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Lay Hold
On Eternal Life
Introduction:
The apostle
Paul ends his first letter to Timothy, the evangelist,
emphatically by encouraging him to lay hold on eternal life.
Paul describes how all Christians can get a firm grip on
everlasting life. He lists certain principles that one must
pursue if one wants heaven to be his home. This is of
the utmost importance!
Sermon
text:
1
Timothy 6:11-16, “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 Pontius 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 and Lord of lords, 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.”
1
Timothy 6:20-21, “O Timothy!
Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane
and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely
called knowledge — 21 by professing it some have strayed
concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”
Body:
1.
The need for pursuit (verse 11)
Before the man of God can pursue, he must
first flee. He must flee- shun, avoid, escape from
materialism (6: 6- 10) and false teaching ( 6: 3- 5).
He must pursue- eagerly seek- and put his all
into it
·
Righteousness- right
living- being right with God.
·
Godliness- a reverence
for God's way and an awareness of being in his presence.
·
Faith- confidence and
trust in God and his promises- based upon knowledge of God's
word (Romans 10: 17).
·
Love- The willingness to
do good to others, the desire for what's best for them (1
John 4: 9).
·
Patience- perseverance,
endurance (James 1: 3).
·
Gentleness (2
Corinthians 10: 1 )- submission to divine will, well
disciplined. This pursuit touches upon one's attitude,
speech, and actions.
2.
We need to fight (verse 12)
Christians are commanded to be warriors. Note
that maintenance includes being a warrior! We must fight our
way to heaven.
“Of the faith” There is a fight which the
faith (the gospel) requires of disciples. We must fight
against sins, which are a special problem in our lives (1
Corinthians 9: 25-27). Christians must be well disciplined.
Christians must fight against the sins in the world, such as
abortion and homosexuality. Christians must fight against
religious errors taught by men and organizations- everything
opposing the doctrine of Christ. Dale Carnegie's approach to
Christianity is foreign to the bible. While we would rather
get along with everyone without any disagreement, such is
impossible. (Matthew 10: 34- 39). Many in the Church of
Christ no longer stand for anything- they oppose
members willing to fight the good fight. Woe to you when all
men speak well of you.
Timothy made a good confession at his
baptism, as did the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 37). He
confessed,” I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.”
This confession leads to salvation (Romans 10: 9, 10 ). The
fact that he had confessed before many witnesses should spur
him to fight the good fight of faith!
3.
They need to keep the
commandment (verses 13-16)
Paul gives Timothy a solemn charge in the
sight of God the Father, who is the source of all life (acts
17: 25). And Jesus Christ, who before the pilot affirmed his
deity and messiahship. This charge was to keep the
commandment- the teaching of Jesus Christ- the gospel. He
was to do so without spot or impurity and blameless without
reproach. These two qualities would ensure a clear
conscience and a clean public life. He wants to continue to
keep (follow) the gospel until Jesus returns at the proper
or right time. He will be fully revealed at that time to be
“the Christ, the son of the living god” (Philippians 2: 9-
11 ).
4.
The need to guard (verses
20,21)
Timothy had something to guard- to protect-
to keep from being snatched away (Jude 3 ). It was the
faith- the gospel. He had been entrusted with it. He was not
to allow impurities to corrupt it (religious errors of any
and all kinds). Galatians 1: 6-9.
He was also to avoid certain things- worldly
and useless words- of no benefit to anyone. He must avoid
arguments based on what is falsely called knowledge. Highly
intelligent and well-educated men who teach what is contrary
to God's word are denounced in this verse (1 Corinthians 1:
26- 27 ).
(verse 21) when someone bases their religion
on error, he strays from the faith. He is lost (James 5: 19
20).
Paul ends this letter the same way he begins
it. He is encouraging Timmy to beware of false teachers and
hold firmly to the gospel's truth.
Conclusion/ invitation:
Those words
to Timothy are forever relevant. All of us here dearly want
to lay hold on eternal life. God tells us it is his gift to
us, but we have a personal responsibility to grasp it and
hold on to it.
June 14,
2020
Prepared by
Bobby Stafford
The church
of Christ at Granby, MO
Located at
516 East Pine St.
P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109
For more
lessons and Sermons, please visit
granbychurchofchrist.org/
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