Scripture
Read: 1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, guard what
has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty
chatter and apposing arguments
of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.
Application: Father, as we finish this wonderful
letter from Paul to his son in the Lord, enable us to take to heart the fact
that the very last things Paul desires to leave with Timothy, must be the
things that he considers so important. Paul has spent pages of material
teaching Timothy the many aspects of what it means to be a Pastor of a church.
He begins his closing statements with an emotional plea to this young man that
he loves so dearly. He reaches out to Timothy with “O”, - here is just some
help in the original to understand the heartfelt attitude Paul is
communicating:
̓͂Ω (LN: 91.14; interjection)
Contained in: Vocative Phrase Syntactic Force: Interjection
Vocative
Phrase: A group of words which includes a base component of vocative force or
function, which does not include a verbal element, and which serves to
elucidate the intended audience of the sentence.
Interjection:
Use of a word to express emphatic emotion.
Paul cannot end his letter with an attitude of
business only. He expresses his intensity toward Timothy, which shows his
heart. Even so, he gets right to the point. “Guard” is not the word that would
convey anything less than a serious mindset.
In the Greek: phulassō (φυλασσω)
“to guard” is used in classical literature in a military sense.
The truth that Paul had entrusted to Timothy
requires action on our part. This is not to say that God will not
providentially protect the integrity of His Word, history has shown that He
will. Yet, that does not exclude the opportunity for us as stewards of His Word
to participate with Him. As with all ministry, it is a partnership with the
Lord, understanding that if we do not do our part, God will still do His part
and we will lose the opportunity for investment. As a child of God we must take
seriously the call God has given to each of us to be stewards of all that He
has entrusted to us. This includes the discipleship that we have experienced
and the instruction of the Word in our life. This cannot be approached with a
lackadaisical attitude, it is as important as any other stewardship that we
have been entrusted with. When God blesses us with children, or possessions we
all understand that it is a partnership with our Lord and we will be
accountable to Him for what we did with that stewardship.
This is also true
when it comes to the teaching of God's truth in our lives. If we keep what we
are taught to ourselves and do not disciple others, we become that servant that
hid his talent in the ground, never investing it, thinking it is better to do
nothing with the investment his master gave him, rationalizing it is better to
keep the one Talent safe than to take a risk of investing it even though when
invested it can bring forth 30, 60 or even 100% more. Many in the body of
Christ have this approach in their life and fail to invest all that God has
entrusted them with. The other side of this problem is that some have a
complacent or even a compromising attitude toward the doctrine that has been
entrusted to us. To not appear narrow or unloving leaders refuse to take a
stand on what is clear Biblical truth. Some are motivated with a desire to be
popular; others have a misguided understanding of what Biblical love is. The
former believe that it is more important to be “liked” and not perceived as
offensive by society, than to state what the Word of God states as truth, with
no apologies. The latter have decided there are different levels of truth. To
“get along” with everyone they have decided that on certain levels of truth
there can be more than one position. Let's be clear here, we are not talking
about issues that are left unclear in Scripture, those issues are not to be
argued over and grace toward each other is demanded by God Himself. Romans 14
makes it clear that God has left many issues to be decided by the believers
conscience and God alone. These are not issues that Paul is referring to, he is
warning Timothy to protect the doctrine that is clearly communicated in the
Scriptures in black and white. For example, salvation is by grace through faith
alone. God reveals himself as one God in 3 persons; the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh; 100% God and 100% human. We
could go on, but the point is made, when Scripture states something black and
white, God expects us to protect the truth and pass it on exactly the way it
was passed to us from our discipler, who received it from the person that
discipled him and on and on until we come to Jesus himself who gave it to His
disciples. We must take this stewardship very seriously if we truly desire to
allow God’s Word to fully impact the next generation!
Meditation Questions: When
was the last time someone that does not accept the Bible as truth considered
you “narrow”? What does that say about you faith? Are you willing to teach
something that the Bible states clearly, even if it makes you feel sociably
uncomfortable? What does “guarding” something mean to you? How can we be loving
yet stand firm on our faith? How can we reach that balance? What does your
answer show you?
[1]
Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word
study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG
Publishers.
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