Win and Keep the Grace (1 Timothy 6:11-21)
Andy H. Nagahara
A. Fight the good fight of the faith (11-16)
1) Take hold of the eternal life (11, 12)
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
12 Fight 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.
2) Jesus as the reason of our way of life (13-16)
13 In 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
14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16 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.
B. Avoiding two traps (17-21)
1) Putting hope in God not in wealth (17-19)
17 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.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 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.
2) Keeping away from wrong knowledge (20, 21)
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,
21 which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
Summary
"Grace be with you" is the very precious and delightful phrase to hear. However, God's Grace never comes or stays automatically. Let us take action according to the order of Paul to Timothy to win and keep the grace.
For Discussion
1) What is the fight of the faith?
2) How can we win and keep God's grace?