In the fourth chapter of his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul gives his son in the faith a charge. He tells him what he must do as a pastor of a church. Timothy, as with all who have the position of a teacher in a church, must preach the word. The word for ‘preach’ is closely related to that for a herald. In the ancient world, a herald was a messenger who was given a message from a ruler. The herald was to deliver that message to the people. The herald was under obligation to deliver that message as it was given to him. The message that Paul and Timothy had received was the gospel of Christ which is contained in the written word of God. God’s will, as found in that written word, was to be authoritatively declared and explained. Then the people were to be convicted, rebuked, exhorted and evangelised. Timothy was not to entertain his hearers. He was not to surround the word with a miasma of coffee fumes, TikTok videos and memes.
Conviction comes as the truth is presented. If we find that we are out of step with the requirements of God’s law and his gospel, we are convicted of sin. Whether we like it or not, when we find ourselves out of step with the law of God and his gospel, we are guilty. To be rebuked is to be told that our guilty condition is our own fault and that we are in the wrong. We cannot, we must not, try to pass the blame onto someone else, or to blame our circumstances. The rebuke comes to us for our lawless deeds. The exhortation is to repent and believe in Christ. It is not an exhortation to self-improvement. We are dead in our transgressions and sins. We are in love with sin, and unless Christ has mercy on us we will die in, and because of, our sin.
Repentance is a change of mind. We must stop thinking that we are the good guys and that our creator is bad. We must stop trusting ourselves or anything else except Jesus Christ. We must put our faith in him alone because he alone as worked salvation for the lawless. His death is the full satisfaction of God’s judgment upon the sins of his people. His resurrection displays his own personal righteousness which Christ donates to those who trust him. If anyone repents and believes, it is the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration. The Spirit brings people to new birth so that they will repent and believe. Such a person is justified (declared to be just) by that gift of faith. This often happens when the word of God is preached with an aim to bring conviction, rebuke and exhortation. This is the work of an evangelist.
Don't take it from me 