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You can turn in your Bibles to 
1 Timothy chapter 6. As we close this epistle this 
evening, our focus will be on verses 20 and 21, but I will 
read beginning in verse 3. If anyone teaches otherwise and 
does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 
he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes 
and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, 
evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and 
destitute of the truth. who suppose that godliness is 
a means of gain. From such, withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment 
is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and 
it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, 
with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich 
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful 
lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of 
money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have 
strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves 
through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these 
things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. 
Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and 
have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 
I urge you in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, 
and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession 
before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without 
spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which 
He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessing and only 
potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone 
has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no 
man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. Command those who are rich 
in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things 
to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be 
rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing 
up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come. that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. O Timothy, guard what was committed 
to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions 
of what is falsely called knowledge. By professing it, some have strayed 
concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for this epistle. Thank you for the instruction 
we have received. We ask even now that your Spirit 
would help us in these last two verses. Help us to understand 
what is uppermost in the mind of the Apostle as he signs off 
in this first letter. Give us grace, Father, to hold 
fast to the truth. Give us grace, Father, as a church 
to guard the deposit that has been committed to us. Grant us 
grace to see the stewardship involved the power of your Holy 
Spirit to keep us faithful in these things. Forgive us that 
there is a tendency in our hearts. Forgive us for remaining corruption, 
remaining sin. Forgive us that at times, Lord 
God, it seems to be a difficulty. We ask that you would just fill 
us with your Spirit so that we may happily receive the truth, 
and that it may affect the way that we live in this world, the 
way that we do conduct ourselves as a church. May we gather together, 
and may we honor and glorify Your Most Holy Name, for certainly 
this is what Scripture informs us. We ask now that You would 
bless our time, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 
Well, as we have seen in this entire, or the last chapter as 
a whole, Paul gives a final indictment in verses 3 to 6, or 3 to 10 
rather, of those false teachers who had been plaguing the Church 
at Ephesus. And I must imagine it's not just 
Ephesus, but all the churches of Christ have to deal with these 
sorts of things. He then gives final exhortations 
to Timothy. Remember that in verses 11 and 
following, Timothy is to be a fleeing man. He is to flee these things. Specifically those things in 
verses 9 and 10. He is to be a following man. 
He is to pursue righteousness. Godliness, faith, love, patience, 
gentleness. He is to be a fighting man. In 
chapter 1, verse 18, Paul tells Timothy to wage the good warfare. 
Certainly gospel ministry isn't simply a time on the golf course, 
but rather it is warfare. And Paul tells Timothy to fight 
the good fight. And as well, he tells Timothy 
to be faithful. To be a faithful man. To persevere 
to the very end. He then gives instructions concerning 
the rich in verses 17 and 19, which we looked at last week, 
and now the final charge to Timothy. And in many respects, what Paul 
has done has come full circle, and the emphasis remains for 
Timothy that he is to be a faithful man. He is to persevere in faith 
and ministry by guarding sound doctrine. He as well is to keep 
himself from empty chatter, or called here idle babblings, or 
those things that are contrary to the Word of God. The man of 
God, the minister of the Gospel, is to be consumed with the truth. 
He is not to let his mind be taken away from the study of 
Scripture and the study of sound theology. That is to mark Timothy. And by implication, it is to 
mark men of God in our own current situation. We'll look at, first 
of all, the deposit to be guarded, and then secondly, the dangers 
to avoid. Notice the deposit to be guarded. He says, O Timothy, this is a 
personal letter, but the last statement, the benediction that 
says, Grace be with you, the you is plural there. So it is 
to Timothy, primarily, but it's certainly for the church as well. 
And again, by implication, it's for the church and our own generation 
throughout, or subsequent generations, from when Paul wrote to Timothy. And when he addresses him as, 
O Timothy, the type of phrase or the type of speech or part 
of speech that is, it's called evocative, and that underscores 
with reference and underscores the solemnity and the urgency 
of the charge. I've already mentioned 118. There 
Timothy is personally charged to wage the good warfare. We 
see in chapter 4 as a whole the emphasis is upon Timothy being 
a faithful man of God and doing what the Lord calls him to do. 
We see in chapter 16 beginning in verse 11 this emphasis on 
Timothy. Paul is going to die. He is not 
going to be around forever. Paul cannot carry the baton unto 
the eternity by himself. He needs to have faithful men, 
and he is passing that baton, he is passing that torch, and 
he wants the men of God, whom he has associated with, to be 
faithful to the very end. And then here specifically, the 
letter ends with that reference to O Timothy. And as I said, 
it is for the church as a whole. B.B. Warfield makes this statement 
concerning this passage. He says, hear the psalm of the 
whole matter. Be faithful to the gospel committed 
to you and shun all the pretentious show of superior learning which 
is proving a snare to many. If that was true in the first 
century, certainly it is true in the 21st century as there 
are so many inroads being made with reference to the church 
and the emphasis upon the truth and sound doctrine. So, O Timothy, 
Paul wants him to receive what he has for him. Notice the specific 
duty in verse 20a. Guard what was committed to your 
trust. A good rendering is guard the 
deposit. I referred to this this morning. 
We see a similar usage in 2nd Timothy chapter 1. in verses 
13 and 14. It says, "...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." Today at the 
luncheon, or at least after the luncheon, we had a discussion 
concerning the charismatic gifts, tongue speaking, prophesying. 
No one can deny their presence in the New Testament. No one 
can object to the reality that in the early church there were 
people speaking in tongues and people prophesying. That is a 
reality. I argue that they were revelatory 
gifts, that tongues speaking and prophesying was the means 
by which God communicated to his church when there was no 
New Testament. But since the New Testament is 
now completed, We don't have a need for or a requirement for 
tongue speaking and prophesying. And one of the arguments or one 
of the pieces of evidence I use to confirm that reality is the 
emphasis by Paul to Timothy and Titus. In 1st and 2nd Timothy 
and in Titus, Paul never tells these men to try and get the 
gift of tongues. He never tells these men to prophesy 
in a way that really blows people away. Have special meetings, 
put up a tent, and reap people's fortunes as if it was some sort 
of a holy fortune cookie. He doesn't do that. The emphasis 
for Paul upon these men in the latter times of Paul's life, 
2 Timothy specifically, is the last letter that Paul ever wrote. 
The emphasis is on sound doctrine. It is on truth. It is on what 
the Proverbs say. We are to buy the truth and we're 
to sell it not. Look at what he says there in 
verses 13 and 14 in 2 Timothy 1. 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. I've been to 
some conferences or gatherings with ministers and oftentimes 
pastors will ask other pastors, how are you doing? What's going 
on in the life of your church? I have never heard a minister, 
I have never heard a pastor say, you know, I'm just seeking to 
guard that or keep that which has been committed to me by the 
Holy Spirit who dwells in us. You know, I think at times that 
wouldn't impress us. Oh, you mean you don't have a VBS? You 
don't have a ministry to all the down-and-outers in your community? 
I'm not suggesting those are bad things, after the fact that 
the minister of the gospel busies himself in holding fast the pattern 
of sound words and keeping by the Holy Spirit that good thing 
which was committed to you. That's the primary emphasis in 
these pastoral epistles. That is what Paul wants from 
Timothy and from Titus. Notice, with reference to our 
tax, in 620, guard what was committed to your trust. As I said, guard 
the deposit is a good one. The word is a legal term. It 
connotes something which is placed on trust in another man's keeping. I used the analogy this morning. 
If I take money to the bank and I deposit it there, it remains 
my money. It does not become the property 
of the bank. The bank's task, the bank's job, 
the bank's role is simply to guard that which I have deposited 
there. The church is not to tamper with 
the message. If you run down to the bank and 
you put a chunk of gold in your safe deposit box, and then you 
come back in six months or in a year, you don't want to find 
a little plastic toy. You committed to that bank to 
guard that piece of gold. That was their task and their 
job. Well, God has committed to the 
church a chunk of gold. He has put excellent treasure in earthenware 
vessels, and He doesn't want to come back and find some plastic 
toy. As we consider this reality of 
Him guarding what was committed to your trust, we ought to realize 
first that the deposit does not originate with Paul or Timothy, 
but with God. It's His truth. It's His gospel. It is His message. We are not 
to be innovators. We are not to be creative. We 
are simply to be faithful with the Word of God. Secondly, the 
deposit was made by God to Paul who passed it on to Timothy. 
Look at 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 11. Paul says, according 
to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed 
to my trust. God, specifically Christ, called 
the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. He set him apart 
to make him an apostle, specifically to the Gentiles. He took this 
deposit of truth and he committed it to the Apostle Paul. Paul 
was not to be innovative. Paul was not to be creative. 
Paul was to be faithful with that word. And so as Paul now 
writes to Timothy, this is how he ends. guard that which has 
been committed to you." In other words, Paul has given to Timothy 
a rich piece of treasure and he doesn't want him to squander 
it, he doesn't want him to abuse it, he wants him to be faithful 
with it. Thirdly, the deposit ultimately 
is owned by God. Paul and Timothy are simply stewards. Do you understand that? The church 
isn't about us in the first place. The church isn't about you. It 
isn't about me. It's about the glory of God Most 
High. Look at Ephesians chapter 3 for 
just a moment, where the Apostle prays specifically for the Ephesians. And he makes this statement that 
we need to take to heart often. Notice in chapter 3 of Ephesians, 
verse 8, "...to me, who am less than the least of all the saints, 
this grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the 
unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the 
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages 
has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ." 
Now notice verse 10, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom 
of God might be made known by the church. What's our function? Is it just to get a boost in 
the arm every Sunday? Is it just to have a social gathering? Is it just to sample one another's 
food on a Sunday afternoon lunch at? Look at what Paul says is 
a primary function with reference to the church. Verse 10, to the 
intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known 
by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. 
according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ 
Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence 
through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not 
lose heart at my tribulations, which is your glory." You see, 
the principalities and the powers above ought to be able to look 
at the Church and see demonstrated therein the manifold wisdom of 
God. Now is the manifold wisdom of 
God demonstrated to these principalities when we abandon the form of worship 
that God has commanded and everybody does what is right in their own 
eyes? It's a hootenanny, it's a free-for-all, 
it's some sort of a revelry time when we just all kind of sway 
or bob or move or do whatever it is and we bang a few tambourines 
and we sing a few ditties and we say, wow, wasn't that great? 
We talked about this yesterday. Have you ever heard somebody 
say, the worship at that church is really good? What does that 
mean? The worship at that church is 
really good. I tend to think, at least in 
some cases, the worship at that church is really good. It means 
they have good musical performance. It means that it's orchestrated 
well. It means that it's conducted 
in a very pleasing manner. No, the worship that is good 
is when God is glorified. When the church is manifesting 
His wisdom to the principalities and the powers. When the church 
obeys the mandate of Holy Scripture and we enter into God's presence 
in an acceptable manner with reverence and godly fear. There 
is something far more important about the church than our individual 
happiness. Now, I'm not suggesting you ought 
to be miserable. If you are miserable, perhaps 
you ought to look for another place. And if you find another 
place where you can be fed and glorify God and be happy, well, 
certainly, that's a good thing. It ought to make us happy to 
worship the true and living God and to grow in the grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But 
the idea being is this, the deposit is owned by God. How dare us 
to change up what He has entrusted to us? How dare us to tamper 
with that message of the Gospel? How dare us to be innovators 
with the worship of the living and true God? Just reflecting 
on something recently, you know, we look at the Protestant Reformation, 
and if I say Reformation, we typically say Sola Scriptura, 
and we should. It was about the Scripture alone. 
We might say sola gratia, grace alone. That's accurate, that's 
blessed, that's wonderful. We might say sola fide, that's 
faith alone. We might say solus Christus, 
which is Christ alone. These are all good things. And 
the underlying theme of the Reformation is soli Deo gloria, to God be 
glory, alone. How many of us think worship? 
Do you realize how much of the Reformation was about worship? See, the Church of Rome had corrupted 
worship. This isn't sort of a third, fourth, 
fifth, sixth concern. God takes worship seriously. Can you actually read the Old 
Testament and conclude, especially the five books of Moses, and 
conclude that worship isn't important to God? I mean, look at Exodus 
25 to 40, the longest section in the book. or just about the longest section 
in the book. What is that concerned with? The building of the tabernacle. 
Weaving together curtains and putting together a place. Why 
is that? God is underscoring something. 
When God and sinners dwell together, it must be on God's terms. We 
don't have a right to take the gold wedge that He has entrusted 
to us, that He owns, and change it into something else. The deposit, 
fourthly, is not to be changed or tampered with, but guarded. And fifthly, the deposit ultimately 
is the truth of God's word. Listen to John Gill, that is 
the gospel. Guard what was committed to your 
trust. Gill says, that is the gospel, 
which is a rich treasure put into earthen vessels and ought 
to be kept pure and incorrupt. and faithfully dispensed, and 
diligently preserved, that so it may be continued genuine and 
sincere, and not be either adulterated and depraved, or to be taken 
away by false teachers." Timothy, guard what was committed to your 
trust. Put it in the context. According 
to 1 Timothy 1, there were those in Ephesus who desired to be 
teachers of the law. Is Timothy supposed to invite 
them forward to share their hearts? No, he is to wage the good warfare 
against these men, and he is to guard that which was committed 
to his trust. He doesn't let the pulpit open 
to any man who has these inklings or desires to be a teacher of 
the law. No, they have to be proven. They 
have to be faithful. They have to be 1 Timothy 3 men 
that satisfy all of the requirements, are recognized by the church, 
and set apart for that particular work. It is not a free-for-all. It is God's house according to 
1 Timothy 3. How many of you run your house 
the way that we oftentimes approach church? Do you let anybody wander 
into your house and say, I don't like that you have dinner at 
5. I think you ought to have it at 5.30. You say, I don't 
care what you think. And yet when it comes to guarding 
that which has been committed to us, it's about feelings and 
sharing and whatever anybody wants. That's not what God has 
ever said in any place in the scripture. We are to do what 
he commands us to do and we are to guard what was committed to 
our trust. Notice, secondly, the dangers 
to avoid. Guard what was committed to your 
trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions 
of what is falsely called knowledge. The idea of avoiding means to 
go out of the way, to run away from. Interestingly enough though, 
it is not a command. Timothy has been commanded to 
flee in verse 11. He says, O man of God, flee these 
things. Probably the things indicated 
in verses 9 and 10, as I've already alluded to. He is to run from 
those things. I think the sense here, though, 
is guard what was committed to your trust. As you guard what 
was committed to your trust, you will inevitably avoid profane 
and idle babblings. You see, the best way not to 
get caught up in profane and idle babblings is to do what 
you're supposed to do. Does that make sense? Have you ever noticed that when 
you're not doing what you're supposed to do, bad things typically 
happen? It's not rocket science. I shouldn't 
be walking on this ledge because I might fall off. Exactly. You 
shouldn't walk on ledges. Unless you're skilled and you 
have a pole or something, then perhaps you can do that. The 
church avoids profane and idle babblings by holding to the truth. It's a beautiful thing. First 
Timothy 6.11, he is commanded to flee these things. Here the 
idea is not so much a commanded activity but a necessary corollary. By guarding the deposit you will 
avoid those things which detract from the truth of the gospel 
and the ministry entrusted to you. In other words, the best 
way to avoid heresy is to hold the truth. When Jesus commanded 
the disciples this morning, well, not this morning, He commanded 
them several hundred years ago, but when we studied that this 
morning, He says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the 
Sadducees. What's the best way to beware 
of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Be so into 
the truth of God that you do not get led astray. Use the illustration 
before. When you work at a bank, they 
probably train you how to see a counterfeit by being so familiar 
with the true bill. So that when a counterfeit comes 
along, you say, get out! I don't believe that. That's 
not accurate. Why? Because you're so familiar with 
the genuine article. And the same thing is true for 
us. Same thing is true for Timothy. Guard what was committed to your 
trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions 
of what is falsely called knowledge. The best corrected. the best 
preventative maintenance to avoid that sort of thing that he is 
condemning here is the truth. I thought this would be a good 
place to quote my favorite quote from Thomas Brooks. If you've 
been here for any time, you've heard this quote. If you subscribe 
to our blog, and I still remember how to do it, you might even 
get a notification about this quote, because I hope to put 
it on there tomorrow. We haven't forgotten the blog. 
The blog is still alive and well. Rook says this in Volume 1, Have you not found truth sweetening 
your spirits and cheering your spirits and warming your spirits 
and raising your spirits and corroborating your spirits? Have 
not you found truth a guide to lead you, a staff to uphold you, 
a cordial to strengthen you, and a plaster to heal you? And 
will you not hold fast the truth? Has not truth been your best 
friend in your worst days? Who of us can't say amen to that? 
Has not truth been your best friend on your worst days? Has not truth stood by you when 
friends have forsaken you? Has not truth done more for you 
than all the world could do against you? And will you not hold fast 
the truth? Is not truth your right eye, 
without which you cannot see for Christ? And your right hand, 
without which you cannot do for Christ? And your right foot, 
without which you cannot walk with Christ? And will you not 
hold fast the truth? Oh, hold fast the truth in your 
judgments and understandings, in your wills and affections, 
in your profession and conversation. You were better let go anything 
than truth. You were better let go your honors 
and riches, your friends and pleasures, and the world's favors, 
yea, your nearest and dearest relations, yes, your very lives, 
than to let go truth. Oh, keep the truth and truth 
will make you safe and happy forever. Blessed are those souls 
that are kept by truth. Love that statement. Keep the 
truth and the truth will make you safe and happy forever. That's why Jesus said, beware 
of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. You see, Jesus 
and Paul are saying the same thing. Jesus and Paul are reminding 
us about how important it is to hold fast the truth. By holding 
fast the truth, we will avoid the profane and idle babblings 
and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. Idle 
babblings, the idea here is the heretical theology of the false 
teachers. The heretical theology is godless 
and empty and is no better than idle babblings. You can look 
at 1st Timothy 1 for just a moment just to get a sampling of this 
idle babbling, of this profane stuff, this godless doctrine, 
1st Timothy 1, 6 and 7, I've already alluded to this, from 
which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring 
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the 
things which they affirm. Chapter 4 and verse 7, reject 
profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward 
godliness." Chapter 6 in verse 4, as he cautions, or as he indicts 
rather, the false teachers, he says in verse 4, he is proud 
knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over 
words from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions. And then 2 Timothy 2.16 parallel, 
to our study tonight in 1 Timothy 6.20. Notice in 2.16, But shun 
profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness, 
and their message will spread like cancer. Beware of the leaven 
of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Beware of that little leaven, 
that little agent that has the potential to affect the entirety 
of the lump. He gives concrete examples in 
2 Timothy 2. And their message will spread 
like cancer. Verse 17, Hymenaeus and Philetus 
are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying 
that the resurrection is already past. They were what we would 
call in modern parlance, hyper-preterists. They believed that the resurrection 
had already occurred. Now notice, not only did they 
imbibe this, but they were able to articulate it to others in 
such a way that, note the end of verse 18, and they overthrow 
the faith of some. For every bad teacher out there, 
unfortunately, it seems like there's a few people that want 
to listen to what they have to say. For every bad teacher out 
there, there are people that listen to them. It is an amazing 
thing. If people didn't sit at the feet 
of these men, they would have no power. They would have no 
ability. But there always seems to be 
a mass that follow after that. Perhaps you saw that clip recently 
going around, Joel Osteen's wife saying something about, when 
you come to church, it's all about you. It's not about God, 
it's about your happiness. When you come to church, just 
be happy, because God really rejoices when you're happy. And 
everybody, of course, and rightly so, said, wow, that's bad. That's 
been going on in that pulpit for years, and all of a sudden 
it's bad? This place is like a stadium 
crammed packed with thousands and thousands and thousands of 
people. They call him America's pastor. They say it's the very biggest 
church there is in America. I think it was a sports stadium 
or something to that effect and they refigured it to be a church. Why are people listening to that 
sort of thing? Can you actually come to the 
Bible and say, wow, all that's important in this world is my 
happiness. No, you can't. Somewhere along 
the line, we have given ear to false teachers. Idle babblings. Calvin says, that swelling language 
which is so constantly and disgustingly poured out by ambitious men who 
aim at applause rather than the prophet of the church. We have 
a cast of celebrity preachers today. How do celebrities flourish 
and thrive? On the applause of men. Calvin 
didn't know he was speaking prophetically of our particular age. There 
are men who have shirts with their faces on them. If you ever 
have a shirt with my face on it, that's a bad thing. There's 
a face only a mother and one hot woman in this world could 
love. I'm definitely married up. No doubt whatsoever. Know how men live with that. 
Celebrity preachers. I love what Calvin says here. 
They aim at applause rather than the prophet of the church. And 
then he speaks of the contradiction of truth. Not only his profane 
and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. Doctrines that are contrary to 
the Word of God, no matter how sophisticated they may sound, 
no matter how formulated they may be, no matter how many PhDs 
are behind them, if it contradicts the Holy Scripture, it is falsely 
called knowledge. You need to understand that. 
Just because somebody has years of learning and many degrees 
and are able to formulate arguments, it doesn't mean they're right. 
It cannot mean they're right, because there's a whole lot of 
men out there with a lot of learning, with a lot of degrees, that contradict 
the Word of God, and according to the Apostle, that is false 
science. Pseudo-science. Science there 
meaning knowledge. Again, Calvin says, no knowledge 
is truly and justly so called. but that which instructs us in 
the confidence and fear of God, that is in godliness. So it is the scripture that is 
rightly called knowledge. And then notice, this was a reality 
in Paul's day. Avoiding the profane and idle 
babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge 
by professing it, this falsely called knowledge, some have strayed 
concerning the truth. The truth there is Christianity. 
You see, you can't hold the heresy and the truth at the same time. 
You cannot take fire into your bosom and not be burned. You 
cannot ingest the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees 
and not be overwhelmed. You cannot take in heresy and 
not be corrupted. You need to see that. These two 
things do not live in harmony. By professing this false knowledge, 
some have strayed concerning the faith. Notice in chapter 
6, verse 10, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 
for which some have strayed from the faith. The same idea, isn't 
it? 1 Timothy 6.10, Paul shines the light upon those who have 
strayed from the truth of Christianity because they love money. Here 
in 6.20, Paul shines the light, or 21, Paul shines the light 
on those who stray from the truth of Christianity because they 
love heresy. They love that which is falsely 
called knowledge. It sounds good to them. It sounds 
good in their ears. But when it's all boiled down, 
it's profane and idle babblings, and it is that which contradicts. It is the antithesis, literally, 
to the truth of God's Holy Word. Mount says, repeating the same 
thought as in 1st Timothy, 1.6 Paul describes his opponents 
as people who were once part of the church but left because 
of their profession of this so-called knowledge. In this instance the 
attack comes from within and not from without the church. So you see, the men that Paul 
is dealing with in verses 20 and 21, these are the men that 
Timothy has to deal with. These are not the men that are 
in the universities. These are not the men that are 
in the ivory towers. These are not the men that are 
in the schools of philosophy. These are men in the church that 
are going to be in their bonnet and start to entertain the leaven 
of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They start to depart from the 
truth, and then they want to rally up the troops, and they 
want to teach, and they want to instruct, and they want to 
lead people astray. Paul says, don't let that happen. 
Guard what was committed to your trust. By guarding what was committed 
to your trust, you will avoid those things, and that is what 
you are supposed to do. Paul then ends with a benediction, 
a good word. He says, grace be with you. Amen. Go to 1st Timothy chapter 
1 for just a moment. 1st Timothy chapter 1. As is 
customary in the Apostles' letters, he introduces and he ends. And 
in his introductions and endings, he gives benediction. He pronounces 
a good word. He prays for, He asks for, He 
wants them to know something of the grace and mercy of God. 
So in 1st Timothy chapter 1, 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus 
Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus 
Christ our hope, to Timothy, a true son in the faith, grace, 
mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. He begins with a pronouncement 
of grace He ends with the pronouncement of grace. Grace be with you. The beginning and the end, grace. This indicates to us, this ought 
to inform us, this ought to help us understand that it is by grace 
daily we stand. For the Apostle, this isn't a 
cheap wish. For the Apostle, this isn't filler. 
For the Apostle, this isn't just customary and Roman Greco world 
sort of letter writing. For the Apostle, it is a desire 
that he has that Timothy would know the grace of God. Because 
apart from the grace of God, Timothy can't wage the good warfare, 
Timothy can't refute heretics, Timothy can't guard what was 
committed to him, Timothy can't flee, he can't fight, he can't 
follow, and he can't be faithful. Apart from the grace of God, 
Timothy will be inhibited. And so Paul's last wish, or last 
expression, is upon Timothy, and as I said, it's a plural 
you, so it's upon the church as well. Grace, be with you. George Knight says, as the conclusion 
of every letter, Paul prays that grace will be with the readers. 
The pattern manifests a foundational truth for Paul. For ongoing life 
of believers, the grace of God is absolutely essential. absolutely essential. You cannot 
live apart from God's grace, whether you are a minister of 
the gospel, whatever your calling, whatever your place in life. 
As I said, he says, grace be with you, plural, to the church, 
not just to the man of God, but to every man, to every woman, 
to every boy and girl. that confess faith in Jesus Christ, 
the only way you will navigate in this world is by grace. The 
only way that you can be faithful to your calling is by grace. 
The only way you will resist temptation is by grace. The only 
way that you will please our Savior is by grace. The only 
way you will do what God calls you to do in the scriptures is 
by grace. So you see, it's not an accident. 
He begins and he ends on that high note of grace. The ongoing 
labor of Timothy demanded that he have this power from on high. He was to refute false teachers, 
he was to instruct the Church of Christ, he was to exemplify 
godliness in his own life, and he was to faithfully persevere 
till the end. God's grace is the sustaining 
power for Timothy to be able to do that. Well, in conclusion 
of the section and of the letter, first, the necessity to guard 
the deposit. Think as I've already sought 
to demonstrate, the primary reason is for the glory of God. The 
primary reason for this admonition to guard what was committed to 
your trust is so that God will be glorified. It's His deposit, 
it's His truth, it's His treasure. He is giving it to Timothy, He 
is giving it to the church to function as a steward over. As 
well, Timothy is to guard what was committed to his trust for 
the ongoing edification of the church. In 1st Timothy 4, Paul 
says, "...by instructing the brethren in these things, you 
will be a good minister of Jesus Christ." What is Timothy supposed 
to do? He is to guard that which was 
committed to his trust, so that the people of God will grow, 
so that the people of God will advance, so that the people of 
God will increase in their knowledge. so that that knowledge will then 
affect them in such a way that they'll pursue godliness and 
holiness and righteousness. This is the view, this is the 
vision, this is what we are to be seeking after. He is to guard 
what was committed to his trust for the salvation of sinners. 
You see, if the church doesn't faithfully preach the gospel, 
sinners don't get saved. This is the grim reality. Yes, 
God is sovereign. I understand that. Sinners can 
read their Bible and God can bring them to salvation. I get 
that. I affirm that. I confirm that 
100%. There is that text in 1 Corinthians 1 that we need to take into consideration. For since in the wisdom of God 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. Notice in Titus 1, verse 1, Paul, 
a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to 
the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgement of the truth, 
which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which 
God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in 
due time manifested his word through preaching. You see, if 
the church does not guard what was committed to its trust, then 
humanly speaking, sinners will be damned! The Church of Christ, 
yes, functions and lives to worship God and to be edifying to the 
saints. But the Church of God lives and 
functions to carry out the Great Commission, to make disciples, 
to baptize disciples, to teach disciples. The church must get 
the gospel right. She mustn't say you live the 
gospel, you be the gospel, but rather the gospel is the Christ-centered 
message that He came, He lived, He died, He rose again, and that 
everyone who looks to Him in faith will have everlasting life. Timothy, guard what was committed 
to your trust. There are sinners in Ephesus 
that need to hear the gospel. They will perish in a Christless 
eternity forever. Preach, teach, proclaim, and 
do not tamper with that sacred deposit. And then fourthly, Timothy 
is to guard what was committed to his trust, to refute the false 
teachers. Timothy can't wage the good warfare. Timothy can't resist these heretics 
if he doesn't know the truth. If he is willing to traffic in 
their sort of teaching, if he is ready to imbibe a bit of their 
leaven, then he is compromised and he is unfaithful and he is 
not going to protect that sacred deposit. Secondly, we need to 
avoid heresy. We saw this this morning just 
by way of reminder. First, it is dishonoring to God. 
God didn't save you to embrace heresy. God didn't save you so 
you could turn justification by faith with all of its gloriousness 
and all of its beauty into some sort of a bastardized version 
of faith and works in order to be saved. God saved you to think 
His thoughts after Him. God saved you to study the Scripture 
and come to grips with the reality that there is one God who exists 
eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this one God 
has purpose to save a great multitude which no man can number. And 
this one God has predestined. This one God has determined. 
This one God has elected. This one God has sent His Son. 
All these things we are told that we must believe, we must 
embrace. It is dishonoring to God if we 
do not use our minds the way we are supposed to. We need to 
avoid heresy, secondly, because it's prevalent in the church. 
It is prevalent in the church, especially with the internet. 
I mean, you can log on to any heresy, anywhere, at any time. I understand that internet porn 
is a great threat. I affirm that a hundred percent. Pornography is bad. Do not look 
at it on your computers. Do not look at it on your phone. 
Do not take your mind into that cesspool. But bad theology is 
bad too. Oh, I was reading on the internet 
and I found out this. Yes, do not click on pornography 
sites. Do not click on bad theology. If you're not inoculated, if 
you're not strong, if you're not able to investigate it and 
refute it, maybe stay away from it because it is deceptive. Typically, bad theology doesn't 
address itself as bad theology. We're heretics and here's our 
pitchforks and here are our capes and here's what our plan and 
purpose is. It's to take you down to the pit of hell. That's 
not how it's packaged. It's not packaged in all of that 
beauty and allurement. It's packaged with beauty and 
allurement. So you click on it, read it, and end up in a heretical 
place. Thirdly, it is powerful in its 
influence. Again, we saw that this morning. 
And finally, it is damning in its reception. It is damning 
in its reception. If you embrace heresy, if you 
reject the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, you will 
go to hell. That's what Paul meant. It is 
shipwreck. It is bad. Shipwreck, I can't 
imagine, is ever good. I can't for the life of me think 
that shipwreck could ever be a good thing." So when Paul says, 
with reference to Hymenaeus and Philetus, they make shipwreck 
in the faith of some, he's not saying this is a good thing. 
He's not saying this is a less than stellar eventuality, but 
it's okay. No, it's shipwreck. It's bad. You don't want that. Buy the 
truth and sell it not. And then with reference to the 
letter as a whole, just a couple of the themes we've seen, theology 
proper. Paul preaches the one true and living God. I wanted 
to mention this morning in Pastor Porter's session on impassibility, 
another specific text is verse 16 in 1st Timothy 6. Immortality. Immortality carries the connotation 
of imperishable, of without decay. Only an immutable or an impassable 
God could be imperishable or without decay. Paul preaches 
theology proper. We have seen in this letter soteriology. Pastor Porter read 1 Timothy 
chapter 2 this morning. What does God desire? He desires 
to save all kinds of men. He wants them to come to a knowledge 
of the truth. There is one mediator, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who sacrificed or who gave himself as a ransom. 
This is soteriology. This is the doctrine of salvation. 
This is how God comes to deal with his people. And probably 
the heaviest emphasis in 1 Timothy falls on ecclesiology, on the 
doctrine of the church. 1 Timothy chapter 2 all the way 
into chapter 3, 16. All of that is very specific 
and detailed instruction on how you ought to conduct yourself 
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, 
the pillar and ground of the truth. Paul then moves in chapter 
4 to tell Timothy how to minister in the church. He moves on into 
chapter 5 to tell us how the church is to relate specifically 
to widows and to elders. What Paul emphasizes in this 
particular letter is theology proper, soteriology, and ecclesiology, 
or the doctrine of the church. I hope and I pray that it's been 
a good study. I hope and I pray that we will 
learn the lessons. I hope and I pray that this kind 
of thing will shape and define us as a church. We are not to 
be shaped and defined by the prevailing opinions of men. We 
are to be shaped and defined by the written word of God Most 
High. This ought to be our hope. This 
ought to be our prayer. This ought to be our pursuit. 
Well, let us close. Our Father, we thank you for 
this, your word. We thank you for the clarity 
of it. We ask God in heaven that you would grant us grace on our 
part to guard that which has been committed to us. As well, 
God, grant us grace to avoid those profane and idle babblings 
and those contradictions that are falsely called knowledge. 
Grant us grace, most high God, to seek by your grace to be faithful. And may you supply that which 
is necessary, the grace and the peace and the mercy that your 
people always stand in need of. Thank you for this Sabbath day. 
Thank you for our time together. Thank you for the morning worship 
and evening worship. Thank you for the session this 
morning and the good instruction concerning God. We thank you 
as well for the food and the fellowship and truly it has been 
a full day and we give you praise and glory and our grateful thanks. Go with us now and watch over 
us and may grace be with each one. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen.