| Christian Life and Doctrine | August 1966 |
In Season and Out of Season
THE Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, saying, “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season.” (II Tim. 4:2) God’s will for all footstep followers of the Master is that they lay down their lives in the service of the truth, witnessing to the world, and building one another up in our most holy faith. This phase of the divine will for the Christian should not be considered incidental. It is something which is commanded in the Word of God, and whatever comes to us as a command from God should not be considered of secondary importance.
This divine commission is binding upon us at all times—“in season, out of season.” We should be willing and ready to preach the Word whether or not the time, place, and circumstances may be convenient to us. When we see indications that it is a seasonable time for those to whom we are given the opportunity to testify the Gospel of the kingdom, we should let our light shine.
However, we would make a great mistake if we assumed that God’s commands and exhortations to faithfulness in bearing witness to the truth constitute the whole of the divine will for us. God does, indeed, want us to lay down our lives in his service, but he expects us to make that sacrifice in harmony with the rules and regulations which he has given us in his Word. If we fail to heed these we will be like those of whom the Master speaks when he says that some would come to him claiming that they had done many wonderful works in his name, but that he would recognize neither them nor their work. Jesus makes it plain that because these did not serve in harmony with the divine will they were in reality workers of iniquity.
Properly Equipped
In order to be an acceptable ambassador of the Lord there are certain qualifications which the Christian must meet. He must, for example, repent of his sins and accept Jesus as his Redeemer and Savior. Then he must present himself in full consecration to the Lord to do his will. This means that he has renounced his own will, and in thus doing has become a member of the body of Christ, accepting Jesus as his Head.
Taking these steps, and being reconciled to God through Christ, the follower of the Master must then make every effort to bring his daily thoughts and words and deeds into harmony with the divine Word. This standard of righteousness is so high that it includes even the love of our enemies and a desire and effort to do them good.
In II Corinthians 6:4-13 the Apostle Paul outlines many of the important points of Christian practice essential to our being approved ambassadors of the Lord. He says that we should endeavor in all things to approve ourselves as the ministers of God, which, according to the Greek translation, means to constitute or establish ourselves as his servants. (See Diaglott and Dr. Strong)
Then Paul proceeds to outline some of these “all things.” Among them are patience, purity, knowledge, long-suffering, kindness, being filled with the Holy Spirit, having on the armor of righteousness, and humility which will enable us to serve faithfully even though unknown, and which will keep us balanced although well known.
Paul also speaks of the importance of love, which is the sum of all the Christian graces. He warns us against being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He stresses the importance of being kept free from the worship of false gods. Paul shows that all of these points are important in order that our ministry be not blamed. These are the qualifications for our service, but by themselves they do not constitute our service.
Preach the Word
Among the qualifications for service mentioned by Paul is the possession of knowledge. This means a knowledge of the truth, and through the truth, a knowledge of God. Paul emphasizes that if our ministry of the truth is to be pleasing to the Lord it must be in harmony with God’s plan. Knowledge of the Word in connection with our ministry is fundamentally important, because our message must be in harmony with God and a true representation of his plan. Otherwise, while we might be laying down our lives in a ministry, it would not be a ministry of the divine Word, but would be proclaiming the theories and guesses of men.
In Philippians 2:16 the Apostle Paul speaks of “holding forth the Word of life.” This suggests that if we are truly preaching the Word we are holding forth a hope of life to those who hear. To present a message of this kind properly implies the necessity of explaining all the great fundamentals of the divine plan—the creation, the fall of man into sin and death, the redemptive work that is accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the hope of the high calling of the present age, and the hope of restitution for the world in the next age. All of these features of the divine plan are involved in the hope of life set forth in the Gospel.
The dispensational features, of the Gospel also have a part in an acceptable ministry. It is our privilege now not only to proclaim a hope of future life in “the times of restitution of all things,” but also to assure our hearers that this hope is soon to be realized. Today the people are realizing more and more that human wisdom is utterly failing to find a solution for the world’s problems; hence many want to know whether there is a God who is interested in human affairs, and who proposes to help the human race out of its dilemma. It is at this time, therefore, that we have the privilege of obeying the commission of Isaiah 61:1-3 by comforting those who mourn.
“In Season”
Proclaiming “the day of vengeance” now, and comforting “all who mourn” is very much “in season.” While many are asking why the world is in its present dilemma, the vast majority are disinclined to consider viewpoints which emanate from the Word of God; so it is not an easy time to proclaim the Gospel. But this does not mean that we should not make the effort. The divine will in connection with bearing witness to the truth should never be determined upon the basis of how easy or how difficult it may be. If we let our light shine only when it is convenient or easy for us to do so, the probability is that we will not let it shine at all. Paul says that we should hold forth the Word of life “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.” (Phil. 2:15) Here is an important point. Human reason would be inclined to decide that today the people have become so perverse and wicked that there is no use to let our light shine; but this is not the way Paul reasoned. It is the perverseness and wickedness on the part of the people in general that make the witness work important. In this respect conditions in the world are much the same today as they were in Noah’s day; yet he continued to be a “preacher of righteousness.” When sin no longer exists in the world, the witness work will be unnecessary. Then no one will need to say to his neighbor, “Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.”—Jer. 31:34
World’s Conversion Future
It is true that we should not expect to convert the world at the present time. This is to be accomplished through the future work of the kingdom. However, our advance knowledge of the apparently meager results of present witness work should not deter us from doing all we can to let our light shine. Our experience has shown that “one here, and one there” have been blessed by the rays of light which have shone out as a result of our sacrifices. We believe that this will continue to be so until the very end of the church’s experiences this side the veil.
The Lord may not reveal to us the encouraging results of our efforts, and we may not know the extent to which the truth we have proclaimed has reached into the hearts and lives of others; but this should not be of particular concern to us. Our sacrifices should not be made with the object of seeing great results, or of receiving present rewards. They should be made upon the basis of faith, and because we know it is the Lord’s will.
Our fallen flesh shrinks from sacrifice, and is constantly seeking excuses for not letting our light shine. Just as Satan quoted the Scriptures in an effort to tempt Jesus to leave the pathway of sacrifice, so the Bible is sometimes quoted to us now for the same purpose. One text sometimes misused for this purpose is Jesus’ admonition not to cast our “pearls before swine.” (Matt. 7:6) The thought is expressed that because the world is so wicked, so swine-like, we should not preach the truth, as it will not be appreciated, and may even lead to persecution.
However, Jesus never refrained from preaching the truth in order to avoid persecution. The darkness hates the light and will persecute the light-bearers. To cast our pearls before swine is evidently quite a different matter from letting our light shine out in a darkened world. We should not attempt to force the truth upon those who do not care to hear it; neither should we spend time and effort trying to interest individuals who are in violent opposition to the truth. We are simply to “sow beside all waters,” and when we note a response on the part of one here and there, we are to make further sacrifices in order to help these know the way of the Lord more perfectly.
How We May Serve
It is a matter of concern to many of the consecrated as to just how they can serve the interests of the truth. Ways and means of letting the light shine are much more numerous now than they were in the days of the Early Church. Back in those apostolic times most of the brethren were limited to whatever personal contacts they could make. This, after all, is a very important means of letting our light shine—probably more so than almost any other means at our disposal. It is limited, however, in the number of people it reaches. Today, this personal method of proclaiming the Gospel can be greatly augmented by the use of the printed page.
There are many times in our comings and goings that a card or a tract, a booklet or a book can be left behind for others to read. The printed page can be used to good effect to supplement the spoken word. For those who have the time, the printed page, in card or tract, or booklet or book form can be taken from door to door. Many today are rejoicing in the truth because some consecrated saint of God left a piece of literature where it was found and read by them.
The General Service
Then there are the more general and co-operative efforts to make known the glad tidings, such as public meetings, the radio and television witness, and literature booths at fairs. These are also efforts in which all may have a share in one way or another. And what blessings result to each individual who faithfully does his part in these co-operative efforts! It is a human weakness to let others shoulder responsibilities which we could help to assume ourselves. But this should not be so among the consecrated people of God.
One of the scriptural illustrations of light-bearing is Gideon’s little company of three hundred who broke their vessels to let the light shine out. According to ancient custom, only the captains of an army carried lights at night. When the Midianites saw three hundred lights flickering on the hillside, they assumed that Israel’s army was tremendously large, and they became terror-stricken at the thought of engaging them in conflict. This was part of the Lord’s strategy by which the Midianites were defeated.
There is a good lesson here for us! It is that each one of the consecrated should, in a sense, be a leader; that is, he should feel an individual responsibility for the Lord’s work. But this does not mean that each of us should go a different way and not co-operate with others. The Gideonites were not free to do this. They were under the strict command of Gideon, and acted in accordance with his commands. So, today, we are under the direct command of the Lord, and we have no liberty of action outside of his commands; but we do have an individual responsibility of faithfulness to those commands. Those who did not wish to go all the way with Gideon were given the liberty to turn back. That is the freedom we had as we counted the cost of the way of sacrifice. But, now, as Paul wrote, “We are not of them that draw back.”—Heb. 10:38,39
We are to be individualists only in the sense of realizing our own responsibilities, and of being zealously on the alert to use faithfully every opportunity we can find to sacrifice our all in the service of the Lord. However, we are all brethren in Christ, members of his body, hence our activities must be governed by that which is in the best interest of the body as a whole. There is a scripturally outlined arrangement for the church, and as individuals we should find our liberty within the framework of this arrangement. This often means the subordination of our personal preferences to the expressed wishes of the ecclesia. Blessed are we if we can learn thus to co-operate with God’s people, even thought at times it may mean the humbling of ourselves before them!
In Every Way
Thus, though it may be that the time and manner of service offered may be “out of season” for us, if it is “in season” for the ecclesia, we should gladly and humbly co-operate whenever and wherever we may have the opportunity. If it be the opportunity of distributing tracts, we will use it. If it be follow-up work, we will gladly do that also. If it be to serve as an elder or a deacon, we will accept that service in humility before God.
If it should be a financial service we have the opportunity of performing, then we should do what we can, no matter how small or how large the amount may be. We will enter enthusiastically into all these privileges, knowing that we are doing so as members of a world-wide church upon which rests the divine commission to preach the Word, and thus to be “the light of the world.”
The Isolated Also
It may be that we are isolated, hence not members of an ecclesia. In this case perhaps there is all the greater need to sense our individual responsibilities before God. Where a few can meet and work together they help to keep each other encouraged. Several coals of fire, when together, will continue to burn, but if separated they will die out the more quickly. So, as individual “coals,” isolated from others of like precious faith, we will need much prayer and a strong faith to keep alive spiritually. And there is no better help along this line than to keep actively interested in bearing witness to the truth.
Even though we may spend a lifetime trying to interest our friends and neighbors in the truth and yet fail, we should not be discouraged. As we keep trying, the glorious message of the kingdom is kept alive in our own hearts, and this, after all, is the really important thing. The commission to proclaim the Gospel is given to all the consecrated, and whatever is accomplished by our preaching is under the direction of the Lord—he “giveth the increase.”—I Cor. 3:7
The Scriptures reveal that the work of preaching the kingdom message during the entire Gospel Age finally results in the bride’s making herself ready to be united in marriage with the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7) All our sacrifices along this line are, therefore, on behalf of the brethren, and not for the converting of the world. The world receives a witness, indeed, but primarily, the brethren are reached and built up in our most holy faith. It was through the self-sacrificing efforts of others that we ourselves were reached and our hearts made glad. Now it is our privilege to lay down our lives for the brethren, some of whom are already with us, while there are others yet to be reached. Let us then be faithful “in season, out of season”—faithful even unto death.