying! There is no sense trying to sugar-coat it—death is one of the indisputable facts of life, and the bad news is that there isn’t anything we can do to prevent it! But the good news is that we can overcome death and inherit eternal life through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, preaching is a matter of eternal life and death!

            If you had to encapsulate your life’s philosophy and mission into one sentence, what would it say? What would your final reflection be? If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, what would you say to your family and friends today? What would your final charge be?

            The Apostle Paul found himself in that exact situation as he penned the final chapter of his final book. As Paul wrote II Timothy 4, he was suffering in a dungeon cell in Rome, awaiting execution. And as he laid on his deathbed, he offers a final charge to Timothy and a final reflection on his own life. He charged Timothy to preach the word and reflected upon the benefits of fighting the good fight.

1.) The Final Charge: Preach the Word (1-5)

            Before Paul actually delivers the charge to “preach the word” in verse 2, he presents three foundations for the charge in verse 1. The first basis for preaching the word is “the presence of God and Christ Jesus.” By this, Paul is reminding Timothy that God and Jesus are the ones who called him to the ministry of preaching the word. Timothy should continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ because that is what God had called him to do.

            The second basis for preaching the word is that God and Jesus together will “judge the living and the dead.” Timothy should continue to preach because he will one day be judged according to his faithfulness to his God-given calling. Likewise, every human being, whether living or dead will one day stand before Jesus Christ on Judgment Day. Those who have received the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection will be ushered into eternal glory in heaven, but those who have not embraced a saving faith in Jesus Christ will be sentenced to eternal damnation in hell. That is serious motivation to preach the gospel!

            And the third basis for preaching the word is “by his appearing and kingdom.” Jesus Christ, the ultimate judge, will one day return to the earth to execute his judgment and establish his eternal kingdom. The Bible repeatedly warns us that no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return; therefore, we must live in a continual state of preparedness.

            As we look at Paul’s three reasons for Timothy to preach the word, we must admit that they are pretty compelling. Preaching the word is indeed a matter of eternal life and death! But God didn’t just call Timothy to preach! God has not only called pastors to preach! He has called all of his people to be preachers of his word! We all need to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with passion and urgency. We don’t know when the King is coming, so let us preach his word so that we will be found faithful when he arrives!

            After Paul tells Timothy why he should preach, he goes on to explain what, when, and how he ought to do it. Notice that Paul qualifies the content of his preaching as “the word.” This refers to God’s word as revealed in the Holy Scriptures (a reference back to 3:16 as Scripture being breathed by God). In this context, “the word” specifically refers to the truth gospel of Jesus Christ because Paul is about to contrast it with the false teachings that were being spread throughout the Ephesian church in verse 3. If the content of the preaching is not grounded in God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ, then it is not worth preaching.

            Once Paul tells Timothy what to preach, he goes on to tell him when he should preach it: “be ready in season and out of season.” By this, he means that he should always be prepared to preach the gospel, even when it is inconvenient and unexpected.

            Also, preaching the word includes the difficult tasks of “reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. This means to point out where a person’s beliefs, attitudes, words, or behaviors conflict with God’s word. But this must be done with patience and careful instruction.

            These imperatives for preaching still apply to us today. It is a sad reality, but there are pulpits all across America today that have quit preaching the word. They propagate a plethora of philosophical insights, religious rituals, motivational speeches, and inspirational stories, and wise sayings, but they are not grounded in the authority of God’s Word or centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many preachers don’t even crack open a Bible when they preach; others may read a few Bible verses and then talk about a completely different topic. When we preach, our words ought to simply echo what God has already said, not something that we think or feel. Do you preach the word?

            Likewise, we must always be ready to tell people about Jesus Christ, even when it is inconvenient for us or for them. Some of the best preaching opportunities arise outside of church on Sunday morning, but they present themselves at the dinner table, the break room, the softball field, a chairlift, a community event, a hospital room, or a funeral home. Will you be ready when the opportunity arises to preach the word? And sometimes this task of preaching the word requires reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with patience and instruction. Are you willing to do that!

            After Paul presents these preaching imperatives, in verses 3-4 he warns Timothy of the pressures of giving people what they want rather than what God wants. For indeed there would come a day and it had already arrived in Ephesus, when people will not endure sound teaching from the Scriptures, but instead, they seek preachers who suit their own passions and tickle their itching ears and instead of embracing the truth. In light of this present reality, Paul recapitulates his charge by commanding Timothy to “be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”(v.5)

            The apostle’s words are prophetic for our day too! We must never sacrifice the truth of God’s word on the altar of political or cultural correctness. Preachers are under a lot of pressure today to tell people what they want to hear; people aren’t always interested in what God says. Many people take a biblical truth and twist it to fit their own purposes. For instance, it is common for people today to manipulate the doctrine of God’s love to suit their modern understanding of tolerance. They say things like, “It can’t be sinful or wrong; God made me this way!” Let us never cave under the pressure and be willing to suffer for the truth! May we always preach the word!

2.) The Final Reflection: Fight the Good Fight (6-8)

            After Paul delivers this powerful charge to Timothy, he takes a moment to reflect on his own life and ministry, but even this reflection was meant to be a lesson for Timothy. In verse 6, Paul uses an Old Testament metaphor (“I am already being poured out like a drink offering) to openly acknowledge that he knew his days on earth were coming to an end. Just as wine was poured out before God in the sanctuary, Paul’s blood was about to be poured out on the earth.

            As he reflects on his life, he employs two common athletic metaphors—a boxing match and a marathon-style running race. Like athletes who endure incredible adversity to win the prize, Paul had maintained his faith in the midst of unbelievable difficulties and sufferings. He knew that when he died the righteous judge, Jesus Christ, would place a crown of righteousness on his head, which is a metaphor for the triumph and glory of heaven. But Paul isn’t special, the crown is offered to everyone who remains faithful to Jesus Christ until his second coming! Paul reflected on all of this for the benefit of Timothy and everyone who would read this letter.

            I don’t know about you, but this is exactly what I want to be able to say right before I die. Like Paul, I want to say that I fought the good fight; I won the race; I endured hardship, persecution, pain, and suffering, and through it all I kept the faith. What will you say right before you die?

            And when Jesus returns and Judgment Day comes, I want to stand in heaven and enjoy the eternal glory of paradise! How about you?

            I began this sermon with some words from one of my heroes in the faith, Richard Baxter. I would like to end where I began. Baxter’s hymn summarizes everything I have preached today. He penned it upon the death of his wife in 1681:

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.