Would you turn to 1 Timothy? We're nearing the conclusion of 1 Timothy. We're going to look at chapter 6, verses 11 to 16 this morning. If you will follow along in your Bible, if you have one, that you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, Gentleness, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things and before Jesus Christ who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable life, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. You know, when people think of you, how would they describe you? What would they call you? Perhaps some would call you a ladies' man. Or someone may call you, oh, he's a man of the world. Or some would like to be known as a Washington Commanders fan. I've even become one the last two weeks. I've seen people have something like that in their obituary, that they're a fan of a certain sports team. Is that how you want to be known? or would people call you a good Christian? Well, in this text of Scripture, notice what the apostle Paul calls Timothy. He calls him a man of God. And you know, that little phrase is found in the Old Testament about 74 times, and it's men like Moses, Eli, Elijah, Elisha, and other of the great prophets of the Old Testament, but now ascribed to Timothy. And you know, in verse 11, there's an emphatic you. But you, O men of God, in contrast with the false teachers that he's just talked about, who are enslaved to the love of money, and are teaching false doctrine, but you, oh man of God, listen to what I have to say to you, Paul indicates here in this text of scripture. And my question for you is this, would someone describe you as a man of God? The word man there is actually anthropos, which is generic, it's male or female. Would they describe you as a woman of God? Well, this morning I want to tell you what's involved in becoming a man of God, in being a woman of God. I hope you want to be a man of God. I hope you want to be a woman of God, that people see you and they say, you know, there's a godly man, there's a godly Christian right there. And three things are involved based on this text of Scripture. First of all, we must pursue the morality of a man of God. In verse 11, Paul talks about certain things that Timothy was to flee from and other things that he was to pursue. Clear contrast. And so notice that we must flee from temptation. If you're going to be a man of God, a woman of God, you must know how to flee from temptation. As Paul says in the middle of verse 11, flee these things. What things? Well, in the immediate context, the false teachers were in the pursuit of the ambition to become rich, to be enslaved by the love of money, You are to flee such covetousness and greediness in your life and ministry, Paul is saying. And then in 2 Timothy 2, verse 19, Paul says to Timothy, Depart from iniquity. Get away from it. And in verse 22, he says, Flee youthful lust. In 1 Corinthians 6, verse 18, Paul says, flee sexual immorality. In 10, verse 14, he says, beloved, flee from idolatry. We must not rely upon our own strength to resist temptation. Instead, we are to flee from temptation. That is how a man of God or a woman of God deals with temptation. Now think of Joseph. Classic illustration of what we're talking about. He was a servant, a slave in Potiphar's household. And Potiphar's wife started eyeing him and was interested in him. And he realized, you know, I need to stay away from this man's wife. And he did. He tried to avoid her. And then she just came out and basically propositioned him. And the Bible indicates that he fled from the house. He was not going to count on his ability to resist temptation. Instead, he fled from temptation. And so a man of God, a woman of God, will not flirt with temptation, but flee from temptation. But we must also instead pursue Christian character. In contrast with the vices described in verses 4 to 10, calls upon Timothy to pursue the virtues that he names in verse 11. Pursue it. Like a dog chasing a rabbit, we are to pursue the virtues that are named in verse 11. And what are they? Righteousness. Now, Timothy was already righteous in the judicial sense. By the blood of Jesus Christ, he was right with God, but righteousness must be lived out in our lives. And this especially has to do with our dealings with our fellow man. We always do what's right, regardless of what others do, regardless of what others think. We do what is right. The man of God lives right, does right. We are righteous and we are to pursue righteousness in our lives according to the standard of the Word of God. But we must also pursue godliness. This means being devout in one's duty to God. It means having a reverent attitude toward God, mindful that God always knows what you're doing, and you want to always please God. You are to live a godly life. You are to pursue faith in your life. He's not talking about saving faith. Timothy already had that, but living by faith, cultivating a greater faith in God. where your prayers are prayers of faith. And how do we build faith in our lives? How do we pursue it? Well, one way we pursue faith is to get to know God better. Because the more you know God, the more you know you can trust Him. You can put your faith in Him. And so, cultivate faith in your life. Furthermore, we are to pursue love. Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 14, 1, where he said, pursue love in your life. This should be a priority for the Christian because he said in Colossians 3, 14, above all these things, put on love. Christian love is not an emotion. Christian love is something you do. It's when you serve. It's when you meet need. It's when you give to help someone. And so we need to develop the virtue of love in our lives to be a man of God, a woman of God, and to have greater love for God Himself. We also must pursue the character quality of perseverance. My translation says patience, but actually it means steadfastness, perseverance. Patient endurance. It literally means to remain under, to abide under. As you face difficulties in life, as you face trials in life, you don't quit. You keep serving the Lord. You keep being faithful to the Lord. As you face opposition to your Christian faith, you don't throw in the towel. You keep on living for Jesus. Perseverance. Have you acquired perseverance in your life? Oh, in my life in ministry, I have faced many trials and many difficulties. And yet God has enabled me to persevere through it all. Persevere. That is what we need to have in order to be a man or woman of God. And then he says, we are to pursue gentleness. That word is also translated meekness, sometimes translated humility. But as Timothy faces opposition, he is to deal with them with meekness. When they attack him, he is to respond with meekness. He is not to abuse his authority as a pastor, but always maintain meekness and gentleness in dealing with people, seeking to be conciliatory as much as possible. You know, the Bible says that Moses was meek. The Bible says that Jesus was meek. Meekness is not someone who doesn't have strength, but has strength under control. Jesus was a king and yet he dealt with people in kindness and meekness and gentleness. That is how we must be in our lives as well. And so think about all of these qualities. that he names here in verse 11. Are you righteous? Are you godly? Are you growing in your faith and love? Are you one who perseveres? Are you one who is gentle? A Christian man is a gentle man. That is how we are to be, and these are the qualities we are to pursue in our lives. And so can you be described as a man of God? Can you be described today as a woman of God? Listen, it's not just going to happen. You've got to actively pursue this in your life. You've got to pray, God, help me to be this kind of man, this kind of woman. But secondly, you must fulfill the mandates of the man of God. And three are given here. in this text of Scripture. What are they? First of all, to fight the good fight of faith. Now, it may seem strange that Paul talks about being gentle and then turns around and talks about fighting the good fight of faith. But you need to understand the analogy he's using here. When he says fight here, he's not talking about a fistfight. He's not using the analogy of a military fight. Rather, the Greek word describes the athletic struggle of a wrestler, a boxer, a runner who is seeking to gain the victory and win the prize. That is the mental picture that we have here. And so we will struggle against those who are opposed to the Christian faith. And as we struggle and try to stand for God and stand for righteousness and stand for Christ, we need to understand that we fight for the Christian faith. The word faith here, it has a definite article. So he's talking about the faith, the Christian faith. those doctrines that were handed down to us, those moral teachings that were given to us, we struggle and fight to encourage Christians to live this kind of life and believe these doctrines that have been given unto us. Furthermore, we will face opposition from the world, The flesh, our own flesh, and the devil. And the Bible says resist the devil. We must fight for what is right. We must fight for our Christian values. And notice this is also called a good fight, a noble fight, a beautiful fight. This is not a fight that has a bad purpose, but a fight and a struggle that has a good and noble purpose. And so the man of God will fight the good fight of faith. And folks, we're in a struggle, aren't we? Our country has been in a moral and spiritual decline, especially the last 50, 60 years. And if we don't fight the good fight of faith, it's only going to get worse, folks. Let's stand up for God. Let's fight the good fight of faith. And then Paul says, take hold of eternal life. Now that may sound strange also because Timothy was a Christian, a minister of the gospel. He already possessed eternal life. And yet the language talks about taking hold of eternal life. And you need to understand the word eternal there refers to the life of the ages to come, the life of heaven, the life of God. Take hold of it. Let it become truly yours. Let me ask you a question. Is your life more characterized by the life of this world or the life of God? See, he's talking about laying hold of the kind of life that we will enjoy in heaven. We can begin to enjoy and experience that life now. To illustrate, Plato uses the illustration of a man who has a birdhouse. I'm not talking about a little birdhouse, a big birdhouse that you can walk into. So he's got these birds, and it can be said that he possesses those birds. He's the owner of those birds. But if he were to go into that birdhouse and actually grab hold of one of those birds, then he more truly possesses that bird. And even so, we need to not just have eternal life, but truly possess it and live it. the kind of life that God has, that eternal life should be ours. We take hold of it. And then the third mandate is to keep the commandment without stain or reproach. Now, he doesn't specify what commandment he's talking about, but he is concluding his letter, so it could well be he's basically summarizing all the commandments he's given in 1 Timothy. Commandments about dealing with false teachers, commandments about church governments, commandments about the ministry of the gospel. And he's saying that you need to fulfill and obey all of these commandments without stain and without reproach. You need to practice what you preach, Timothy. You need to not bring reproach upon the name of Christ and upon the doctrines of the Christian faith by failing to keep these commandments. And so we see the mandates of the man of God. We have seen the moral pursuits of the man of God, but finally we see the motives of the man of God. Every great Christian is a motivated Christian. And I believe Paul gives three motivations to help you to be the man of God or the woman of God that God wants you to be. And the first is this, remember, always remember your calling and confession. Paul says in the last of verse 12, "...lay hold on eternal life to which you are also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." Paul was to be inspired and motivated by his memory of the past, in particular, when he heard the gospel from the apostle Paul, when he believed that gospel and before many witnesses confessed that he believed in Jesus as his Lord and Savior and was baptized and became a follower of Jesus Christ. You know, when you confess your faith in Jesus, when you are baptized and say, I will follow Jesus, You better keep your confession. You better live up to the commitment that you have made. And the question is this, have you? You remember when you were saved? You remember when you made that confession of your faith? Man, you were ready to charge hell with a water pistol. You know, whatever it took to live for Jesus. And the question is, are you still that way? Are you even more devoted to Jesus or not? And oh, what a great example we have to stay true to our confession in the person of Jesus himself. Paul says in the last of verse 13 that Jesus witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate. Remember what Pilate said to Jesus? Now he's on trial. Pilate has the authority to crucify him. And they're accusing him of being a rival king. And so Pilate says, Are you then a king? And Jesus said to him, It is as you say. He affirmed that he is indeed a king, though not of this world, but he is indeed a king. He gave the good confession. When he stood before the Jewish Sanhedrin, when he was on trial before the Jews, he likewise confessed that he is indeed the Son of God. He did not deny it. Revelation 1.5 calls Jesus the faithful witness, and he confessed Though he knew it meant a cross, it would cost him his life. And oh, listen, are you willing to confess Jesus not only before a friendly church audience, but at work, at school? If you were to be Among those that someday is persecuted for your faith in Jesus Christ, will you follow Jesus and give the good confession and not deny Jesus, but affirm that you believe in Jesus? That's what the man of God does. Always remember your calling and your confession, but also be motivated by the promise of the appearing of Jesus. In verse 14, Paul says, Keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing. Someday Jesus is coming again, and He's going to manifest His glory. We've been waiting a long time for Him to return, but He will return. Amen? He will return. Now when he returns, according to verse 14, is not our decision, it's his decision. His sovereign decision. Actually, that of the Father. Now what's going to happen when Jesus returns according to 2 Corinthians 5 and Romans chapter 14? You're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You're going to be judged. Your life, your service will be judged by Christ and you will be rewarded according to your service. And so if you're always mindful of the fact that Jesus could come very soon and that you're going to stand before Him and give an account of your life and be judged and be rewarded, that ought to motivate you, shouldn't it? Indeed so. So always be mindful. that Jesus is coming again and you will stand before Him someday. The man of God is motivated by the appearing of Christ. And finally, the man of God is motivated by the praiseworthiness of our God. The kind of person described in the last part of this text is a person that is to be praised and honored. It's a person that is to be served faithfully. Notice how Paul describes our God in this text of Scripture. Verse 15, that he is the only blessed one. God is supremely blessed. He is rich in all that is life and well-being. God is supremely blessed. You ever see someone in one of those shirts claiming that I'm blessed? In Christ, we are blessed. But we're not nearly as blessed as God is. He is truly blessed in the ultimate sense of the word. But we also see why he's so blessed as we continue. He talks about the fact that he is the only potentate. And that word describes someone who is great in power and authority, like the Roman emperor. For the Roman emperor is nothing compared to God Himself, who is described as the King of kings and Lord of lords, who has all power and all authority. He is the omnipotent God. This is our God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the only potentate, the almighty, omnipotent God. And no matter what you face, nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is beyond His sovereign control. And so remember the kind of God that you serve. And then also He is described as one who is uniquely immortal, verse 16, who alone has immortality. You know, I believe in the immortal soul, that man is created in the image of God and we have an immortal soul. But our immortality is not our own, it's derived from God Himself who is the source of immortality. The word literally means that God cannot die. Have you ever heard them say, God is dead? He's not dead. He can't die. He is the immortal one, as he says there in verse 16. We're the ones that are immortal. Like it or not, if Jesus carries his coming, you and I are going to die. But you know what? If you know Jesus, you don't really die. Just your body dies. You live on. in eternal life because our God is immortal. He's also described as one who dwells in unapproachable light. You see that, verse 16? Psalm 104, 2 says that God covers himself with light as a garment. The light of God's glory is unapproachable metaphysically. What I mean by that is If I had the power to take you and put you in God's presence in your present physical state, you would die just like that. The Bible says flesh and blood cannot inherit eternal life. Exodus 24, verse 27 says, The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire. How can we approach a God like that in our sinful mortal state? We can't. But we also cannot approach God morally. What sinner can stand in the presence of God who is pure and described as light as we see here? Exodus chapter 33 verse 20 indicates that No human being can see Him and live because He is holy and we are sinners. You know, there are those that tend to paint God as a grandfatherly figure who kind of winks at sin, but our God is a holy God. He dwells in unapproachable light. The only way we can someday be in the presence of God is through the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all of our sin. That's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then furthermore, He is the God that cannot be seen. No man has seen or can see, Paul said. In Colossians 1.15, God is described as the invisible God. You know why He's invisible? Because Jesus said God is spirit. Spirit is invisible. Now, God can manifest His presence, but He's essentially spirit. You can't see spirit. It's kind of like radio waves. There are radio waves through the air. You can't see it. It takes a radio device to pick up the radio waves. We can't see God, but the good news is that Jesus Christ made the invisible God visible in his person. Jesus said, He who has seen me has seen the Father. You want to know what God is like? Look at me, Jesus says. He manifested. God, so we can know what God is like. And so after describing God in such exalted terms, he says in the last of verse 16, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. Yes. Our God is worthy of praise and honor. and faithful service and love. This is our God. Knowing that we serve such a God ought to motivate us. And so, this morning, I ask you, have you become a man of God? have you become a woman of God. I've shared with you a whole lot of what's involved in that. And I want to challenge you to say this day, regardless of my past, this day I will be, I will strive to be a man of God, a woman of God. And for some, it's taking that first step of publicly confessing your faith in Jesus. and following him in baptism. And when we sing a song of invitation in just a moment, if you're ready to be saved or to make that public, to follow the Lord in baptism, or to commit your life to the Lord or join this church, this is your opportunity. We're going to sing hymn number 400 instead of what's in your bulletin. Rise up, O men of God. And so we're going to sing it Tune 401, but we're singing hymn 400, okay? So let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have called us to be men and women of God, and you have shown us the way, and I pray that we will resolve in this old dark and evil world to be men and women of God, to stand up for you, to speak for you, Fight the good fight of faith. Help us, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.