In Season and Out of Season

 

A Bible phrase Study

 

Introduction

In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul began to conclude this letter with this statement, Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2).

I want to look at the second sentence, Be ready in season and out of season. This statement, overall, means preach (or teach) the word every chance you get. But sometimes, people want to limit when the gospel is talked about. We’ll explore this further in the article below.

 

But It’s not Sunday!

The majority of the world do not want to hear anything about the bible or Jesus on any day except Sunday. True, Sunday is referred to as The Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10; Acts 20:7). However, God made all seven days. The psalmist writes, This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalms 118:24). Although, in context, he may have been talking about a specific day, we can utilize it for every day of the week.

There are those who go door-knocking to proclaim the gospel, or their doctrine’s version of it, on a regular basis, and the majority of people don’t want to hear it. To the homeowners, it’s the equivalent of a telemarketer calling you at a random time. They don’t want to hear anything about the bible and will simply respond, “We go to church on Sunday, we’re not interested.” It's the kind of response that Felix gave to Paul when he heard him speak, …he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I will call for you.” (Acts 24:24-25)

 

Slaves to a Calendar

Go to any denominational church in December and you’ll hear lessons preached on the birth of Christ. Go back to the same place in the spring and you’ll hear lessons on the crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. Ironically, you more than likely will not hear these lessons any other time of the year.

The reason for this is that these groups follow a church calendar and are limited to the subjects that they can preach certain times of the year. Mainly from December (known as Advent) all the way through April (Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, etc.). The last calendar date is Pentecost Sunday, then the majority of Sundays after are listed as the “Sunday after Pentecost” (a total of 28) and so on.

You will not find this calendar type in the bible. Sure, there was the Passover and its subsequent Jewish holidays but those were done away with when Christ was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14-17). To limit oneself on what subjects to preach based on the time of the year is dangerous to all souls.

Given that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the central focus as it is where the forgiveness of sins happens, you’d want to talk about that as often as possible. We offer the invitation at the end of every worship service discussing this very event; a chance for people to repent of their sins and become a child of God, or repent and renew their love for God as a Christian.

The First Century Christians never limited themselves to any kind of calendar and neither should we. If call ourselves teachers, then we need to teach; all subjects, any time of the year.

 

In Peace and In Peril

There are brethren who don’t want to hear a sermon on a subject because they state, “Oh, we don’t have that problem here.” Really? And just why is it that you don’t have that problem? Because someone preached on that subject! In season and out of season can mean, when there’s a problem in the local congregation and when there’s not. I made a statement about this during one of my sermons and I use it as often as possible. I said, “We preach on subjects when they are out of season so that they do not become in season.”

I’ve heard too many times of congregations getting caught up in false doctrine to the point of splitting the members into two sides, but nothing is preached on it. Finally, when the subject is addressed, it is so deeply rooted in the group that it falls on deaf ears. That’s why subjects need to be taught on a regular basis; whether it’s in season or out of season.

When you hear people say, “You’re preaching on that again? You just did a lesson on that last year” then it’s time to get that individual, or someone else, to do a lesson on that very subject. Sometimes, when a different person preaches on a similar subject, they might offer a different view or some other applications that make the lesson seem new and interesting. It’s not that your located preacher can’t do a good job but, sometimes, a new voice in the pulpit make people sit up and take notice. This is a great advantage, during Gospel Meetings, when you have guest speakers.

 

Conclusion

Marshall Keeble, a gospel preacher of renown, is reported as saying, “Preach it when they like it and when they don’t like it.” Study Matthew 23 and see what Jesus had to say about the scribes and Pharisees. He wasn’t concerned about whether they wanted to hear it or not.

People will get offended, sometimes, by what you have to say but you have to say it anyways to help save their souls. Don’t avoid the inevitable (Heb. 9:27), it’s time to change your life (2 Cor. 6:2) and start walking with God.