O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.
What was it that the Apostle Paul wanted Timothy to guard? It was everything that Paul had given to him. It was all the knowledge and doctrine that he had taught to Timothy. It was the wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God had entrusted these things to Paul (1 Timothy 1:11), and he had entrusted them to Timothy.
Why did Paul want Timothy to guard this wisdom and knowledge? He wanted him to keep it safe from the errors of the false teachers. When one departs from the straight and narrow, then one falls into the “babblings” and “contradictions” of false knowledge. Without a firm hold on the truth, anything may be believed. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,” (Matthew 7:13). The gate that leads to destruction is wide because it lets everything in.
There is a famous saying that applies in this case: “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing. They believe anything.” That is, when truth is rejected, everything is up for grabs. If the truth that comes from heaven above is rejected, then human speculation may put anything in its place. All are false alternatives, however, and have no basis in reality. Paul calls them “babblings and contradictions”; they can never fully satisfy the quest for truth.
What was true in Jesus and Paul’s day is true today: the road to destruction is still very wide, accepting all comers. In a world full of false teaching, we must realize how precious the truth is and how destructive its loss can be.
Like Timothy, we must avoid the false alternatives that are passed off as knowledge, for they add nothing to our lives and only lead people astray. Instead, we must guard the truth that has been committed to our trust and stand fast in it.
By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International
