1 Timothy 6:20-21 -- Final words

To catch up on our adventure through 1 Timothy, click here and read from the bottom post up.

1 Timothy 6:20-21 (NIV) :

"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, [21] which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.

"Grace be with you."

Paul closes this letter similar to the way he started it (1 Timothy 1:3-6). He drives home a couple of his themes one more time:

1. Guard "what has been entrusted to your care" (v. 20). Paul is asking Timothy to keep the deposit or trust that Paul had passed on to him. He is talking about the truth as represented in God's Word. As a leader, I have been given a sacred trust to faithfully obey and teach God's Word without error.
2. "Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge" (v. 20). Paul says to turn away from "godless chatter" (literally, profane empty utterances) and from "opposing ideas" (antithesis or counter-assertions). This knowledge he talks of was the supposed key to the mystery religions which were starting up and would eventually become Gnosticism. As a leader, I need to be very careful to stay grounded in God's Word.
3. Some "have professed" these opposing ideas "and in so doing have wandered from the faith" (v. 21; literally, concerning the faith missed the aim). This does not suggest that they lost their salvation, but that they turned away from the content of their faith to false doctrine. As a leader, I need to take care because my wandering from the truths of the faith can cause others to wander as well.
4. Paul closes with the simple benediction "Grace be with you" (v. 21). The word "you" is in the plural. Paul seems to know that although he's written this letter to Timothy, others will read it as well. As a leader, I need to be aware that people are constantly listening to me and watching my life even when I don't think they are.

This concludes the study of 1 Timothy that we started 10+ months ago! I hope you have enjoyed the journey!