As Paul finishes writing his first letter to Timothy he leaves him with a final charge. An exhortation for Timothy to, what I am calling, Flee – Fight – Focus.
I want us to take a brief look at this 3 step exhortation and allow these Spirit inspired words to encourage us and call us to action. Take a look at the actual words of Paul:
“But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
I Timothy 6:11-12
FLEE
To begin, Paul tells Timothy to Flee. The order of these terms is a great significance. We do not first Take Hold – Fight – and then Flee. No. We must begin with Fleeing. Just as Jesus and John the Baptist begin their exhortations with: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Repentance being a form of fleeing from your former sins and running to God.
What are we fleeing from? Well the verse says: “these things”. Context tells us that Paul is referring to any doctrine opposed to Jesus Christ as King (v.3). This doctrine leads to “envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, etc.” (v.4) It also includes the “love of money” which is the “root of all sorts of evil” (v.10). Everything in our lives that harm relationships, brings us fear, doubt, anxiety, and separates our intimacy with Christ. We MUST flee from these things.
The call is urgent. It is not an offer. It is not a recommendation. If you were walking down the street and I noticed a 12 ton semi-truck heading its way straight for you I would not recommend you to get out of the way. I would not just suggest you walk away. I would scream as loud and as fast as I can: “RUN! GET OUT OF THE WAY!”. This is the energy Paul is bringing to the table. He knows “these things” could quickly send Timothy down the road to apostasy and dark evils. It is a matter of life and death. For us too. We cannot afford to tamper with sin in our lives. We must take heed of it and flee. Flee as fast as we can. Run as never before. Don’t take time to examine, don’t take time to think. Just run from evil. Then once you run away you must
FIGHT
When soldiers sign up for war they do not expect to just run away from the enemy the whole time. They sign up to fight. So we are called to the army of God not just to run from sin. But to “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth”(Col 3:5). Remember the armor Paul exhorts us to put on in Ephesians 6? We do not put on these armor pieces just to run! We are to swing the sword of the Word. We are to use our shield of faith. Use it to fight! Use it to stand! “and having done all to stand.”
The fight is also the “good fight of faith”. You are fighting a battle worth fighting. Wars on earth end. Revolutions come and go. Civil Wars are a dime a dozen. But a heavenly battle? That stays. That matters. The battle has eternal consequences as well. We fight sin in our own lives, help others fight sin in their lives, and fight sin and evil within our church family. All of this has eternal effects on our souls and souls of those who could get saved in effect of our fighting this good fight. I must add as well: we are fighting a battle wherein our victory is guaranteed! You’ve read Revelation right? The victory is already won. “Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”(Rev 21:6-7)
As we fight during our time here on earth we must fight with an end goal in mind. Paul said: “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air” (1 Cor 9:26) . He fights with precision and with a destination. So we are to
FOCUS
I must confess that Paul does not use the word “focus”. I used it for alliteration. The phrase is: “take hold”. The word means to lay hold of, overtake, attain, etc. And what exactly are we taking hold of? Paul defines it: “eternal life”. To be honest, this is what inspired this entire post. Laying hold of eternal life. Follow my line of reasoning. What is eternal life defined as? “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3). Therefore we are to fight with the goal of knowing Jesus. That is, having an intimate relationship with Him. This is what it is all about. We fight because of Jesus, through Jesus, and to Jesus.
Summary
The exhortation is as follows:
- Flee from sin. Flee from anything that may hinder your running to Jesus. Flee with urgency and terror. Flee from death to life.
- Fight evil. Fight with the weapons of warfare that Jesus has supplied you with. Fight with the knowledge that the battle is already won in eternity.
- Finally, Focus on Jesus as the end goal of our fight. Focus on intimacy with Him. Focus on getting to know Him and experience Him with more of a reality day by day.
Respond
- Take a moment to thank God for Paul’s inspired words that we can look back to for such an exhortation.
- Confess the times at which you did not Flee from sin in your life. The times you failed to Fight the good fight. And the times you forgot to Focus on a relationship with Jesus.
- Ask God to help you starting now to do and maintain the above exhortation. To keep you in scripture and to keep you in Jesus.
- Share this post with someone for encouragement and a helpful exhortation!