When speaking with a student, a protégé, a child, or anyone we are attempting to impact or influence, it is common to employ repetition as a tool of instruction. If I tell my child “It is dangerous to play in the street, so don’t do that,” I am likely to tell them that more than one time to ensure the message will be received, remembered, and complied with.
When scripture tells us something, and then tells us the same thing again, and then tells us a third time or even a fourth time, it behooves us to give attention to what is being said. There is an unspoken message saying, “This is important. Pay attention to this.”
Guard the Trust
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
– 2 Timothy 1:13-14, ESV
The apostle Paul had been given a “deposit” of spiritual truth1 and he entrusted that same deposit to Timothy.2 Timothy had the somber responsibility to hold fast what had been entrusted to him. Indeed, he was directed to “guard” the deposit of truth he had been given. Each of us holds that same truth, and we have the same responsibility to guard that truth, to stand firm in it.
This deposit, παραθήκην (parthekein) is the core body of doctrine, or teaching, that had been placed within both Timothy and Titus. They were not merely teachers of that doctrine, but holy stewards of the divine trust that was to be preserved, unaltered. Bear in mind that a deposit, belongs to someone else. In this case, it is granted to me to steward the deposit, but the deposit belongs to God. I am merely holding it and protecting it from corruption as I hand it off to the next generation exactly as I received it.
Clearly there were attempts to alter the teaching in Paul’s day, or he would never have given such an instruction. We see rampant movements to alter that body of doctrine today. My encouragement to you is to stand firm, steadfast, and immovable. Guard what has been entrusted to your care.
Looking again at the passage above, we note that while this call to guard the deposit involves obedient effort on our part, it is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul says this guarding must be done “by the Holy Spirit.” Our effort, studying, teaching, refuting, is human. The preservation of the truth is ultimately a divine work. It requires more than intellectual effort. It requires spiritual empowerment.
What Paul is calling both Timothy and Titus to (and I believe calling us, by extension) is an active defense of truth. There is nothing passive about guarding. Paul knows that humanity’s natural tendency is toward theological drift, and that intentional effort is required to keep the original message intact.
False Knowledge
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
– 2 Timothy 1:13-14, ESV
There is a repulsive level of arrogance that believes it knows better than scripture knows, or that it knows better than two thousand plus years of sound teaching transmitted from one disciple to the next. There is a self-absorption that looks condescendingly upon stalwarts of the faith as old-fashioned, outdated relics. The enlightened ones have a new way, a better way, and we are merely ignorant buffoons for not seeing as clearly as they see.
No! They are precisely those who adhere to “what is falsely called ‘knowledge'” and they are shamelessly careening their way toward destruction and dragging a host of unsuspecting fools with them. This is precisely why the prophet Jeremiah calls out, “seek the old paths!”
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
– 2 Timothy 1:13-14, ESV
And bear in mind, many of those who behave and speak in this way claim to be followers of Christ. They claim to be part of the body, the church! If we are to seek the old paths, to be the watchmen on the wall,3 and to guard the deposit entrusted to us, we need to understand what is unfolding before us, and know how to respond to those who say, “We will not walk in it.”
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.
– 1 Timothy 6:3-4a, ESV
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
– 2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV
A time is coming? No, that time is here. We are immersed in such a time.
The infiltration of depravity into the Western church is progressing with flash flood rapidity. If the apostle Paul was this concerned over the state of the first-century church, the church today would send his blood pressure through the rooftop. With even the slightest effort, we can find vice, degeneracy and corruption of the gospel not just tolerated or ignored in the church, but lavishly celebrated.
The Remedy
How does one “wage the good warfare”4 against such degeneracy? Let’s let Paul respond to that.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
– 2 Timothy 4:1-2, ESV
The remedy for corruption and immorality in the church is not shouting matches or online flame-wars. The remedy is “teach the Word.” And to teach the Word, we have to know the Word. And to know the Word, we have to spend time with the Word. I am persuaded to the core of my being that most of our problems in the body of Christ today exist because men and women of God do not know the Word of God.
Over forty years ago, I was listening to a missionary presentation by a man who was laboring in socialist, atheist populations of the Far East. When the time for questions arrived, one young man asked the missionary:
“Brother Thomas, how do you present the gospel in a way that’s convincing to people who don’t believe the Bible?”
“It’s simple,” he responded. “You teach the Word.”
Attempting to clarify, the young man objected, “No, that’s exactly what I’m asking about. They don’t believe in the Word!”
“I heard what you asked,” the missionary said, “and understood what you meant.
My answer is the same. We teach the Word.”
We have to do that! We have to teach the Word. The apostle Paul issued the imperative to Timothy, “Teach and urge these things!”5 He issued similar instructions to Titus, telling him to “teach what accords with sound doctrine.”6 A man is not even to be considered as an elder/shepherd unless he knows and can instruct from the Word.
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
– 2 Timothy 4:1-2, ESV
Pattern & Sound
Pattern
If we look at 2 Timothy 1:13 (our opening verse above) we see the apostle Paul urging Timothy to hold firm to the “pattern” of sound teaching. Other translations say:
- “the standard”
- “the form”
- “the model”
- “the example.”
- “the norm”
- “the outline”
We see a theme in those translational choices. The Word of God functions not as something merely to be read, but lived. It shows the way. It is the design for godliness. It provides the structure.
Ages ago, people sewed, not so much for the enjoyment of it, but because it saved money and money was difficult to come by. Making one’s own clothing was far less expensive than purchasing clothing already made. With the cost of material these days, this is no longer the case. In many instances it is more costly to sew your own clothing than it is to purchase something already made.
Alean sews, not to save us money, but simply because she enjoys the creativity of it. She sews clothing, curtains, purses and bags … I’ve even seen her sew up soccer balls that were coming apart. When Alean sews something, early on in the project, I’m going to witness her spreading huge measures of material on the dining room table. Atop these lengths of material, she will attach printed sheets of paper, patterns outlining the varied sections of the item she will be sewing together to construct a finished item. It is critical to follow these pattern pieces, to adhere to them with precision. Failure to respect to the pattern’s guidance will result in a failure to successfully complete the project. You will have wasted both time and money.
The Bible functions in the same way. It is a pattern, a type, a model for living. It is not subjective or open to tweaking and massaging. The apostle Paul presents the faith as a fixed, objective body of truth. It isn’t something Timothy or Titus were called on to reinvent based on current societal trends. So it is for us. The faith is a finished body of knowledge we are granted, called to live by, and to guard.
Sound
I do not mean to be overly simplistic, but subjective analysis demands we admit that there is teaching that is sound and grounded, and there is teaching that is corrupt. This is why Paul warns of those who gather teachers willing to say what they want to hear.7 We will never have a shortage of such teachers. A big salary is a compelling enticement to reshape the message into something easier on the ears and more palatable to the taste buds. The prophet Balaam was willing to at least try to modify his message for a kickback from Balak, king of Moab. It almost cost him his life.8
Because someone is holding a Bible in their hand (or not) and appears to be teaching from it, it does not necessarily follow that what they are teaching is truth. When the apostle Paul was a traveling missionary, his teaching was heard and validated by many of his audiences. Rather than take offense at this, the Bible calls this validating a noble act.
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
– Acts 17:11, NIV-1978
When you are listening to a teacher, a musician, or reading teaching (like what you find in these blog postings), it is vital that you determine whether the teaching is ὑγιαινω (hugiaino). Is it healthy? Is it solid, sound, well grounded? Is it pure and uncorrupted? Does it align with scripture?
Paul was pressing upon Timothy the importance of holding to the form or pattern of scriptural truth. The failure to do this is what has delivered the landscape of anemic and even demonic churches of our generation.
Stodgy?
Those of you who have followed my writing, speaking, and teaching over the years know that I am no great supporter of the guardians of orthodoxy. From that vantage point, I emphasize that adherence to truth does not equate with stodgy, monotonous faith. I argue, rather, that the opposite is true. As one’s life is oriented around the precepts of God, that is when faith and reality align and vitality becomes the common experience.
But, you’re imposing on my freedom, man, some will attempt to argue.
No, I’m not imposing anything. I am calling us back to alignment with God’s will for us as outlined in scripture.
And consider this. When is a train free? Is the train free when it jumps the constraints of the track and goes lumbering across the corn field screaming, “I’m free! I’m free! I’m finally free!” No, the train is free when it rides the rails that were created and laid in place to allow it to function as designed. It is then, and only then, that the train is free.
Design and Designer
Years ago, I was staying in a condo in the U. S. Virgin Islands with three other gentlemen. One morning I woke up and found I was the last to rise and leave for the day. The dishwasher was full, so I thought I’d run it before leaving so we would come home to a set of clean dishes that afternoon. I couldn’t find the detergent so, in my ignorance, I filled the soap cup with liquid dish soap, kicked off the wash cycle and left for the day. When the four of us returned to the condo that afternoon, we were greeted by a kitchen and living room filled with suds.
Dishwashers are designed to use a very specific soap formula. I am not at liberty to decide I don’t like the dish washing detergent and that I am free to use whatever cleansing agent I prefer. Refusing to adhere to the design is going to yield unpleasant outcomes for me.
This same reality plays out in my life. I am designed by the Creator God. He knows what works well for me and what does not. When I align my life with the owner’s manual produced by the Creator, my life plays out beautifully, just as designed. When I decide to jump the tracks, to override what the Creator has decreed, I hit roadblocks, walk through thistles, and poison my own soul.
God is good, and God is love. God desires the absolute best for us, and God knows what that best is. Trust him. Follow him. Let him lead your way.
Blessings upon you, my friends.
Victoriously in Christ!
– damon
DamonJGray.org
X – @DamonJGray
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1. 1 Timothy 1:11
2. 1 Timothy 6:20
3. Ezekiel 3:17
4. 1 Timothy 1:18
5. 1 Timothy 6:2
6. Titus 2:1
7. 2 Timothy 4:3
8. Numbers 22
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