1 Timothy 6
Paul's Charge to Timothy
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Observation:
As Paul concludes this letter guiding his young mentor Timothy, he gives him this final charge. He realized that as Timothy sought to carry out his calling, there would be plenty of obstacles, like those who taught false doctrine and the temptation to be lured by the love of money. Any time of new movement of God’s kingdom is being advanced there will be plenty of opposition.
As men and women of God we are told to flee from all of these things and instead to pursue our spiritual path of righteousness, godliness and faith. By doing this, we are taking up our calling, which we were given when we confessed faith in Jesus Christ.
Although it will be a fight to stay on the path God has for us, we can stay focused by remembering the eternal life that has been promised to us as we remain faithful to our calling.
Application:
As you seek to move God’s kingdom forward, there will likely be opposition. You will be tempted to succumb to the world’s way of thinking, including the lure of material possessions. But as we focus on the eternal life promised to us through Christ, we realize that it is futile to invest in stuff that won’t go with us. As it says, “We brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out of it.” Ie. There are no storage racks near tombstones
As the passage makes clear, it is a “fight” though. It is not as if we can passively live out our faith, biding our time until Jesus returns. Paul urges Timothy to “pursue” the things of God, which leads to godliness. Paul took the time to mentor young Timothy and provide for his instruction and encouragement in the Christian faith. Do you have a mentor? Is there someone encouraging you to be a godly man or woman? Are you pursuing the accumulation of things that will be here today and gone tomorrow? Fight the good fight of faith and take hold of the eternal life which Jesus to which you were called.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father send your angels to protect us in the good fight of faith. Give us endurance to run the race and cross the finish line to eternal life. Help us not to get caught in things that are only temporary and invest our lives in things eternal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Observation:
As Paul concludes this letter guiding his young mentor Timothy, he gives him this final charge. He realized that as Timothy sought to carry out his calling, there would be plenty of obstacles, like those who taught false doctrine and the temptation to be lured by the love of money. Any time of new movement of God’s kingdom is being advanced there will be plenty of opposition.
As men and women of God we are told to flee from all of these things and instead to pursue our spiritual path of righteousness, godliness and faith. By doing this, we are taking up our calling, which we were given when we confessed faith in Jesus Christ.
Although it will be a fight to stay on the path God has for us, we can stay focused by remembering the eternal life that has been promised to us as we remain faithful to our calling.
Application:
As you seek to move God’s kingdom forward, there will likely be opposition. You will be tempted to succumb to the world’s way of thinking, including the lure of material possessions. But as we focus on the eternal life promised to us through Christ, we realize that it is futile to invest in stuff that won’t go with us. As it says, “We brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out of it.” Ie. There are no storage racks near tombstones
As the passage makes clear, it is a “fight” though. It is not as if we can passively live out our faith, biding our time until Jesus returns. Paul urges Timothy to “pursue” the things of God, which leads to godliness. Paul took the time to mentor young Timothy and provide for his instruction and encouragement in the Christian faith. Do you have a mentor? Is there someone encouraging you to be a godly man or woman? Are you pursuing the accumulation of things that will be here today and gone tomorrow? Fight the good fight of faith and take hold of the eternal life which Jesus to which you were called.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father send your angels to protect us in the good fight of faith. Give us endurance to run the race and cross the finish line to eternal life. Help us not to get caught in things that are only temporary and invest our lives in things eternal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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