How did people get saved 50 years ago? How did they 150 years ago? We know this much; they were told the revealed truth by the Word of God. 2 Thessalonians 2.13-14 says— “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I’m guessing you picked up on the bolded portion there. Without belief in truth you cannot be saved. Questions like ‘What truth?’ , and statements like ‘Jesus is the truth’ need to be answered, and stated. I want to focus more on the importance of truth within the first question: How did people get saved 50 years ago?
The Apostle Paul warned believers to beware of false teachers that pretend, until they get your ear. One of the more poignant warnings is found in 2 Corinthians 11.13-15, which states— “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” These are “institutionalized religious hypocrites.” They are prevalently among us. They are false. They are not of truth. In fact they do as Satan did in the garden… they take an aggregate of truth and twist it’s meaning, in order manipulate you to their will. They focus on Doctrinal Minimalism. They tone down and shrink core doctrine to the bare minimal, for the sake of so-called ‘unity’. I’m here to tell you though, it really does matter what we believe. James the half brother of Jesus once stated— “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (5.19-20). This is not about the unsaved, but the saved. Saved people can and do ‘err’ from truth. An unsaved individual cannot ‘err’ from something they were never in. To the doctrinal minimalist, I want to say… it’s not possible if “everything is the same.” It isn’t. There is truth, and there is error.
Paul further warmed the young pastor of Ephesus, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2.15-26. Read it when you can. It explains Paul’s instruction as Timothy enters the battle in a new phase in his leadership. It is a war-college charge. The truth is absolutely essential in spiritual war. It amazes me the number of believers who can go days without soaking in God’s truth, personally. Some watch and listen to it stated or delivered by others, which is like vitamins, they aren’t sufficient for your entire diet intake. Too many rarely take the time to ingest the truth themselves, like a meal. Only a baby has to be fed all the time. An adult is one that can feed themself with ease. Be careful about what you’re eating. Some things are just not that healthy for you, as Paul stated in 1 Timothy 6.20— “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:” The Interlinear says: “O Timotheus, the deposit committed [to thee] keep, avoiding profane empty babbling, and oppositions of falsely-named knowledge”
The “keep” means to guard. Guard what? Guard the deposit. This isn’t a verb, it’s a noun, therefore “a guard”. Timothy, and you, are called a guard. It may look like a verb in the English, but it’s a descriptive noun. ‘O Timothy, keeper of that which is committed to thy trust’. If keep means ‘guard’, and guard is ‘a guard’, then “is committed” is the verb. The imperative of the verse then “is committed” rather than “keep.”
I know you’re waiting for the crescendo… there is an object that was committed to your trust. You are trusted with ______. It is committed to you.
It’s a “deposit committed” (parakatathekein). This is a cognate verb or a cognate accusative (a verb’s object that is etymologically related to the verb). More specifically, the verb is one that is ordinarily intransitive (lacking an object) and the cognate object is simply the verb’s noun form. Here we go again… Sorry. It’s saying: “you were entrusted with a commitment as a guard.” Why didn’t you just say that, sorry again. The commitment that was deposited is then the point. You are to be who you are supposed to be: a guard of this commitment.
What then is the committed deposit or commitment? What have you been entrusted with? To help us in 1 Timothy: “commandment” is closely related to “commitment.” So you might want to take a look at 1.5,8; 1.10; 6.14. All of these indicate the use of this cognate verb. Chapter 1 in it’s entirety sets the book in motion. It is the committed deposit or what is committed from Christ to Paul, and then from Paul to Timothy. Truth was committed, doctrine, which is derived from truth (the faith) and a good conscience. Doctrinal minimalism is the opposite of this.
You could say…“Timothy, guardian of the commitment that you were entrusted with”
This (doctrine, beliefs in order, faith and practice) has been entrusted to us. We have been handed a commitment. This is the same commitment handed down from Christ to Paul, to Timothy, to us. We were entrusted with this deposit.
- You can’t guard what you haven’t been entrusted with.
- You can’t fulfill a commitment unless you know what you have been committed.
As a guardian of the commitment entrusted to you, you are to avoid some things with intentionality: profane— dishonoring to God; vain—empty— has no weight and no eternal consequence; babblings— foolish talking; and oppositions of science (knowledge from God).
What do we do in this present age of contrary beliefs? What do we do in a day when everyone is supposed to be the same, or else? First, Jesus, Paul and Timothy, taught that anything contrary (opposed) to sound doctrine has to be addressed, not simply sidestepped or swept under the rug. When it’s being taught to others, address it. There is a real opposition; an opposition of ideals and beliefs. And you and I have been entrusted with guardianship of the truth that is contrary to the junk we are hearing today.
Stand Guard! Like it or not, we are at war. It’s a battle for the hearts and minds of man. Guard against opposition and Guard for that which is sound. It is committed to you, by Jesus.