Protecting the Treasure

“O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (1Tim 6:20).

Imagine guarding America’s gold at Fort Knox. How about the assignment to protect the crown jewels in Tower of London? Hey, no pressure. You’re only in charge of protecting some of the world’s most precious assets. It’s not yours. But it is your responsibility. 

You might find this hard to believe but 2,000 years ago, a young pastor named Timothy was given a treasure even more valuable to defend. His mentor Paul has written Tim some critical instructions about getting the church of Ephesus back on track. Near the end of that letter, the apostle reminds him of the central purpose of his mission. “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (v20). Don’t fall for distractions. Protect the treasure.

While on divine assignment in Macedonia (1Tim 1:3), the man from Tarsus gets personal with his protege. “O Timothy” (v20). In essence, Paul grabs Tim by the shoulders and wants his full and undivided attention. He gets raw. He gets real. Look me in the eyes, young man. It’s no surprise, really. The apostle considers the young buck from Lystra his spiritual son (1Tim 1:2). 

Not long after they met (Acts 16:1), Tim moved inside Paul’s circle of trust. Starting in Acts 16, Dr. Luke repeated mentions Tim as a key player in the spread of the Gospel around the Mediterranean rim (Acts 17:14-15; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4). The apostle drops his name throughout his letters (Rom 16:21; 1Cor 4:17; 16:10-11; 2Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1Th 1:1; 3:2; 2Th 1:1; Phm 1). Paul goes so far as to tell his Philippian friends, “I have no one like him” (Phil 2:19-23). I don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t mind having that on my resume!

Now that the apostle has Tim’s full attention, he instructs him to “guard the deposit entrusted to you” (v20). Paul uses a Greek verb here (Gr. phulasso) that paints a picture of keeping watch over someone or something, protecting them, keeping from harm, or even defending them. When Paul tells the story about the dark day before Jesus saved him when he ran the coat check table at Stephen’s stoning, he says he was “watching over (Gr. phulasso) the garments of those who killed him” (Acts 22:20). (Gr. phulasso) in Herod’s praetorium” (Acts 23:35). The apostle tells the Thessalonians how we can be sure Jesus will “guard (Gr. phulasso) you against the evil one” (2Th 3:3).

Tim is to focus his energy on protecting the “deposit entrusted to you” (v20). Just what is this deposit he’s supposed to guard? What could it be? Gold? Jewels? Cash? Paul’s collection of Bible trading cards that includes his Methuselah rookie card? Nope. Not even close. Something much more precious. Something much more valuable. Truth. Specifically, THE truth. God’s Truth. The capital “T” Truth of Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice for you and me. Trust me, there’s no greater treasure to protect. 

That’s because guarding the Gospel hasn’t exactly been a top priority at the Ephesian church. A team of spiritual hucksters duped folks from following Jesus with all sorts of goofy stuff. A quick check of this letter tells us they taught everything from crazy myths to complicated family trees to outright lies to demonic doctrine (1Tim 1:3-4; 4:1-2). Anything and everything BUT salvation by grace through faith. Get back to Gospel. Jesus lived the perfect life we failed to live. He died the death for our sin we should have died. He rose to the new life we don’t deserve. Preach that truth. Protect that treasure.

Once we get back to the true message of God’s grace, we need to steer WAY clear of the cotton candy that’s too often make a regular part of our spiritual diet. “Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (v20). Pretty much gives you Paul’s take on the gobbledegook the false teachers have been spreading. One very important way of protecting the treasure is putting distance between you and anything that leads me away from a deeper relationship with Jesus. 

I actually think the original language here is actually tougher than most of the modern translations. Paul takes the gloves off and starts punching bare knuckle. According to the apostle, the false teachers have gone WAY too far. “Irreverent” is the Greek word bebelos, which literally a “step over the threshold.” We see the very same term when Paul gives Tim very similar instructions. “Have nothing to do with irreverent (Gr. bebelos) silly myths” (1Tim 4:7). We all know someone who’s constantly right up to the line and going over like an athlete who doesn’t realize he’s gone out of bounds.

If that’s not bad enough, their counterfeit message is a complete waste of oxygen. The ESV translators use “babble” which is actually kenophonia. It’s a compound word the apostle uses to paint an incredibly descriptive picture of empty talk. Remember Charlie Brown’s teacher? “Wah-wah-wah-wah.” Their lips are moving but nothing’s really coming out. Their babble is just unbiblical blah-blah-blah. In his followup letter to Tim, Paul uses both of these words together again. “Avoid irreverent (Gr. bebelos) babble (Gr. kenophonia), for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene” (2Tim 2:16-17). Well there’s a lovely image.

It gets worse. Their teaching simply doesn’t make sense because it’s loaded with “contradictions” (v20) It should come as a surprise to no one that the Greek word here is antithesis. They actually disagree with themselves. The only thing consistent about them is their inconsistency. A person who takes one position today and then does a 180 tomorrow. You know people like that, don’t you? Of course you do. They’re called politicians. When a church leader constantly changes their position on an issue based on the shifting political and cultural winds, run away. Run away fast. Run, Forrest, Run!!

And just because someone tells you something is the real deal, don’t take it at face value. Folks in Ephesus have been falling for “what is falsely called ‘knowledge’” (v20). They’ve been selling lies under an assumed name. That’s exactly what the original language tells us. “Falsely called” is the word pseudonumos. Look familiar? Well, it should. It describes someone using a fake name or an alias. They’ve slapped a label over their snake oil and sold it as the truth. 

Take a page out of the Bereans playbook. Remember them? Back when Paul first told Jews in Berea that Jesus was the Messiah God had long promised, they didn’t just take it at face value. “They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Be a Berean. Do your research. Just because somebody says their teaching so-called “knowledge” (by the way, use “air quotes” if it helps), don’t just accept what they say without seeing if the Bible backs it up. Otherwise, I’ve got bad news about that email you just received from the Nigerian prince.

How does this 2,000-year-old letter apply to you and me? So very glad you asked. We need to carefully “guard the deposit” given to us. We must protect treasure that is the truth of the Gospel. Every follower of Jesus has that responsibility. While this is especially important for those in ministry, it applies to all of us. Paul tells the believers in Corinth that we’re all “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1Cor 4:1). The apostle reminds the Thessalonian church how his team guarded the message of Jesus and “entrusted with the Gospel” (1Th 2:4). Protect the treasure. Guard it with your life.

One very specific way to do that is avoiding useless discussions about things that seem religious on the surface but are really a spiritual black hole. You know what I’m talking about don’t you? Stuff like Bible codes, dinosaurs on the ark, who were the Nephilim, and Jesus’ alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene. Don’t go there. Don’t even go anywhere near there. It’s a total waste of time. Concentrate on what matters. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, the Founder and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). Let’s keep the main thing the main thing. 

Forget Fort Knox. Don’t worry about the crown jewels. If we’re going to guard anything, guard the Good News of grace. Let’s protect the treasure.