Flee from all this
1 Timothy 6:11 - Remember to “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.” Seek God, not the world.
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“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”
1 Timothy 6:11 NIV
This verse from Paul’s first letter to his young colleague Timothy struck me today as being timeless. These are words that need to be drummed into all men and women of God today, to flee sin and temptation and pursue the Fruit of the Spirit.
What’s the “all this” that Paul is exhorting Timothy to “flee from”? We can get an idea from looking at the structure of this chapter of the epistle. Paul begins with instruction on how servants — both of man and God — need to act to their masters, to “consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.” (1 Timothy 6:1 NIV) Paul then moves on to the special case of those slaves or servants who have Christians as masters, saying “they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves.” (1 Timothy 6:2 NIV)
So far, that’s just sound advice, not something to run away from. But Paul then devotes several verses to admonishing Timothy to watch out for both false teachers and the love of money. For the former, Paul says (1 Timothy 6:3-5 NIV):
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”
and of the latter, he notes that (1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV)
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
As an aside, isn’t it fascinating that these still have relevance today? Some of the more notorious (and unfortunately, successful) Christian preachers of today still think that “godliness is a means to financial gain” and teach false “prosperity gospel” rather than the true Gospel.
Paul now writes the words of today’s verse, telling his young friend to flee from false teachings and the love of money. Actually, in the original ancient Greek, the word φεύγω (pheugō) is a bit more emphatic, meaning “run away from” or “escape”.
What should Timothy pursue instead of those false teachers and money lovers? All that is good - “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” David Guzik on Enduring Word observes that “These are things which are often not valued in our present age but are very valuable to God”.
Let’s take a quick look at each of these noble and valuable attributes in the original Greek:
Righteousness - δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē), used in the Bible to mean:
in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God
the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God
integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting
Godliness - εὐσέβεια (eusebeia), meaning reverence, respect, piety towards God
Faith - πίστις (pistis), with a very complete explanation:
conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
relating to God
the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
relating to Christ
a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
the religious beliefs of Christians
belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
Love - ἀγάπη (agapē), a common word in the New Testament meaning affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love.
Endurance - ὑπομονή (hypomonē), with the definition:
steadfastness, constancy, endurance
in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings
patiently, and steadfastly
Gentleness - πραότης (praotēs), defined as gentleness, mildness, meekness, in other words, humility.
Some of these traits are repeated in the list of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 NIV, which is not surprising considering that both epistles have Paul as the common author.
Chapter 6 is the end of the epistle, and Paul closes out his instructions to Timothy with additional advice before ending with a blessing:
“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. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 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. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.”
Today, as you finish reading this devotional and probably prepare to turn back to your favorite social media outlet or TV channel, take care to remember to “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.”
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, when I am confronted by all that is unpleasant to You, allow me to escape those temptations and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Strengthen my conviction to walk in Your ways, and to be a living example of Your love and grace. I pray this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.