Guard The Word

Guard the Word

By Pastor Russell Henderson

Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me--a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me--even Phygelus and Hermogenes.

[2Timothy 1:13-15 NLT]

One of the most dangerous statements someone could ever make is “That will never happen to me” or “I will never fall into that sin”.  It is usually said the person who makes those statements is one step away from falling into that very thing.  In 2 Timothy 1:15 (above) Paul mentions two people, Phygelus and Hermogenes, who were apparently at one time faithful followers of Christ and assistants to Paul.  Paul mentions how they have now deserted him.  Whether they completely backslid or not is unclear, but it seems that they ceased to be the faithful servants that they once had been.

Paul gives Timothy some instruction on how not to fall away as they had, and it is found in the two preceding verses.  He told Timothy to “hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me” and to “carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.  The teaching and the truth to which Paul is referring is the word of God.

How was Timothy supposed to stay strong in his new role as pastor of the Ephesian church?  How is anyone supposed to stay strong in this crazy, sinful world?  We have to hold on to the word of God and guard it with our lives.  The Greek word for “hold” means to cling tight to something and don’t ever let it go.  When a bride and groom recite their wedding vows, they will usually say something like this, “I,  ________, take you, ______, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.”  The first part of that vow says, “I am taking you as my spouse forever.  No matter what comes, I am not going to let you go.”

That’s the way we have to be with the word of God.  We’ve got to have a resolve that says,  “I am not going stop trusting God even though I can hardly stand.  I’m not going to give up on His word.”  Friends, we’ve got to remember every day that God’s word never fails.  It is always true.  The promises that were made thousands of years ago are still very valid for you today.  Will there be hard times?  Oh, yes.  Will there be times that we are tempted to give up?  Most certainly.  But we’ve got to learn to guard that word.  Keep it hidden in your heart.  Hide God’s word in your heart so that you will not fall into sin. (Psalm 119:11   How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. (Psalm 119:9)

Friends, the word of God is your best friend.  It is your only means of survival in this crazy, messed up world.  Guard that word, don’t ever take your eyes off of it.  When it gets hard that’s when you have to rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit.  But know this, the word of God is a firm foundation.  As long as you are planted on the word, you will never fall.