THE PURSUIT OF GRACE
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” — Tim. 6:11, 12
“There is nothing new under the sun.” A few days ago I happened across a program on “christian” television wherein the speaker promised a series of messages on how to become prosperous, offering the premise that God intends for His people to become materially well to do. The context of our “nugget” for today teaches the exact opposite, agreeing with the doctrine of Christ that riches are deceitful, and tend to undermine or at least hinder spiritual progress (see v.5-10, 17-19 and, e.g., Lk. 18:24).
When writing to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul counseled, “Put off…the old man” and “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (See Eph. 4:21-24) It is that same emphasis which is given here. The “man of God” is a sinner saved by grace. When that transformation takes place, the believer is to “flee” some things (in this case the pursuit of “gain”) and to “follow after” that which makes for true spiritual riches. The grace of God, then, is not grounds for the pursuit of material health and wealth, but for that which facilitates spiritual growth.
The Christian who would be a man (or woman) of God is to follow after righteousness. Righteousness is simply the manner of life which makes for “good works” from God’s perspective. As we have noted often before, we are not saved by good works, but “unto good works [Eph. 2:10].” We do not work for salvation, but from salvation; not in order to become righteous, but because in Christ we are righteous. And that righteousness will be made evident in our obedience to His commandments.
He is to pursue godliness. We have before defined this a Christlikeness. He could say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” We should aspire to be able to say, as it were, ‘If you want to know what God is like, watch me.’ As presumptuous as that may seem at first, it is exactly how the apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthians when he said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ [I Cor. 11:1].”
Then, “faith.” That is, perseverance of trust in God. And “love”; of God, family, friends, fellow believers—and even one’s enemies.
“Patience.” That is, stedfast endurance. The “man of God” should maintain his walk with God whether his outward circumstances are prosperous or strenuous.
“Meekness.” That is a quiet disposition characterized by genuine humility. It is implied in the apostle’s instruction earlier in the chapter regarding how those Christians who were slaves should relate to their masters. For us it applies to how we react to our lot in life and those who are our superiors in human affairs.
These are qualities that mark those who understand the significance of God’s grace. They will come as no surprise to anyone who has a working acquaintance with New Testament teaching. Let not familiarity breed contempt; too much of present day Christianity reveals us as having reversed the order. We are committed more to “feathering our nest” and “making it” in this present world than to furthering our faith, and the testimony of Christ suffers for it before the ‘watching world.’
The solemnity of the issue is evident in Paul’s added exhortation to Timothy, “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ [v. 13,14].” Though “this commandment” is urged upon a young preacher, it is applicable to all who have been called by God’s grace into a living relationship with “the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.”
We have seen a fresh illustration only this week (as this is being written), in the devastation resulting from the earthquake in Japan, how quickly everything in this life, including life itself, can be swept away without warning in a moment of time. Let us not devote ourselves to living for the present, but for those things which will endure for eternity.
For values that will last,
"Pastor" Frasier
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