In these final two verses, Paul gives two commands and a closing blessing of grace. Guard the truth entrusted to you and turn away from anything and everything that distracts you from faithful obedience.

When you travel by ship, there is a moment when you realize that your safety is totally dependent on the integrity of the ship. When the ship leaves the dock, it does so slowly enough that the safety of the land seems to linger and remain within reach. However, as the ship sails further to sea, your sight of land grows smaller and more distant. At the distance of 2.9 miles, any sight of land finally slips beyond your site as the curvature of the earth limits your vision. When any sight of land is lost, and all you can see is water in every direction, is the moment that you realize that your life rests entirely in the ship's ability to reach the next port. As the sun sets and darkness cloaks all but what the ship's lights can illuminate, the feeling of dependency on the ship for safety is made all the more profound.

Paul knew something about shipwrecks. He had experienced near-death experiences in multiple shipwrecks. With these memories in mind, he writes to Timothy a charge to fight the good fight for the gospel and a warning of the grave consequences that come from rejecting the gospel.

Every profession has those who are incompetent, malevolent, or abusive. When you experience unlawful use of authority, a common reaction is to reject the whole. As a result, the reflective response of many today is to tear down institutions rather than work to repair them. A biblical worldview recognizes the sin of the individual while maintaining the goodness of the institution or position.

Paul is responding to the false teachers who were perverting the law of God. They were using the law unlawfully and thus destructively. Paul does not reject the law but affirms it as good when lawfully used for the purposes and glory of God.

No church is perfectly rightly ordered. However, every church must have a heart to be as rightly ordered and faithful to scripture as possible. The church must regularly examine how it is organized and functions and determine if it is most faithful to scripture. Paul's letters to Timothy deal with many of these issues, which is why it is helpful for Christians and churches to return often to these instructive letters.

These letters to the young pastor are Paul's counsel on leading the church in proper worship and establishing proper church leadership. He instructs Timothy on the required qualifications for elders/pastors/overseers and deacons and gives counsel on confronting false teachers and other congregation members.

In these opening words of Paul's first letter to Timothy, he first warns of what threatens the church and recognizes the gift of elders to the church.