Brothers,

The last two verses today of 1st Timothy. Thanks for joining these Bible studies. I hope that there will follow many more.

Hope to be back next week with the start of 2 Timothy.

Here is the text I'm reading.

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1 Timothy 6:20-21, “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 wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.”

Interesting points:
1. In these verses Paul concludes his letter to Timothy, reminding him his primary weapons against false doctrine and sin are keeping himself on God's path for his life and refusing to waver from the Truth in instructing fellow believers.

2. At first this conclusion seems to abruptly transition from the previous section concerning how the wealthy should live so that they do not fall into the pitfalls their wealth could create – especially when they take their eyes off God, His kingdom work and His purpose for them. But when we consider that the treasure that serves as a “firm foundation for the coming age” refers to faith, these verses gain a deeper spiritual dimension. Just as the wealthy guard, steward and grow their riches, Timothy is charged with guarding both believers (the Church) and the truth of God’s Word from the influence of false teachers.

3. In Verse 21, Paul; advises Timothy to turn away from and avoid godless chatter and (false) doctrines which contradict the Scriptures. Rather than waste time and effort arguing with those that claimed to have knowledge, Paul advised Timothy to stay on task: preach and teach the truth and living righteously. In doing so, he could avoid being distracted, influenced, or misguided by others to wander from the faith.

4. Paul’s closes his letter to Timothy with an emphasis on God's grace: a most appropriate and encouraging reminder of that which God richly provides His believers and expects us to demonstrate to even the most argumentative of false teachers.

Application.
Brothers, rich or poor, we have all been entrusted with God’s truth. Not only should we guard it in our hearts, we should be diligent about living it out in our lives rather than engaging in mindless arguments concerning worldly “knowledge” and false teachings that contradict the Scripture. Rather, we should study and teach the Word, unpacking the truth for its correct application with the grace that God bestows on each of us.

As we transition to 2nd Timothy, let’s take some time today and capture the verses that spoke loudest to you in 1st Timothy!