1 Timothy 6

 Key verse: 1 Timothy 6:20

Big idea: The ministry carries the treasure of faith through the ages. 

One of our sister churches meets in a remodeled bank building. Early on in their construction process, I got to visit and step inside the vault of the bank. It is an eerie place, with an incredibly thick door and clearly no way to escape. Whatever has been deposited into that vault is very unlikely to leave without the consent of the banker. This is the basic image that Paul's commandment to Timothy should bring to mind. His task was the keep the deposit safe that he has been trusted with, to bring it down through the ages. What an incredible responsibility! 

Paul warns that Timothy could go other ways. Like a sheriff asleep during the jailbreak in an old western, Timothy could become distracted by "profane and vain babblings" or so-called knowledge. But he would not be a very effective guard if he did. His responsibility was to have a singular focus, where his teaching, his lifestyle, and his ministry all dovetailed together to present the precious gospel to a lost and dying world. The good news needed to get from the empty tomb to us and it did so through successive generations guarding it. We know that Jesus promised in Matthew 16 that the gates of Hell will not prevail against His church, but we also know that humanly speaking, the world is never more than a generation from losing the gospel. We must defend it and announce its truth. When we have been given a trust, we dare not fail. 

Discussion idea: Why do you think Paul uses the language of "keep that which is committed to thy trust"? How does responsibility play a part in our service to God?

Prayer focus: Praise God, that He would (in infinite wisdom) trust the greatest treasure to we frail jars of clay.