Paul concludes his first letter to Timothy today. In it we find some of the most encouraging words for Christian living and some of the most beautiful words about the Lord in the entire letter.
In yesterday's passage Paul spoke of those who have allowed greed to get in the way of their faith. They have pursued the wrong things and have "pierced themselves with many griefs". This is where Paul picks up by saying, "But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." (1 Timothy 6:11) He says "But you, Timothy, are not like those who 'fall into temptation and a trap'. You are a man of God. You've been conducting your life as a man of God and you must keep on conducting your life as a man of God." Some of the things Paul tells Timothy to pursue are also mentioned in his list of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, which are "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." If Timothy stays close to the Lord as a man of God should, he will have these fruits in his life.
"Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:12) Sometimes, in this difficult and scary world, we live as though we are not the children of God and as if we don't have a great inheritance waiting for us. (Romans 8:17) We live as though we are not "more than conquerors through Him who loved us". (Romans 8:37) We live as though we have not been called, justified, and glorified by the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:30) When Paul tells Timothy to "take hold of eternal life", he isn't saying there's anything Timothy must do to add to his salvation. Timothy has already repented of his past life and has already confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, so eternal life is already his. Paul is telling him to live in and enjoy and make use of all that is his in Christ Jesus. It's possible to be saved but still live in a defeated attitude. This is not what the Lord wants for us, but it's possible to be a child of God and yet live as though all the grace and mercy and blessings of a child of God are not ours. To use an illustrative example, suppose we were poor beggars lying in the gutter and one day a great king came by and pulled us out of the gutter, adopted us as his children, and made available to us everything to which a child of a king is entitled. And suppose that, instead of enjoying and making use of all these blessings, we continued to wear the same old filthy clothes we wore in the gutter and we continued to think of ourselves as a bunch of disgusting failures with no hope. How sad that would be! And yet that's exactly what we're doing when we confess Christ as Lord and yet don't accept our new position as children of the King. That's what we're doing when we don't allow the King to bless us in the ways He wants to bless us.
"In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate gave a good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in His own time---God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who 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." (1 Timothy 6:13-16) Paul encourages Timothy, "Keep on keeping on! Keep on until Christ comes or until you are called to be with Him. Don't lose heart. Don't lose hope. Christ endured to the end and He will equip you to do the same."
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17) There is nothing we possess that we can't lose---except our relationship with the Lord. Money can be here today and gone tomorrow. I've never been wealthy, but I've been financially comfortable at times, and I've been through times where I was barely scraping by. My husband was recently out of work for seven months but, thanks be to God, he was blessed with a new job last week. I finally feel like we have some breathing room again, but the glory goes to the God who promises He will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) We can't place our trust in anything or in anyone but in the One who created and sustains all things. This is why Paul tells Timothy to instruct the wealthy, "Don't let them think they don't need God simply because they have everything this world can offer. They can lose it all in an instant. But the eternal God, who calls them to step out of darkness into light, will never leave or forsake them. He is to be their hope and their confidence." Keeping this in mind, Timothy is to deal with the wealthy church members like this: "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:18-19)
The world tempts the wealthy by saying, "Live it up! You have the means to enjoy anything your heart desires." But how many wealthy and famous people have been so miserable that they've ruined their health with substance abuse? How many have even taken their own lives? Wealth is not a guarantee of happiness, which King Solomon attested to when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon said he denied himself nothing, yet he was miserable. He was empty inside even though his bank account was full. It's not a sin to inherit wealth or to be successful at our work, but it is a sin to miss what life is really all about---forming a relationship with our Creator. As the Lord Jesus put it, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36) We have to live our lives on earth with eternity in mind, and that includes using our money in ways that serve the Lord.
"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all." (1 Timothy 6:20-21) The culture Timothy lived in prided itself on being intellectual. It considered the gospel foolishness. In our own times we find the attitude of some being that those of us who serve the Lord are ignorant and uneducated, that we are living in a "dark age" of the mind, and that we are too weak to face death without the idea of a God who can grant us eternal life. We are living in a time when so many think that science has disproven the idea of a Creator, but the more I learn about the universe and about biology the more I feel these things prove the existence of a Creator. Paul felt the same way, so he said in his letter to the Christians of Rome, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities---His eternal power and divine nature---have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) He said, "Just because God cannot be seen is no excuse for people not to believe in Him. The very creation testifies to the existence of a Creator. No one will stand before Him and present a valid reason for not having believed in Him."
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