1 Timothy 6:20, 21 says,...
Today's verses are 1 Timothy 6:20, 21, which read,
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. Grace be with you.
Paul ends his letter to Timothy with another warning about the false teachers and their wares. Sometimes we think we need to know all about them and their teachings but Paul directs Timothy to guard what has been deposited with him. He instructs him to guard the gospel message. If he was to have knowledge of what the false teachers were proclaiming for the purpose to refute, he is refuting it with a much greater knowledge of what the gospel is. To point out a fraud is to know the real thing so well that the fraud sticks out like a sore thumb.
It is a danger to study all the world's cults when we don't know what we believe so firmly. It is like we are still in the comparison mode of the religions rather than standing alone on the Cornerstone of any salvation and that is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Standing on this faith is not passive but active. We guard; we stand guard; and we discipline ourselves to be awake and alert to our salvation. When we hear empty chatter and opposing arguments, scriptures are running through our minds and the words and actions of Jesus are emerging in our thoughts with the Spirit's help to know what is right in the face of what is falsely called knowledge.
Those who don't guard the faith will walk or go astray from the faith. They go astray from the God of the faith and those of the faith, the church, because they have tasted God but they haven't swallowed Him. God is another option to them but not the Sovereign only God. Jesus is one of the saviors and not the only Savior of the world and therefore needs to be proclaimed in the midst of all those false faiths. The Great Commission doesn't command us Christians to just coexist with those of other religions but to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them of Jesus. We are going out to see God transform their lives from what they believe now to accepting the grace of God through the cross of Christ.
Paul ends with a common phrase, "Grace be with you" and I am reading that the "you" is plural so it is meant not just for Timothy but all who would read this letter. Grace is needed as we guard what has been entrusted to us. Grace guides our words and actions to be reflective of His. Grace makes what we hold dear stand out as we act out this faith that has been given to us. As the old song says,
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed."
"Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."
Let's pray.
"Lord, may be guard the faith given to us by You of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we guard it with devotion and worship of You. May we not allow other things to result in us putting it on a shelf somewhere in our lives but always right out in the open on the dining room table as the centerpiece. Help us to know more of You than we know of them so that when You are spoken of wrongly by them that we would readily speak of You truthfully. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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. Grace be with you.
Paul ends his letter to Timothy with another warning about the false teachers and their wares. Sometimes we think we need to know all about them and their teachings but Paul directs Timothy to guard what has been deposited with him. He instructs him to guard the gospel message. If he was to have knowledge of what the false teachers were proclaiming for the purpose to refute, he is refuting it with a much greater knowledge of what the gospel is. To point out a fraud is to know the real thing so well that the fraud sticks out like a sore thumb.
It is a danger to study all the world's cults when we don't know what we believe so firmly. It is like we are still in the comparison mode of the religions rather than standing alone on the Cornerstone of any salvation and that is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Standing on this faith is not passive but active. We guard; we stand guard; and we discipline ourselves to be awake and alert to our salvation. When we hear empty chatter and opposing arguments, scriptures are running through our minds and the words and actions of Jesus are emerging in our thoughts with the Spirit's help to know what is right in the face of what is falsely called knowledge.
Those who don't guard the faith will walk or go astray from the faith. They go astray from the God of the faith and those of the faith, the church, because they have tasted God but they haven't swallowed Him. God is another option to them but not the Sovereign only God. Jesus is one of the saviors and not the only Savior of the world and therefore needs to be proclaimed in the midst of all those false faiths. The Great Commission doesn't command us Christians to just coexist with those of other religions but to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them of Jesus. We are going out to see God transform their lives from what they believe now to accepting the grace of God through the cross of Christ.
Paul ends with a common phrase, "Grace be with you" and I am reading that the "you" is plural so it is meant not just for Timothy but all who would read this letter. Grace is needed as we guard what has been entrusted to us. Grace guides our words and actions to be reflective of His. Grace makes what we hold dear stand out as we act out this faith that has been given to us. As the old song says,
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."
"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed."
"Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."
Let's pray.
"Lord, may be guard the faith given to us by You of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we guard it with devotion and worship of You. May we not allow other things to result in us putting it on a shelf somewhere in our lives but always right out in the open on the dining room table as the centerpiece. Help us to know more of You than we know of them so that when You are spoken of wrongly by them that we would readily speak of You truthfully. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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