THE beloved apostle Paul is about to lay aside the armour and lay his head on Nero's block and in this, his last letter, written to his beloved Timothy, faithful companion and servant of Christ, he sets before the younger servant the absolute necessity of keeping and guarding the precious truth of God, both in the Gospel and relative to the Church and the apostolic doctrine. In 2 Timothy 1:14, he writes thus:

"That good thing which was committed unto thee keep
(or guard) by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us."

In other words he makes it clear to Timothy that the precious deposit of the truth of God was valuable, would be the object of the wrath of the enemy, who would seek to destroy, and he unequivocally warns Timothy of this and his words could be translated into a plain and decided command and direction... "Timothy - GUARD THE DEPOSIT."

SAFE-KEEPING

Many today take advantage of facilities offered by banking institutions and Trust companies in the guarding of their valuables. They are placed behind steel and bars, with all sorts of devices of warning character, to protect such.

Paul, as it were, was turning over to his loved companion the most precious deposit he knew of, "The Truth of God" and he was handing it over, not to be encased behind bars of steel etc., but to be encased in the heart and soul of the approved servant of Christ. This is the force of this portion of scripture. Timothy could only do this as he was in touch with God and in communion with the Lord in the power of the Holy Ghost indwelling. This is still true today as to the individual's responsibility of "guarding the deposit of truth" - well is it if there are a number of younger men to whom the older, who are soon to be called home and off the battle ground, can commit that which God had committed to them. To hand it over intact was the apostle's aim, and should be ours. This might rightfully be spoken of as "individual guarding of the precious deposit" by younger men who are willing to accept the responsibility incurred and do so, in the fear of God and without the fear of man. Such realize that this "deposit" must be preserved intact as handed over to them and must, in due time, be surrendered as it was received.

However, in 1 Timothy 3:15 we have another aspect of this and we suggest this latter would be ASSEMBLY RESPONSIBILITY in "guarding the deposit" - realizing that this is something which is not alone a privilege, but a definite committment and charge... "the house of God, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." The marginal reading suggests - "the pillar and stay or foundation of the truth."

An assembly of God, divinely planted, has a special charge committed to it, as a living entity, composed of living stones but planted locally in some community to be a "light" and testimony to the Name and Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, maintaining the apostolic doctrine in all sincerity and faithfulness. The early churches did not do this for very long. Towards the end of the first century already the seeds of clerisy and human rule were clearly seen and it was no time until there were "bishops" i.e. men usurping the place of the Lord in the midst of His gathered people and their dictates were soon in evidence and the pristine purity and beauty of the early church was lost.

We have seen, in our day, this same story relative to divinely planted assemblies. Today some of such have little semblance to an assembly of God at all and the precious "deposit of truth" has been left to the device of the enemy, or carelessly or loosely held with the result that the precious truths contained in the apostolic teaching are thought of as "strange teaching" to many who find themselves in such a gathering. The "deposit" has not been guarded - individuals have failed, assemblies have failed in their stewardship and while they carry on with a measure of scripture coupled with an abundance of human regulations and religious traditions, the valuable jewel is gone. The case may be there, just as decorated as previously, the saints may be told that the jewel is still in the case, but they never open the case, i.e. they never look into the precious Word to discover the jewel. The case is there but the jewel is lost. Sad is the story of many such a company but this did not happen suddenly - there was the insiduous working of evil and evil men, tolerated, their suspicious teaching glossed over, until they had accomplished their purpose - the jewel is gone but no one will take the blame. This is the sad story of church testimony down through the years, never truer than during the past 130 years.

It takes absolute faithfulness, wisdom and divine strength to "guard the deposit" today in assembly testimony.

GUARDING BY THE ELDERS

In Titus 1:9 we note the characteristic of the godly elder, shepherd, overseer in the words... "Holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound (or wholesome) doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers."

Truly in a special way the precious "deposit of truth" is committed to the elder or elders, i.e. the governing part of an assembly of God. That they are raised up of God, none could deny from scripture, cp. Acts 20:28. The idea of "voting in" elders, or overseers, is obnoxious to any spiritual man. When God raises such up they have a decided grasp of the truth of God and seek to maintain it in the face of opposition - they truly "guard the deposit."

Such shall have opposition - it has always been so. Men of the Diotrephes type would ever seek to undermine and destroy. The reason for their violent opposition is that they desire the adulteration of the truth of God which cannot be brought about until they get the godly man out of the way and make room for the protege who shall support and bring about a favorable condition for the introduction of something which is alien to the divine order but seems expedient to bring about a more favorable atmosphere, relative to the world and carnal believers.

Hence the necessity of the ELDER realizing the value afresh of the "precious deposit of truth" like a valuable jewel which not a few are after, they would relegate such precious truths of the Word of God as contained in the divine pattern, to the scrap heap of human tradition, yet none would be willing to take the blame and say... "I am sorry I did not guard it as I should have guarded it." Instead the blame shall be laid to others, various excuses given for the present condition of things, but nevertheless, the precious jewel, THEY have lost. We fear not a few who once stood in the forefront of the battle, when standing at the Judgment Seat of Christ, shall suffer loss for the discarding of that which God, in His infinite kindness committed to them, loosely held it, eventually let it go into other unfavorable hands of smooth talkers, or even false apostles, as the beloved Paul states in 2 Cor. 11:13,14.

HOWEVER GOD LIVES

We close with the triumph note of the beloved apostle in 2 Timothy 1:12... "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep (or guard) that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

Ere the beloved warrior committed the "precious deposit" to Timothy - ere it was ever committed to an assembly of God - ere it ever was committed to an elder or the elders of an assembly, the "precious jewel" was committed to God. God is the guardian of His own truth and He has His own way of guarding it and preserving it and we are thankful that even at this late date of history there are still those who have seen the value of the "DEPOSIT OF TRUTH" and are anxious to guard it, insofar as it has been committed to them in testimony but all such realize, as never before, that the true guardian of all is our own God and Paul was confident that in committing the precious stewardship to God, it would be then committed by God to those whom God could see were worthy of the trust. May we be accounted worthy of this honour, until the Lord comes to the air, and even willing to suffer loss, to embrace, as it were, the reproach connected with such a stewardship, until the Day of Christ dawn. He shall not fail to fully reward our failure, departure, sinful errings, all such true desire to "GUARD THE DEPOSIT" 2 Tim. 1:14.