Guard the Gospel

Vs 13
“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

- we are to follow Paul, and what He is preaching. We have our guidelines, we have our way of living that we are to follow.
- we are to be obedient with two attitudes, faith and love, as we receive them or see them in Christ Jesus.
- We must guard this deposit, this calling, the calling of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to make sure that our calling is not ripped from us or left behind. We must remain vigil. How? Through the power of the Holy Spirit. Again, grace! Always grace!!
- faith and love should be what defines how we live out Paul’s sound words. Fully trusting Christ, sacrificially loving others.
- we must guard the gospel!!!! We must preach the gospel well. We must not water it down. We must be clear!!! Even though we will be persecuted. We must guard the gospel!!!!!

With faith and love, by the power of the Spirit, we must be faithful to the gospel!!

Two days ago I watched the movie “Arthur” (I think that’s what it was called…maybe King Arthur”). Whatever the case, Arthur and his men were given a charge to guard a certain remote part of the Roman Empire. For the first 15 years, they did it as soldiers of the Empire, but their last stand came as free men. They had the choice to stand or run…and in the face of insurmountable odds, they stood, sacrificially they stood! I was inspired (my wife, was not nearly as inspired as I…the acting wasn’t that great!).

In Paul and Timothy’s day, people were attacking the gospel, changing it, recreating it, destroying it. Paul’s charge to Timothy was to follow his teaching and guard it! To be the one who would sacrificially stand against all odds, and defend truth of Jesus Christ. We live in a time where the gospel is continuously under attack, whether it is Dan Brown and his movie series, whether it is the compartmentalization of faith that pop culture adhere’s to, whether it is the direct attack on the authority of scripture by people of the Jesus Seminar, we must stand. Unlike Arthur however, we do not do so with violence, we do so with love and faith. Faith that Christ is true, will give us wisdom and is able to endure, and faith that He is more valuable than anything this world offers. And with love, a love that is sacrificial, gentle and respectful. Of course this is impossible. On our strength we cannot do this. But it is not on our strength that we must. Over and over again Paul reminds Timothy that this is not about His strength, but God’s, and again He reminds Timothy that it is by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us that we can stand. My man Brody…guard the gospel bro. It has been entrusted to you. You must stand.