Guard and Follow Truth #1990

20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:20–21, NKJV)

Avoiding irreverent and fruitless discussions that destroy souls is achieved by diligently guarding and following “the words of faith” and “the good doctrine” – the gospel (1 Tim. 4:6). So said Paul in his closing exhortation to Timothy. He draws upon the nature of truth (concepts sorely need today, too) to steel Timothy for the work of preaching the word (2 Tim. 4:1-5). We also must be grounded in the traits of divinely revealed truth, lest we stray from the faith and lose our souls. By definition, truth is not profane and worldly. It is not the product of human feelings or experiences (Prov. 14:12; Jer. 10:23). It is the revelation of God’s mind, recorded in inspired Scripture (1 Cor. 2:6-13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Truth is not idle, nor is it the empty chatter of those who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Truth is not vacillating; it is absolute. Truth is definable and knowable (Jno. 8:31-32; Eph. 3:3-4). Truth does not contradict itself; it harmonizes (Rom. 3:3-4; Psa. 119:160). Grace and the eternal inheritance are obtained in truth, not in things “falsely called knowledge” (Acts 20:32). “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Prov. 23:23).