In his second letter to Timothy, Paul has much to say about the dangers of false teachers, but he begins with a positive confession of assurance:
‘I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.’ 2 Tim.1:12
Some translations have, ‘What has been entrusted to me,’ while others have ‘What I have entrusted to him.’ It is literally ‘he is able to guard my deposit,’ so there is inevitably some interpretation. Given what he goes on to write in verse 13 it seems more likely the former. Either way, Paul’s conviction comes, not from self-confidence, but from God-confidence. His faith is sure because of who he has trusted.
Before we start to think about challenging false teachers we need to be in that place of assurance. It’s a place of knowing what we believe and why we believe it. It’s a confidence that comes from familiarity with the Bible, and with the God of the Bible.
Can you say, with Paul, ‘I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me?’ Don’t be so quick to answer ‘yes.’ Christians are often bold on Sunday morning, singing, ‘The battle belongs to the Lord,’ but they so often hide in the bathroom Monday when a Jehovah’s Witness knocks the door.
Assurance of the kind I mean comes from a good deal more than a few reassuring proof texts. It means reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible, praying for the sake of talking to our God and Saviour, and growing in our faith for the sake of coming to maturity in Christ ‘…until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…’Eph.4:13
This is our foundation for all of life, for learning to ‘correctly handle the word of truth’ 2 Tim.2:15. If we are to meet the challenges of false teachers we need a maturity in Christ that sees us confidently and correctly handling Scripture. It is a duty that remains with us to this day. Paul writes:
‘Follow the pattern of sound the words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you..’ 2 Tim.1:13,14
The most basic claim of any Christian cult is that the church has proved unfaithful in passing on that pattern of sound words, of guarding the good deposit. In witnessing to the cults we are not heretic hunters, we are guardians of truth. We are not attacking their claims, we are defending our own.
Remember Your Audience
Our audience is Gentile, it’s worth remembering that. The cults have a patina of Christian-like religion, but they are nothing like us. You won’t get far preaching to Gentiles as Peter did at Pentecost. The audience in Acts 2 was Jewish, would have known about recent events, and understood the references Peter made. They would have known of King David’s importance in Israel’s history, understood the references to Old Testament prophecies and promises; Peter’s recalling Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel. You can’t assume this knowledge in a cult member. Even the little they do know they have misunderstood.
The best example in the Bible of preaching to Gentiles, of assuming no inside knowledge on the part of your audience, is Paul’s address to the philosophers of the Areopagus in Acts 17. His address is, inevitably, rooted in Jewish ideas, but it interacts with their own thoughts, even to the point of quoting their own writers.
Don’t be put off by this idea. Paul is simply informed about the world around him. We are all informed about our world to one degree or another. It’s simply a question of being purposefully informed and organising your thinking about what you know. People do this with football all the time. Their knowledge is sometimes impressively encyclopaedic. It’s simply a matter of being interested enough in your team, and understanding the game of the opposing team. How did Paul do that in Athens?
He spoke about what he saw around him. In other words, they were showing him what they believed simply by having altars to different gods. Acts 17:22 Cult members will tell you what they believe.
An observant Paul saw an opportunity in an altar and inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ ‘What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.’ v.23 You may not see altars to inspire you, but there are key questions worth addressing in any conversation with someone who claims to know Jesus.
Key Questions
‘What must I do to be saved?’ Acts 16:30 In Athens, Paul didn’t get to the question asked by the Philippian jailer because he was interrupted, but it’s a good question to ask a cult member to start and guide a conversation. The cults believe the wrong message
‘Who do you say that I am?’ In Mark 8:29 Jesus’ question to his disciples is key to salvation. The cults put their faith in the wrong Jesus.
‘By what authority..?’ Luke 20:2 This question was asked of Jesus by the religious leaders in the temple. The Christian’s answer is the Word of God in the Bible 2 Timothy 3:14-17. The cults speak by the authority of their founders and leaders, without reference to what the Bible says, to church history, or church councils.
Yet the phrase, ‘it is written’ appears dozens of times in the Bible, notably by Jesus when he refers to the Old Testament to teach or to deal with temptation. When Paul addresses the philosophers he is drawing on his knowledge of Jewish Scripture. Assuming nothing, Paul, in verses 22-31, speaks of:
The one true God – dismissing polytheism
Who made everything – the sole creator
Who is Lord of heaven and earth – he has no rivals
Who needs nothing – recognising his aseity (he is his own source)
Who made all life – he is our life source
Who made us all from one man – our common origin
Who set times and places – his sovereignty over societies
Who hopes we seek him – his close interest in our prayers and worship
‘Who is not far from each one of us’ – The God who draws near
Does this remind you of anything?
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
When a Mormon dismisses what we believe as simply ‘creedal Christianity,’ meaning a post-biblical Christianity, remember where the Nicene Creed came from.
Paul goes on to speak of the divine being not being a material object fashioned by man, of a God who has been patient with sin, but who now calls all people to repent because a day of judgement is coming when the resurrected Christ will judge each one. It was the idea of resurrection that provoked the interruption.
Had he not been interrupted in verse 32, what would Paul have said to complete his message? Do you think he might have gone on to talk about how to be saved, exactly who Jesus is and what he has done, and why we can trust this message because of the authority of Scripture?
What strikes me about this is how simple it is, a bare statement of fundamentals. Of course, you can’t use this particular presentation in every conversation, though it’s a good one to keep in mind for when you’re asked what you believe. However, it’s a good model of clear simplicity, which is where you want to be in these conversations. What simple message would you keep in your back pocket for those happy encounters at the door, on the street, at work?
