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“If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:9)
A distinguished pastor has just given a stirring “Christian Life” message in Church. You are certain that the Holy Spirit will use it to impart spiritual knowledge and Christian values to the hearers that will result in changed lives. This is similar to what happens to Timothy when the Apostle Paul said “what you heard from me”. Christian faith builds up in Timothy’s life. There is the conscious attempt by Paul to practise discipleship in mentoring Timothy by imparting proper Christian values and on to future generations. This is the lifeblood of the spiritual growth process in maturing Christians in Church, one which Church leadership ignores at its own peril in working towards Church Growth.
Timothy has the gift of teaching and he has Paul as his mentor. Paul encourages him to keep pressing on with the Christian teachings he has heard. The goal is to implant into his life the knowledge of God to carry on his calling in Pastoral Ministry. Timothy’s example will become a repeatable pattern for other Christians in Ephesus to follow. He had a process of the “internalisation of Christian faith”, something that all of us should strive to carry out.
Timothy was told to “guard the good deposit“. Now, what exactly is the good deposit? It is the spiritual reserves of valuable teachings that Paul has taught him, on which he could fall back on. We can trust the Holy Spirit who dwells in all Christians for help to achieve this “guarding”.By the “internalisation of the Christian faith” in our lives, we take ownership of our daily behaviors so that our lives and characters can easily be recognized as Christian traits steeped in the love and faith of Jesus Christ.
Discipleship is not restricted only to those gifted in teaching. All Christians are responsible for trusting the Holy Spirit to guard the good deposit, the teachings of the Bible. We must also establish a pattern of living so that people will recognize us as faithful Christians. The lack of loyalty to the Christian faith has been demonstrated by some in the early Ephesian Church; Phylegus and Hermogenes were two such persons whom Paul singled out. Let us follow the good example of Onesiphorus who showed how relentlessly he pursues the time-honoured teachings of the Apostle – even when Paul was in prison. Remember: Guard the faith!
