October 13 2026

Tuesday, October 13

Guarding the Truth

1 Timothy 1:3–4

Welcome to Pastor’s Chat. Yesterday we began Paul's first letter to Timothy with his beautiful greeting: “Grace, mercy, and peace.” Today, in verses 3 and 4, Paul immediately gets to one of the main reasons he had left Timothy in Ephesus. Listen to his words: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.”

Paul had given Timothy a difficult assignment. He told him: “Remain in Ephesus.” Sometimes the hardest place to serve God is exactly where He has placed us. There may have been times when Timothy would rather have traveled with Paul. There may have been times when the problems in Ephesus made him want to leave. But Paul said, in effect: “Timothy, stay there. You have a job to do.” And what was that job? He was to guard the truth.

Paul says: “charge some that they teach no other doctrine.” False teaching was already finding its way into the church. Remember, the church was still relatively young. The apostles were still alive. And yet Satan was already attempting to confuse believers concerning the truth. That should remind us of something: It matters what we believe.

Sometimes people say, “Doctrine isn't important. We just need to love Jesus.” But how do we know who Jesus is? Doctrine. How do we know why He came? Doctrine. How do we know He died for our sins and rose from the dead? Doctrine. How do we know salvation is by grace through faith? Doctrine. Sound doctrine simply means right teaching from the Word of God. And Paul told Timothy to guard it.

He also warned about: “fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.” Apparently, people were becoming distracted by speculation and arguments that didn't help anyone grow spiritually. And isn't that still possible today? We can spend enormous amounts of time arguing about things that don't help anybody know Jesus better. Today we have television, radio, books, podcasts, websites, social media, and countless voices telling us what to believe. Some of them are helpful. Some are not. That's why we need to know the Bible for ourselves.

Years ago, one reason I memorized 1 and 2 Timothy was because I wanted God's Word in my heart. Psalm 119:11 says: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” There is no substitute for knowing the Word of God. If you know the truth, you're much better prepared to recognize error. And notice Paul's concern wasn't simply winning theological arguments. He wanted “godly edification which is in faith.” In other words, truth should build us up. Bible study should make us more like Jesus.

If all our Bible knowledge makes us proud, argumentative, and critical of everybody else, we've missed something. Truth should produce godliness. It should make us more loving. More gracious. More faithful. More humble. More like Christ.

So here's a good question for us today: Am I allowing God's Word to shape what I believe and how I live? Don't believe something simply because a preacher says it. Don't believe it simply because you saw it on television or the internet. And certainly don't believe it simply because thousands of people shared it on social media. Be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

Know the truth. Love the truth. Live the truth. And faithfully pass the truth to the next generation. Because in a world filled with competing voices, we desperately need the unchanging truth of God's Word.

Let's pray. Father, thank You for giving us Your Word. In a world filled with so many voices and so much confusion, help us to know the truth and remain faithful to it. Give us discernment to recognize teaching that does not agree with Your Word. Keep us from useless arguments and distractions, and help us instead to grow in faith and godliness. Give us a hunger to read, study, memorize, and obey the Scriptures. And help us faithfully pass Your truth to those who come behind us. May Your Word make us more like Jesus every day. In His precious name we pray, Amen.

God bless, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!