"But you, man of God, run from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses."This three-part SBM mini-series examines what the Apostle Paul had to say to Timothy about living in this present life in anticipation of and in preparation for eternal life!
In Part 1 Paul instructed Timothy to use this present life as an opportunity to prepare for eternity with God by becoming more like God. To accomplish this, Paul told Timothy to train himself in godliness through disciplined, rigorous practice in personal devotion and service to God.
Now Paul tells Timothy that he should fight for the faith and take hold of eternal life!
Take hold of eternal life means take on the lifestyle of eternal life.
But, it's not something you do when you are dying. It's something you do while you are living!
And the way to take hold of eternal life is to fight for the faith.
Fight for your faith!
The present world in which you live will destroy your faith if you let it influence you too much.
Maintaining your faith is a constant struggle and it becomes necessary to fight for it because you live in this world of evil influences as Paul warned Timothy in the preceding verse: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and by craving it some have wandered away from the faith" (vs. 10).
So Paul tells Timothy to fight for the faith by taking on the lifestyle of eternal life.
Fight for your faith by fleeing sin and pursuing the attributes of a virtuous and godly life: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Because a virtuous life doesn't automatically happen just because you have faith.
Remember, it's a fight. And it's also a choice you make.
You must actively, even vigorously, pursue these qualities in your life and then the indwelling Holy Spirit can transform you into the godly person you diligently endeavor to be!
And then you start living the lifestyle of the future, of eternal life, in the present!
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