Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20120722.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Timothy: God's Ministry Roles For Church Leaders And The Local Church
Part XIX: A Church Leader's Calling To Guarded Thinking
(1 Timothy 6:20-21)
  1. Introduction
    1. Throughout Church History, there has been a strong tendency for sound men and church groups to become corrupted with errant beliefs, leading to errant ministry actions and eventual departure from the faith.
    2. The initial battleground for this drift is the mind and heart of local church leaders, and the battle has to be won there before God can use them to edify the rest of the church.
    3. That battle is concisely described in 1 Timothy 6:20-21, and we view this passage as a directive not only for local church leaders, but for all believers toward understanding the great need of our generation for the protection and preservation of Biblical truth and true ministry before God (as follows):
  2. A Church Leader's Calling To Guarded Thinking, 1 Timothy 6:20-21.
    1. In closing his first epistle to Timothy at 1 Timothy 6:20, Paul gave an emotional call, using the Greek interjection, "O" before the vocative form (direct address) for Timothy's name, "Timothee", to signify a heartfelt statement, Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1967, p. 903.
    2. That heartfelt statement recalled a concern Paul had expressed throughout his epistle, the concern that the local church be preserved from apostasy, but in 1 Timothy 6:20-21a, Paul indicated that this preservation had to start with Timothy HIMSELF (as follows):
      1. Paul emotionally urged Timothy to "guard, preserve, protect, defend" (phulasso, Ibid., p. 876) "property entrusted to" him (paratheke, Ibid., p. 621), 1 Timothy 6:20a.
      2. We know from Paul's identical words in 2 Timothy 1:14 of paratheke phulasso that this property to be guarded, preserved, protected and defended was the "prototype" (hupotuposis) of "healthy, sound" (hugiaino) words, the truth of God in His written word, cf. 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 3-5; Ibid., p. 621, 876; U. B. S. Greek New Testament , 1966, p. 730, 732.
      3. Clarifying how this guardianship was to be performed, Paul (emotionally) urged Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20b to "turn away from, avoid" (ektrepo, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 245) certain things (as follows):
        1. Timothy was to turn away from, avoid "profane" (bebalos, Ibid., p. 138) "empty-chatter" (kenophonia, Ibid., p. 429), the "endless myths and genealogies" Paul mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:4 that were extrabiblical stories or genealogical narratives about Bible issues or characters that were largely fictitious and not part of the inspired Scripture text itself, Wm. Hendriksen, Expos. of the Past. Epstls. (NTC), 1974, p. 212, 58-59. This applies today to popular but extrabiblical works.
        2. Timothy was also to turn away from, avoid "contradictions, oppositions" (antithesis, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 73) of what is "falsely called" (pseudonumos , Ibid., p. 900) "knowledge" (gnosis, Ibid., p. 162-163). This refers to claims by the false teachers who spoke forth profane, empty-chatter and endless myths and genealogies and claimed to have "an exclusive grasp of true knowledge'," a characteristic of "all the modern cults," Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles (The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), R. V. G. Tasker, gen. ed., 1974, p. 119.
      4. Clarifying the importance of this directive on turning from such error, Paul added that some men had "professed" (epaggellomai, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 280) such falsely-called "knowledge" and had "deviated from" (astocheo, Ibid., p. 117) the true Christian faith, 1 Timothy 6:21a.
    3. Finally, having given this heartfelt admonition, Paul closed his epistle, telling Timothy literally, "The grace be with you," referring to the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and that equips a leader to minister, 1 Tim. 6:21b; 2 Tim. 1:1-2:1; Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T., p. 730. Ultimately, Timothy was to rely upon God for His enabling for ministry in this battle of his heart and mind regarding the truth.
Lesson: The initial battleground of apostasy in the local church is the heart and mind of its leaders, and the battle involves defending the form of sound Biblical words committed to their trust by God through their AVOIDING extrabiblical views, regardless how popular or greatly promoted by others, and firmly ADHERING to God's written Word in the power and equipping of the Lord for ministry.

Application: May we all win in this battle of the mind and heart against apostasy by God's grace.