But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.  (12) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,  to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  (13) I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontus Pilate, (14) that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, (15) which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings (16) who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.  Amen 

The first letter to Timothy was written by the apostle Paul. Timothy had been sent to minister to the church Paul had founded in Ephesus and, as was usually the case, the Jewish legalizers had moved in to corrupt the message of the gospel. Basically these legalizers preached Jesus AND – Jesus and circumcision; Jesus and the law; Jesus and rituals.  The message of the gospel is that man is saved by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. Many in Ephesus had been led astray and Paul reached out to Timothy, Man of God, (an Old Testament appellation) commanding him to persevere – to rely on God in every situation and not to chafe under adversity.

In today’s verses Paul’s advice is to maintain integrity under fire which is advice to all Christians. The truth of Christianity is not relative. Clearly Timothy was feeling pressure to compromise.  Paul urges him to guard what he has inherited and to always be a faithful witness of Christ Jesus. There are times when we ARE to flee worldliness to take hold of eternal life – to flee immorality, idolatry, lusts, avarice and false doctrine. Paul advises us not to just flee this world but to run toward godliness .

Through original sin we have a depraved nature – we were dead in sin and hostile to God-but we have been called by God, justified in Christ.  God reached out to man, not the  other way around.  We respond by faith and public confession of our faith to take hold of God’s blessings.  God is the only source of true joy.  God is invisible – meaning God cannot he apprehended by our senses; cannot be known by our reason, will power or human ability.  God has been revealed to us by the Bible and by and in Jesus Christ.