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“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” [1]
Servants of Christ demonstrate a dynamic interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility in the exercise of the ministry God has assigned each one.
One writer, citing an old maxim of the Faith, reminds us that “God does what only He can do as I, in reliance upon the Holy Spirit, do what He requires me to do.” [2] The text exalts the grace of God, speaking as it does of mere mortals as “God’s fellow workers” [see 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9].
Always and ever, as we work together with God [see 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1], His power and His grace are revealed through mere humans.
This is especially true as we point others to life in Christ Jesus; this work is to the praise of His glory.
God does assign those whom He wills to deliver His message to the congregations.
The preacher must always bear in mind that he is appointed to his holy labour by Christ the Lord.
The message the preacher brings is settled—he can neither embellish that message nor detract from what he has received.
The man of God is not responsible to enhance what God has said, attempting to make it more palatable to those to whom it is delivered, nor is he to temper the challenge arising from presentation of the Word.
He is charged with protecting what God has entrusted to his oversight.
That entrusted to him is spoken of as invaluable, a treasure nonpareil.
Questions naturally arise in light of the Apostle’s words to Timothy.
What is this treasure that is to be guarded?
How does the man of God guard the treasure that is entrusted to him?
I wish to explore these and other questions in the message for this day.
*THE GOOD DEPOSIT* — “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard /the good deposit entrusted to you/.”
Before discussing the challenge Paul issues and the means by which the command is to be kept, it seems reasonable to identify what is deposited.
Is that which is deposited entrusted to Timothy alone?
Or is this a deposit entrusted to all elders?
Is it possible that the deposit in question is entrusted to the whole of the faithful?
The question will prove essential if we are to understand what God is saying.
Paul refers to this deposit, a treasure, if you will, several times in these letters to Timothy.
In 1 TIMOTHY 6:20 the Apostle admonishes Timothy, “Guard the deposit entrusted to you.”
He previously made reference to this treasure in 2 TIMOTHY 1:12, when he wrote, “I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”
Now, the Apostle urges Timothy, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” [2 TIMOTHY 1:14].
Each of the instances when Paul uses this word is found in these Pastoral Letters.
Whenever the Apostle speaks of this particular deposit, he speaks of a something quite definite.
In 1 TIMOTHY 1:11, he speaks of something entrusted to him.
In 2 TIMOTHY 1:12 Paul writes of a deposit entrusted to him.
In 2 TIMOTHY 1:14, he speaks of “the good deposit” entrusted to Timothy.
Timothy is a steward of this deposit, just as Paul is a guardian of that same deposit.
From this, it is obvious that the deposit is not left in the care of only one individual.
In an earlier message delivered from this pulpit, I addressed this deposit.
Quoting from that earlier study, I stated, “The Apostle speaks of a definite deposit—he speaks of ‘my deposit’; or in addressing Timothy, Paul speaks of ‘the good deposit.’
Timothy is a steward or guardian of this deposit, just as Paul is a steward or guardian of that same deposit.
Obviously, the deposit is not restricted to one individual; God has entrusted to all elders a deposit of some sort.
In the opening paragraphs of this First Letter to Timothy, Paul speaks of ‘the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted’ [1 TIMOTHY 1:11].
Moreover, as we [have already seen], Paul admonished Timothy, ‘By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you’ [2 TIMOTHY 1:14].
Finally, Paul instructed Timothy ‘What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also’ [2 TIMOTHY 2:2].
“Taken together, this leads to the conclusion that ‘the good deposit’ is the Gospel and all its accompanying truth revealed in Scripture.
The one thing entrusted to each elder is the Gospel of Christ.
J. N. D. Kelly writes, ‘The noun translated trust … is a legal term connoting something which is placed on trust in another man’s keeping.
The suggestion is that the Christian message (“the faith” or “the truth”, as it is so often called in these letters) is not something which the church’s minister works out for himself or is entitled to add to; it is a divine revelation which has been committed to his care, and which it is his bounden duty to pass on unimpaired to others.’
[3]
“Here, the Apostle used the language of commerce.
In the ancient world there were no safe deposit boxes.
Whenever a man went on a long journey, he might leave his valued possessions with someone whom he trusted.
When the valuables were deposited, it was up to the one receiving the deposit to keep them safe.
According to ancient legal doctrine, a trustee was obligated to preserve a deposit ‘unharmed and unchanged.’
[4]
“Paul identifies portions of that sacred trust that is deposited at multiple points in this First Letter to Timothy.
For instance, Paul declared that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” [1 TIMOTHY 1:15].
There are not two means of salvation; indeed, ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ [ACTS 4:12].
“Paul also testified, ‘There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all’ [1 TIMOTHY 2:5, 6].
We approach the Father neither through saints nor through priests; we come to God through Jesus His Son.
“Also, the Apostle stated the great mystery of godliness, that God ‘was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory’ [1 TIMOTHY 3:16].”
[5]
Immediately before this particular verse, Paul spoke of “the pattern of sound words you have heard from me.”
It seems accurate to understand that when the Apostle writes of “the good deposit” in our text, he is speaking of the Gospel with all that the Gospel entails as referred to in the previous verse.
Establish in your mind, then, that the Gospel we have received and by which we stand, is to be seen as a deposit entrusted to us by God Himself.
This Gospel, the totality of truth we have received as believers, is not entrusted to elders only, nor even to “the church”; each Christian must accept that he or she is responsible both to receive and to guard this message of life.
We are to live out the precepts of this Gospel each day.
This is that holy Faith to which Jude alludes when he writes, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” [JUDE 3].
Just as the Faith was under assault in that day, so it is under assault in this day.
Jude warned, “Certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” [JUDE 4].
There are many issues in the world of the Faith over which we may disagree.
None of us are infallible; we each will likely be astonished at distortions we held when we at last see Christ.
I have always advocated that Christians, and especially preachers, should hold the doctrines they consider dear with a great degree of humility.
This does not mean that we should constantly be changing what we believe and what we declare as true.
It does mean that we should endeavour to distinguish between those truths that are essential and those that are secondary in the Faith.
Having such humility before the Lord God and His Word will lead us to respect those fellow saints with whom we disagree.
We know what we believe and why we believe it; but we should also know that others may hold to different views with what they consider good reason.
The pastorate is a poor place for a man to begin formulating his doctrine.
Perhaps he will hone his beliefs in the pastorate, but he should not be constantly adjusting what he declares because it is shifting.
There are passages of the Word that caution against precisely such drift.
James cautions, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” [JAMES 1:2-8].
Individuals who equivocate on matters of truth reveal a disturbing character flaw.
Instability in adherence to truth indicates instability in every facet of life.
Revealing the work of the Christ by His ascension, the Apostle writes in Ephesians, “[The ascended Christ] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” [EPHESIANS 4:11-16].
It is a terrible thing for a church to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning [or] by deceitful schemes.”
It is worse still for those who provide spiritual guidance to a congregation to be unstable and subject to constant adjustment in doctrine.
There is as well a temptation for many who declare the Word of God to compromise just a little.
A pastor friend used to say of preachers who were willing to compromise their message, “I don’t want to fellowship with him; I might like him.”
There is some wisdom in that statement.
Because we begin to enjoy an individual, we almost unconsciously begin to seek their approval.
Though we assure ourselves that we won’t alter our beliefs, we avoid speaking of those matters which we know are controversial or which might provoke a negative reaction.
Being sensitive to an individual’s feelings on matters of opinion concerning temporal matters can assuredly be justified.
However, when we allow ourselves to become sensitive over matters of the Faith, we are stepping into a realm that invites divine disapproval and censure, ultimately leading to a loss of spiritual vigour and power.
We begin to temper the truth and allow ourselves to act in a manner that dishonours the Master.
Thus, we wander off the path.
If a Christian wanders from the path of life, it is a serious matter.
The life of that believer is never lived in isolation; her decision will damage her relationship with the Master.
Far more serious is the fact that her decision to compromise truth holds the potential for ruin for those who look up to her as a model of the Faith.
When that one who compromises the truth is an elder, his influence over parishioners and those inquiring about the Faith can lead to ruinous disbelief.
Multitudes of inquirers throughout the centuries have been turned from ardent pursuit of the Faith through the deviation of another who was supposed to be valiant for the Faith.
No one should be allowed to teach if they do not have a solid grasp of the Gospel.
Moreover, no individual, however solid his grasp of the Gospel, should be permitted to occupy the position of an elder until they obtain sufficient maturity to stand firm against error whatever the source of that error.
There is no room for allowing one’s feelings to control proclamation of the truth.
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