… which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Summary: Paul’s closing thought is a doozy. Somewhere there is an invisible line which, once crossed, means we have departed from the faith.
Let’s begin with a review of Paul’s closing paragraph:
“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 departed from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
1. Guard what has been entrusted to your care — the truth.
2. Turn your back on false claims of truth.
3. Because some have not and ended up leaving the faith.
This closing thought in Paul’s letter is one that has terrified church leaders for centuries. They are haunted by the question, “How can I make sure my flock never strays from the truth?” In order to answer that question, the church, over the years, has systematized and clarified the Gospel over and over again. We want to make certain that the truth is clear and that people know it.
Our understanding of “truth” has shifted, and nobody noticed.
Paul’s understanding of the Gospel is not about Jesus Christ; it is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6).
Here is the scary part:
We can drift away from the truth and not realize it. Like a boat that slips its mooring lines in the middle of the night, we drift into the night fog without noticing the change. It is only when the sun rises, burns off the fog, and shows us the truth that we realize land is no longer in sight.
The same is true for faith.
Over the centuries since Paul’s day, the church has established theologies and rules. We have to believe in words about Jesus to be saved rather than believing in Jesus.
The shift has been subtle—impossible to notice, but it is real. That is why Paul is so concerned about guarding the truth.
How do we know the difference between true knowledge and false knowledge? The answer isn’t intellectual assent. Believing something is true doesn’t make it so. Truth is true because it is real.
You don’t need a book about rocks to recognize a rock when you feel one. It is hard, cold, and heavy. Big or little, wet or dry, polished or rough—a rock is a rock. We know it, not when we see it, but when we make contact with it.
Have you ever seen one of those fake rocks used to hide a key in the yard? Have you seen displays in a museum or a zoo where the rocks look real but sound hollow and feel like fiberglass?
You know what the truth is when you touch it, or it touches you. Jesus is the truth. Turn away from false knowledge.
Application: Know Jesus.
Food for Thought: Where is the line between truth and false knowledge?
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