1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
Positive and negative:
Paul charges Timothy with both positive and negative instructions. The Christian walk and life is a combination of both the positive and negative. There are things we must do as Christians and there are things we need to avoid. “Keep” is a military term which carries the idea of isolation or being on guard duty for the rest of the people. “Avoid” means more than just turning away from, but an active and willful rejecting or turning away. Paul taught Timothy by example as he took Timothy with him on the mission journeys and also instructed him through his letters.
Keep:
Timothy is to guard that which has been committed unto him (1 Tim 5:22). When we are saved our hearts and lives are purified by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:9) and Paul admonishes Timothy to guard that experience (1 Tim 3:9). Peter tells us that purifying of the soul involves obedience (1 Pet 1:22).
Jesus instructed the disciples to guard His words (Jn 14:15, 23). In the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus said the good soil keeps the word and produces fruit (Lu 8:15). When Jesus taught the disciples He told them to let His words sink deep within them (Lu 9:44) and James tells us to make the word part of our life (James 1:21).
Paul also told Timothy to “hold” tightly the form of sound words and guard what has been committed unto him. Some that have been committed unto us are: word of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19); gospel of uncircumcision (Ga 2:7; 1 Ti 1:11) and the entire of Scripture (2 Ti 3:4-16).
Avoid:
Paul knew that in order for Timothy to maintain his relation with the Lord, he not only had to guard some things but also had to avoid some things. Our walk with the Lord, the Christian life, involves both the positive and the negative. Just as our health involves doing or eating certain things it also involves avoiding or eliminating harmful or questionable things.
First, Paul says to avoid profane babblings. Profane comes from two words – “of” and “threshold”, when combined it means babblings that cross the threshold. Babblings means empty, fruitless, and vain. Jesus said we will give account for every idle word (Matt 12:36), where idle means, barren, useless, inactive. Paul wants Timothy to avoid discussions with those who desire only to separate him (and us) from our faith in God and God’s truth. The second thing Paul says to avoid is vain babblings. These are those discussions or arguments that are used by those who are involved in false doctrines that do not produce peace and satisfaction in our life --vain guidelines that do not lead to eternal life. Lastly Paul instructs Timothy to avoid the oppositions (conflicts) of science that is improperly called science. Science means knowledge and true science is provable and reproducible. So Paul would be instructing Timothy and us to avoid those teachings that contradict what Scripture says on any subject related to science and origins.