Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care.
Summary: Paul’s instruction to Timothy in this passage leaves us with a bit of a puzzle.
When I read Paul’s closing words to Timothy, my mind has two simple questions:
1. What has been entrusted to Timothy’s care?
2. What is Timothy to guard against?
While it is tempting to generalize a response to these questions, they are worth taking a few moments to think about before we answer.
What has been entrusted to Timothy’s care? Is Paul referring to the instructions he has given Timothy in this letter? Is he referring to the people Timothy serves in Ephesus? Is he talking about something else?
One other possibility has to do with the “good confession” both Timothy and Jesus made. Paul does not tell us what words Timothy spoke when he made his good confession, but we do have a clue in Jesus’ case: Jesus made his good confession before Pilate.
What did Jesus say?
“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)
Ah, yes. Before Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, Jesus did not deny being a king. Instead, he simply stated that he came to testify to the truth.
What truth was that?
“Whoever believes in him [God’s Son, Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)
That is a hard truth to hear for a lot of people. It certainly was for the Pharisees who plotted to kill Jesus. As far as Pilate was concerned, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)
Which brings us to the second question: What is Timothy to guard against?
Perhaps the answer is as simple as one little word: Lies. Especially lies about the Gospel.
Application: Always trust Jesus.
Food for Thought: Who decides what the truth is?
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Who decides what the truth is?
The truth is the truth regardless of what people decide or believe. I think many people try to decide, but fall short. People generally lack understanding of the whole picture, and thus lack discernment. People are also especially vulnerable to how the truth affects them personally, so they tend to try and make the truth fit their reality, rather than allow the truth to define reality.
I lived many years “defining” truth to suit myself. For me the defining moment was when I truly accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. In repentance and acceptance of Him I agreed with the truth of the Bible. So in that sense it was less of me deciding what the truth was, but rather agreeing with the truth and then deciding to follow Him (the Truth). I am still accepting His truth as He continues to sanctify me.
John 8:31-32
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”