Truth #238 - We are to keep true to the things deposited to us - 1 Timothy 4-6

1 Timothy 6:20-21
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
Grace be with you.

Truth: We are to guard the truth and charge deposited to us.

Paul and Timothy, as ministers of the Gospel. were constantly fighting the false teaching that continued to enter the church.   There was a constant threat from those diluting the Gospel and/or expanding the Gospel.   Paul wrote the books of Galatians and Colossians for the same reason ... warning the church about these "babblers" who spoke about matters and falsely called it knowledge.  There is some question as to what was "deposited" to Timothy.  The obvious answer is the Gospel.  He was given the Gospel and was to pass it on to other believers; those believers would then pass it on to others (2 Timothy 2:2).   However, perhaps there is more to this "deposit" than the Gospel.  Paul is writing this book so that Timothy will know how to handle issues in the church (see 1 Timothy 3:14-15).   Throughout the book, however, Timothy is charged with making sure that the gifts, truths and responsibilities he has been given are properly charged.     Note one such command in this letter, among many others:

1 Timothy 4:13-14
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

As a leader in the Church Timothy most certainly had a responsibility to make sure the gospel message was preached, protected and promoted.   Yet, the gifts Timothy were given was also to be part of that deposit to him.   Note a few of those statements in Paul's words to young Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:18-19
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,

1 Timothy 4:11-15
Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.

Timothy was given a charge by Paul and that charge was to be kept.   We, too, as believers have the same charges and responsibilities.  We are not to be lead astray by other words that sound like "knowledge" but to follow the Word of God and to assure that they do not creep into the walls of the church.