We are not babysitting Truth, we are guarding it!

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:

The phrase “O” is Ω Ōméga; ῏Ω, an emotional interjection ὦ Ṓ. As a note of exclamation, O! Oh! ^[1]

 ̓͂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?

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^[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.