Jump Start # 1876

1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ – which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.”

Our verses today are the final words in 1 Timothy. As Paul writes, “O Timothy,” you can just see the heart of this old apostle reaching out to the young preacher. The miles that Paul has traveled has taught him things. He has seen so much, good and bad. He is sharing what works with Timothy. It is good for younger preachers to spend an afternoon with an older preacher. Past all the stories and the tall tales, there is some sound and good advice. Those old men of faith have put miles on their feet and heart and they know things that can help. This is how these verses are presented.

Three thoughts come from these verses:

First, guard your faith. Paul states, “guard what has been entrusted to you.” This may involve Timothy’s role of preaching. It isn’t his, it belongs to the Lord. It has been shared or entrusted to him. He is to take care of it. He is to protect the pure message of Christ. Paul had done that and now it was Timothy’s turn.

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul said, “for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you.” The Lord gave this to Paul and Paul carefully gave it to the Corinthians. It was entrusted to him. Paul’s words to Timothy are, “guard what has been entrusted to you.” Protect it. Don’t let anyone tamper with it, steal it, tinker with it, change it, modify it, adjust it, or make improvements to it. Guard it. Watch over it. It’s been entrusted to you. This is your job. This is your commission. This is your duty.

Years ago, my family was in St. Louis at a holiday parade. As we were walking back to our hotel, we saw an armored car unloading money at the Federal Reserve. The street was blocked and guards with weapons surrounded the truck. We couldn’t get close. We were told to walk on the other side of the street. Those men were “guarding what had been entrusted to them.” In that case, it was a truckload of money. In Timothy’s case it was the Gospel.

But there is more to it than just making sure some guy doesn’t rip pages out of the Bible or starts to quote his opinions as “Scripture.” We need to guard our faith. We may protect the Gospel but we can be careless about what we believe. We fill our curious minds with all kinds of wild rumors that float around the internet, spending more time chasing what skeptics say than we do in building that faith and feeding that faith by reading the word of God. Guard your faith. Your faith is the final line of defense between you and Satan. The difference between you and the world is not your humbleness. It’s not generosity. It’s not kindness. The world can manifest all of those things. The final line between you and the world is faith. Without faith, Hebrews tells us, it is impossible to please God. Generosity without faith won’t please God. Kindness without faith won’t please God. We must believe. That faith must be protected and guarded.

How?

Second, our faith is guarded by avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the arguments of knowledge. We can guard our faith by sidestepping some discussions. There are some places that we do not belong. Worldly and empty chatter—sounds like a lot of TV shows, Facebook stuff, Hollywood magazines stuff and things that are just not profitable. It’s worldly. That’s the basis of it. It’s empty. There is nothing to it. There is no value in it. We can get pulled into conservative talk shows that discusses the same things over and over and they can get a person paranoid, scared, and all excited about things that are beyond us. North Korean drones, Russian involvement in elections, this scandal and that scandal and on and on it goes. Worldly. Empty. Not helpful to my faith and not good for my soul.

Paul includes in this list of things to avoid, “opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge.” Other versions use the word “Science” for knowledge. Paul is not thumping science nor knowledge. This is something that is falsely called that. It shouldn’t be called that. It’s not that. Intellectualism, often isn’t very intellectual. Paul reminds Timothy that this “knowledge” opposes. It doesn’t enhance. It doesn’t support. It doesn’t further help what he has been entrusted with. These things oppose. These things are the very things that Timothy has to guard against. They will tear down what he has been entrusted with.

Religion classes in most state universities fit this description. They are taught by professors who do not believe in Biblical authority, inspiration and some even question that Jesus was the Christ. They see Christianity as a reform movement of Judaism. They see the Bible, especially the O.T., as edited fables and stories from other cultures. The miracles are explained away. The prophecies are altered to mean very little. And as all of this is going on, other world religions are introduced as just as reliable, truthful and helpful as what we read in the Bible. Our young people are fed a steady diet for a semester of arguments opposing what they once believed. Here Paul tells Timothy to “avoid” such things. And too often we sign up for the very thing that Paul is warning against. Got a college student? Fortify their faith this summer in the basics of inspiration, Biblical authority, and the uniqueness of the Bible. Talk to them about these classes. Help them see through the fog of error. Find answers to their questions.

Third, Paul reminds Timothy that some have “gone astray from the faith.” The some, would be Christians. They didn’t guard their faith. They didn’t avoid worldly and empty chatter. They drove right down the street where knowledge opposed what they believed. The result is that they gave up their faith. They left it. They went astray. This sad story is repeated over and over today. We feed our souls junk instead of the pure word of God. We let our guard down. We watch a show that we think is about the Bible, but it really is just another attack upon God and His word. We read a book that points out the problems with the Bible. We listen to friends who merely repeat what they were told. Their message is negative about the Bible. We get confused. Instead of trying to find the answers, we feed our doubts. We don’t guard what we know is true. Satan gains a foothold. He chips this away. Then he chips that away. Before long, there is nothing left. And then, we leave. The declaration is, “I no longer believe those things.” Why? How? What changed? They didn’t guard and they didn’t avoid.

Some have gone astray. They won’t keep the faith. They won’t finish the course. They won’t make it to Heaven. They no longer believe. They no longer are on God’s side of things. They have joined the ranks of the enemy. And, much too often, they become “experts” in what is wrong with the church, Christians, the Bible and God. Their weak and shallow faith are not much proof that they ever understood those divine concepts.

To avoid means to stay away from. There are some things that are not worth our time to read, watch or listen to. It also means, avoiding “those” who are putting out this stuff. That sometimes even includes family members who believe they know what is best.

Guard. Avoid.

An old preacher telling a young preacher. Paul didn’t want Timothy to become a causality that crashed upon the rocks of unbelief. Guard and avoid—that’s the key.

Roger