2 Timothy 1:13

Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Based upon the fact of the Greek word for "pattern" having sometimes been used to describe the rough draft or sketch used by artists as a preliminary to a painting, some have concluded that Paul merely meant that Timothy should cling to the general outline received from Paul and then go ahead and fill in the details according to his own imagination. However, this conception of what this passage means is rejected. Hendriksen pointed out that just the opposite is intended here. The model or sketch is "the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus," and this is neither uncertain nor elastic. The meaning of the root form of this word ([@tupos]), according to Vine, "is the impress of a seal, the stamp made by a die, a figure, image, form or mold."[22] The great disaster which has befallen modern Christianity is precisely that of departing from the pattern, despite the frequent warnings in the New Testament against it, some even going so far as to affirm that there is no pattern given. Hebrews 8:5 and Acts 7:43 should be studied in connection with the admonition here.