KEEP DOING WHAT YOU KNOW TO DO
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” II Timothy 3:14, 15
Timothy had been blessed with a godly grandmother and mother who taught him the Word of God. The truths he began learning as a child eventually brought Timothy to the place of “salvation through faith which is in Christ.” In his final epistle, Paul’s plea for Timothy was to “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned.” The aging apostle warned his spiritual son about the ever-present danger of diverting from the narrow road of obedience and commitment to the Scripture.
This advice to Timothy is just as timely for us today. We too must continue in the Bible-based path that we have been shown. To do so requires a commitment to the principles and commands of the Word of God. Temptations to compromise are real, and often very subtle. Our commitment to stay the course needs to be stronger than the temptations to quit.
If ever there was a day when people are drifting from the Word of God that they once believed and practiced, we are living in that day. Times change, but truth never changes. We do not need something new, but a renewed resolve to live by the precepts of the Holy Scripture. The enemy of men’s souls remains relentless.
The first recorded temptation of man in the Garden of Eden included an assault on God’s Word. Satan has continued to use every imaginable means to cast doubt on the Scripture and to lure souls away from their commitment to the absolute authority of God’s unchanging Truth. When a person begins to minimize the importance of obedience or compromise in their commitment to the Holy Scriptures, he is on his way to serious spiritual problems. False prophets are very effective in presenting partial truths or twisting the Word of God. Today’s host of modern translations is another evidence of Satan’s attacks on the Bible.
Paul spoke directly to Timothy about his enduring commitment to continue doing what he had been taught to do. Let’s take Paul’s admonition to heart and remain steadfastly committed to the teachings of the Word of God.