1 Timothy 6:20b – Knowing Truth

Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge…

Summary: Paul’s instruction to Timothy is unbending.   

This passage is dynamite. 

The question that jumps out at us like a blast from a rock quarry is, “What is falsely called knowledge?” 

Paul clearly has knowledge of the truth. We have seen it throughout his letter. In his opening sentence, he points to “God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). A few verses later, he reminds us that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” and that we should “believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16). 

A little while later, he mentions that God wants “all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth,” and then he continues with “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Timothy 2:3-6). 

So what does it mean to come to a “knowledge of the truth”? After all, isn’t that what Paul is warning us against—that which is “falsely called knowledge”?

When Jesus worked his first miracle at a wedding in Cana, he changed water into wine (John 2:1-10). But he didn’t just change water into wine—he changed it into the very best wine. How do we know? We know because the ‘master of the banquet’ tasted it, and he had knowledge of both ordinary wine and very good wine.

The same is true for the Gospel. 

We know the truth because Paul and others have testified to the truth in the Bible. Paul himself reminds Timothy of this truth almost a dozen times in this letter alone. Why would Timothy listen to “godless chatter” and “opposing ideas”? 

The answer is that we don’t know. Perhaps Timothy, as young as he was, was being buffaloed by older men who claimed to know things that were not true. Maybe Timothy was being gentle as Paul had demanded of overseers. Yet, Paul’s closing words are almost urgent: Don’t listen! Turn away! 

That which is “falsely called knowledge” is a lie, and it is dangerous. 

Application: Learn to tell the difference between knowing truth and false knowledge.  

Food for Thought: What sets the truth apart from the other things we talk about? 

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