For several weeks we have been looking at the wonderful riches we have in Christ, and we have gone through well over thirty of them so far. I want to look at five more this week as we kind of wrap all of this up. If you were asked what you consider to be some of the greatest gifts that the Lord has ever given you beyond your salvation, what would you pinpoint?
One of those would probably be the Scriptures. As we think about what we have in our hands and what we can read. The teaching that is there. The instruction about God. The understanding we can have about the Christian life are all found in the infallible and inspired Word of God. It is a great gift and treasure.
When we come to the book of 2 Timothy, Paul is writing his final letter to anyone. He is writing this to his friend, and the one to whom he has served many years as a leader and mentor, Timothy.
As he writes to him in 2 Timothy, he talks about a great treasure. 2 Timothy 1:13- 14 says, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” We look at the word “treasure” and we see that he has given him a treasure. What is that treasure that is his? It could be the gospel. It could be salvation, and Paul has been talking about that, but in the immediate context, at least part of it must be the Word of God.
In 2 Timothy 1:13 Paul says to, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me.” These sound “Words” would be the inspired teachings that Paul was handing down to Timothy and others and that found their way ultimately in the Scriptures. As he says that to Timothy there seems to be a concern that Timothy was not holding as tenaciously as he should to the sound words that were being handed down. So, he tells him to hold to that and he also tells him to guard it because the Scriptures are always under attack from the outside, and sometimes from the inside. So, if Satan can undermine the truth of God’s Word, and the thinking of people, then he has won a great victory. So, Paul tells Timothy he needs to guard that treasure that has been handed down . . .
