“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Although it may not seem obvious, there is a difference between preaching (which is the first directive in this passage) and teaching (which forms the last directive). Preaching is generally associated with an exhortation to righteousness, while teaching involves the act of communicating the Scriptures in a way that others can understand, remember, and apply.
These directives are important because Paul the Apostle has made repeated references to false doctrines and worthless debates throughout his Biblical letters to Timothy. There are at least two different factors that contribute to such things in the context of this passage. First, we can say that many false beliefs often take root where people are unfamiliar with the Scriptures. It is for this reason that Paul encouraged Timothy (and modern-day readers by extension) to preach and teach God’s Word.
The second consideration involves the way we interpret and apply the Scriptures. You see, it is one thing to adapt a Biblical teaching or principle to the circumstances of life. However, it is something quite different to read something into a Biblical text that isn’t there. Theologians refer to this practice as eisegesis, a word that describes the act of reading an opinion or personal bias into a Biblical text that is not supported by the text or context.
One source identifies the issue with that approach…
“…There are various ways to use the word of God deceitfully, or to tamper with it. Using a Bible text to preach a ‘sermon’ that has little or nothing to do with the Bible is one of the common ways of doing it.” (1)
The opposite of eisegesis is exegesis, or the process by which we extract the meaning and application from a Biblical passage. These distinctions help shape the way we fulfill these directives to preach and teach God’s Word.
For instance, we can impose our preferences upon the Biblical text (eisegesis) or we can extract the meaning from the text (exegesis). In the first instance, we are more likely to alter a Biblical teaching to suit our preference. That approach will undoubtedly lead to “…disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith” (1 Timothy 1:3). In the second instance, we are more likely to adapt our thinking and behavior to a Biblical teaching and fulfill the message of 1 Timothy 4:6…
“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.”
(1) Paul T. Butler. The Bible Study Textbook Series, Studies In Second Corinthians (College Press) [p. 93] Copyright © 1988 College Press Publishing Company https://archive.org/stream/BibleStudyTextbookSeriesSecondCorinthians/132Corinthians-Butler_djvu.txt