Today In The Word - Moody Bible Institute Sound Doctrine and the Pursuit of Righteousness Read 1 Timothy 6:11–16 Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 “Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious—Thy great name we praise.” So begins a classic hymn based on 1 Timothy 1:17, adding: “To all life Thou givest—to both great and small; in all life Thou livest—the true life of all. Thy wisdom so boundless, Thy mercy so free, eternal Thy goodness, for naught changeth thee.” This hymn, like the burst of praise at the close of today’s passage, powerfully reminds us of our extraordinary God (vv. 15–16). In the end, Paul reminded Timothy, this is the One whom ministry and sound doctrine are all about. Paul’s charge is for Timothy to “flee from all this,” meaning the greed, contentiousness, and other characteristics of false teachers he had described (v. 11). Running away isn’t enough, though: he must run to something as well—namely, the six virtues listed. Not coincidentally, each of these qualities plays a role in standing against false doctrine. Righteousness and godliness oppose the sin following from false teaching; faith and love contradict the self-centeredness motivating false teachers. Endurance is what it takes to stand for truth, and gentleness is the virtue that wins the day. Changing the metaphor from athletics to war, Paul lastly charged Timothy to “Fight the good fight” and again reminded him of his original calling and commissioning (v. 12). This charge is formalized or solemnized “in the sight of God . . . and of Christ Jesus,” to whom they will both ultimately be accountable (v. 13). Finally, their ministry is fully contextualized within a doxology that anticipates Christ’s Second Coming as the climax of God’s redemptive plan (v. 14; Rev. 17:14). In light of this, false teachers are impotent gnats, about whom there’s no need to be anxious. Timothy wasn’t fighting this battle alone! In order to pursue godliness and fight for sound doctrine, what Timothy needed was a vision of God. That’s what we need too! Read and meditate on Ezekiel 1 and 2. In these chapters, God revealed Himself to an exiled priest and called him to a breathtaking prophetic ministry. Let this vision described in Scripture permeate your day.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 12:17:22 +0000
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