“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21
We have been given a precious message and an important treasured possession; the gospel and its transformational power.
Every one of us. Not just those in the pulpit but also in the pew.
We have been entrusted with it.
In Paul’s final instructions, that’s what he tells Timothy and he says, “don’t change a thing of what you have been given and don’t let Church members be deceived by what is hidden.”
So what does that mean?
I heard a prophecy that was given in a picture form of a foot with a sock on it. All looked fine on the outside but when the sock was taken off the foot was festering and weeping. I’ve never forgotten it.
What Paul says about the early Gnostic ideas were beginning to infiltrate Christian communities. These teachings promised secret wisdom and elevated spiritual understanding but ultimately led people away from simple faith in Christ. It was the sock that looked fine but masked a disease underneath.
Paul isn’t anti-intellectual—his own writings demonstrate profound theological depth. But Paul believed in holding out against those who offer something that isn’t true and moves them away from what was originally given to the Church.
The challenge for us is the discernment of what is being presented as true, good and successful. Many can be deceived to the point of losing their relationship with the Lord,
We have to be on our guard with what has been given to us. Let us not be the generation that messes it up. Guard and turn from, that’s what we need to do.
Missions Paul 