“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

This little verse is full of information. In the previous verse, Paul insisted that Timothy “stir up” the gift that he had received and use it as it was intended because God did not give us a “spirit of fear.”

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

“Paul . . . To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” (2 Timothy 1:1-2)

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Psalm 40:5)

The Bible contains abundant warnings against following false teaching. All of them foretell awful consequences for those who don’t test what they hear against the inerrant words of God. There is one warning in 2 Timothy, however, that uses a somewhat humorous metaphor.