1 Timothy 6:11-16: a reflection

11But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. 13I command you before God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession, 14that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which at the right time he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16He alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.

Paul charges Timothy, as a man of God, to flee what is harmful, pursue what is good, and fight the good fight of faith, taking hold of eternal life. But you, man of God, flee these things, Paul writes, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. The Christian life is not passive; it involves both a fleeing and a pursuing, and a fighting. Timothy is to flee what is harmful, and to pursue what is good, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness; and to fight the good fight of faith, taking hold of the eternal life to which he was called. This calls for active, deliberate effort in the pursuit of godliness. This shows the call to flee evil, pursue godliness, and fight the good fight of faith. Flee what is harmful, and actively pursue righteousness and godliness. Fight the good fight of faith; the Christian life is not passive. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Give deliberate effort to fleeing evil and pursuing what is good.

Notice the active verbs in Paul's charge: flee, follow after, fight, take hold. The Christian life, as Paul describes it here, is not a passive drifting, but calls for deliberate, active effort. First, flee: Timothy is to flee what is harmful, actively turning away from what would corrupt him, not lingering near it. Second, follow after, or pursue: he is to actively pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness, not waiting for these to appear but going after them. Third, fight: he is to fight the good fight of faith, engaging in the real struggle that faith involves. And fourth, take hold: he is to take hold of eternal life, laying hold of the life to which he was called. This holds a call for us. The pursuit of godliness is not passive; it calls for deliberate effort. We are to flee what is harmful, actively turning from it; to pursue what is good, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, going after these deliberately; to fight the good fight of faith, engaging the real struggle rather than drifting; and to take hold of the eternal life to which we are called. This does not mean we save ourselves by effort; the life is God's gift, and grace enables the pursuit. But it does mean the Christian life is active, involving real fleeing, pursuing, and fighting, not passive drifting. We do well to give deliberate effort to fleeing what is harmful, pursuing godliness, and fighting the good fight of faith. Flee what is harmful, and actively pursue righteousness and godliness. Fight the good fight of faith; do not drift passively. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. The pursuit of godliness calls for deliberate, active effort.

That is worth taking to heart, for the Christian life calls for actively fleeing evil, pursuing godliness, and fighting the good fight of faith, as Paul charged Timothy. We can drift passively; but Paul charged Timothy to flee, pursue, fight, and take hold, active and deliberate. Give it effort. Do not drift passively in the Christian life; flee what is harmful, actively pursue righteousness and godliness, fight the good fight of faith, and take hold of eternal life. Give deliberate, active effort to fleeing what is harmful, pursuing righteousness and godliness, and fighting the good fight of faith, taking hold of the eternal life to which you were called, rather than drifting passively, as Paul charged Timothy as a man of God to flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness, to fight the good fight of faith, and to take hold of the eternal life to which he was called; for the Christian life is not passive but involves both a fleeing and a pursuing and a fighting, Timothy being to flee what is harmful and pursue what is good and fight the good fight of faith and take hold of eternal life, which calls for active, deliberate effort in the pursuit of godliness, since the active verbs, flee, follow after, fight, and take hold, show that the Christian life is not a passive drifting but calls for deliberate effort, to flee what is harmful by actively turning from it, to pursue righteousness and godliness by going after them, to fight the good fight of faith by engaging the real struggle, and to take hold of the eternal life to which we are called, which does not mean we save ourselves by effort since the life is God's gift and grace enables the pursuit, but does mean the Christian life is active and involves real fleeing, pursuing, and fighting rather than passive drifting, so that we do well to give deliberate effort to fleeing what is harmful, pursuing godliness, and fighting the good fight of faith.

Lord, Paul charges Timothy, as a man of God, to flee what is harmful, pursue what is good, and fight the good fight of faith, taking hold of eternal life. But you, man of God, flee these things, Paul writes, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. The Christian life is not passive; it involves both a fleeing and a pursuing, and a fighting. Timothy is to flee what is harmful, and to pursue what is good, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness; and to fight the good fight of faith, taking hold of the eternal life to which he was called. This calls for active, deliberate effort in the pursuit of godliness. Show me the active verbs in Paul's charge: flee, follow after, fight, take hold. The Christian life, as Paul describes it, is not a passive drifting, but calls for deliberate, active effort. First, flee: I am to flee what is harmful, actively turning away from what would corrupt me. Second, follow after: I am to actively pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness, not waiting for these to appear but going after them. Third, fight: I am to fight the good fight of faith, engaging in the real struggle that faith involves. And fourth, take hold: I am to take hold of the eternal life to which I was called. This holds a call for me. The pursuit of godliness is not passive; it calls for deliberate effort. This does not mean I save myself by effort; the life is your gift, and your grace enables the pursuit. But it does mean the Christian life is active, involving real fleeing, pursuing, and fighting, not passive drifting. Take that to my heart. Keep me from drifting passively in the Christian life; help me flee what is harmful, Lord, actively pursue righteousness and godliness, fight the good fight of faith, and take hold of the eternal life to which you have called me, giving deliberate, active effort to it by your grace.