Guarding the Faith

v. 17:

Riches can be a trap, that can often cause people to develop an attitude of superiority.

Money doesn’t make one better than another, and we should never allow such an attitude to develop.

We should never think too highly of ourselves.

Romans 12:3

Romans 12:3 NKJV

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Also, riches are fleeting. They come and go.

People have made fortunes and lost fortunes overnight.

Economic depressions have caused generations of wealth to disappear.

Our earthly riches are never certain, and they should never be the object of our faith.

Too many people place their faith in their wealth, but in the end it will lead to disappointment and grief.

Luke 12:16-21

Luke 12:16–21 NKJV

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 16:22-25

Luke 16:22–25 NKJV

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.

Our faith should be in God alone.

God is our provider, and all good things come from Him.

James 1:17

James 1:17 NKJV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

God gives us gifts that we may benefit from and enjoy them, but all too often we abuse them by using them selfishly.

v. 18:

Rather than be selfish and greedy, we should use what we have to do good.

We should be willing to give when needed, and we should measure our riches in Heavenly rewards, not earthly wealth.

Our riches should be measured in Heavenly rewards.

Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

v. 19:

By following the instructions given, we can lay up treasure in Heaven.

This is just one way that we can begin to guard the faith that has been entrusted to us, by demonstrating it in our lives.

We should be doers of the Word, not just hearers.

James 1:22-25

James 1:22–25 NKJV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

vv. 20-21:

The truth has been committed to us, and we should be committed to the truth.

Both Timothy and we are exhorted to “keep” (literally, to guard or preserve) that which was placed in our trust.

The context implies that the entire teaching of Scripture.

 Not only was he to preserve truth, he actively was to “avoid” error.

There were teachings going around which masqueraded as knowledge (or science). These were not neutral teachings, they were in opposition to the truth.

The same is true today.

Godless humanism has been responsible for the loss of faith in many professing Christians.

In fact, much of what is called “science” in universities today could better be described as “profane and idle babblings.”

These errors didn’t just begin in our time.

Back in the 1800s, it began with uniformitarianism, and later evolution.

Only a small minority of scientists adhered to these teachings.

Unfortunately, many Christians failed to guard the truth that had been committed to them.

Theologians led the way to their broad acceptance.

They rushed to embrace Charles Lyell’s principle of uniformity and the concept of an old earth while still holding on to a charade of biblical authority.

Theologians proposed the tranquil flood and local flood concepts.

Likewise, theologians proposed theistic evolution, the day-age, and gap theories to accommodate evolution, and their theological grandchildren enjoy the majority voice at most evangelical seminaries today.

The acceptance of evolution has led to the acceptance of other lies disguised as science.

We are now being taught that our primal animal instincts negate any responsibility for wrongdoing. (a lie based on a lie)

We are taught that there are a multitude of genders.

We are taught that gender is not fixed, but is fluid and can change on a whim.

It is time that Christians regain “that which is committed to [their] trust,” and avoid “science falsely so called.”)

 Paul gives both positive and negative charges. Timothy is instructed to keep certain things and avoid others.

“Gaurd” is a military term. It means to take very careful measures to guard and protect.

The word “avoid” implies more than merely refraining from contact. It has to do, instead, with actively and deliberately turning away from something.

We are to guard that which has been committed into our care.

This implies great value—the complete gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is indeed highly valuable, and we should hold onto it and protect it for dear life, because life is exactly what it holds.

We should hold fast to the Gospel.

2 Timothy 1:13-14

2 Timothy 1:13–14 NKJV

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Part of guarding and protecting the truth, is actively avoiding the lies.

Two things to avoid are specifically listed, and these two things encompass every lie and false gospel ever told.

The first is profane and idle babblings:

These are any of any conversations and arguments which are of a worldly, ungodly, unclean nature, and vain, empty, hollow arguments.

We should shun profane and idle babblings.

2 Timothy 2:16

2 Timothy 2:16 NKJV

But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.

Lastly, we are to avoid false science, or knowledge.

Human wisdom found to be contrary to the wisdom of God may be called knowledge by some, but if so, it is “falsely called.”

Since God created science, true science will always be confirmed by the Bible.

If a so called scientific assertion contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible, it is not the Bible that is wrong, it is our interpretation of the science that is wrong.

This has even caused Christians to go astray. Evolution is one of the biggest culprits in this arena.

 Paul closes with the benediction “Grace be with you.” May we all enjoy God’s grace as we attempt to keep the true, avoid the false, and discern the difference.