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May* 1945
Points and Problems 1. "Flee . . . Follow" (1 Tim. 6:11). These two words suggest the twofold aspect of the Christian life—the nega tive and the positive. There are some things the Christian must not do, if he is to maintain a worthy testi mony. For o n e t h i n g , Paul says, he must not .let .the love of money rule his life. It will result in sorrow, espe cially in the life of a minister as Timothy was. On the other hand, the Christian life is not n e g a t i v e in character. It is not simply a series of “ don’ts.” It is positive. It presents some things that the believer must do if he is to maintain a faithful witness. He must follow after the things of the Spirit and fight the good fight of faith (v. 12). In short, the earnest Christian ought to run in two directions: away from the things of the world, the flesh and the devil, and toward the things of God. 2. "Lay hold on eternal life" (v. 12). Exhortation does not mean to suggest that salvation comes as a result of a life of effort or good works. Timothy, to whom these words were addressed, was already a believer. He already possesses eternal life which comes only and always as a free gift of God’s grace through faith (John 1:12; Eph. 2:8, 9). Paul called Timothy his son in the faith (1 Tim. 1:2). The thought of the exhortation is that Timothy had need to enter into the full enjoyment of the salvation he already possessed. God had already given Israel the Promised Land, but they had to enter into it and claim it before they could appreciate it and enjoy its blessings. Thus it is with the matter of salvation. Many do not lay hold of its enjoy ments and privileges. 3. "Who only hath immortality" (v. 16). Those who deny the immortality of the human soul point to this pas sage with great confidence. This statement, however, does not teach that the human soul is not immortal. It only teaches that God is the only one who has immortality as His own essential property. It is His possession underived from ; ny outside source. Man’s immortality is derived from God (2 Tim. 1:10; John 3:36; 11:26; Gen. 1:27). Golden Text Illustration M a t t h e w 6:33 When a young man made a public profession of the gospel, his father was greatly agitated, and said to him, “James, first you should have estab lished yourself in a good trade, and had a little money saved up, and then it would have been time to determine about religion.” “Father,” said the boy, “the Bible advises very differently. It says, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God’ ” (Matt. 6:33).— 1000 Tales Worth Tell ing.
LESSON FOR JUNE 24 Trustees of the Promises
ing truth, the witness of His follow ers would be needed no longer. There is a reminder here that we can never disassociate the essential deity of our Lord from His person, as witness is borne to the Ltruth. He Himself is the truth, eternally equal with God. He is essentially God, and ever will be God. He is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of those who reign as kings, and the Lord of those who rule as lords (v. 15, R.V. marg.). He dwells in light unap proachable, the only One having im mortality. None has ever, or can ever, see Him. To Him all honour1and power belong eternally. The only revelation we have of this One is in the person of Jesus of Nazareth: to be hold Jesus is to behold the eternal God and the perfect man. Thus, in pursuing the things that bring eternal life into every day liv ing, Timothy was to be controlled by the constant remembrance of this ex alted One before whom he stood, whom he served and to whom he would render an account. Timothy, like all Christians, was merely a trus tee of conditional promises which were realized to the extent that he complied with the conditions. III. T he P rospects of the T rustees (1 P et . 4:12-16) The trustees will meet what their Master met: suffering from both the world and from Satan. They must not consider such suffering a strange thing, but rather to be expected by those who are partakers of the sufferings of Christ. In seeking relief from the fiery trials belonging to the trustees, the church has largely compromised with the world. £In her efforts to pro tect herself from persecution she has given up a great deal of her right to proclaim the whole truth. Religious tolerance accounts in large measure for the freedom from persecution en joyed by the present-day church. But the blessedness of being re proached for the name of Christ will also cause the spirit of glory and of God to rest upon the witnesses. Care must be taken that the suffering is truly for the name of Christ, rather than for some particular teaching evolved from man’s mind. One can more easily suffer for a supposed prin ciple than for the actual name of Christ. Care also must be taken that be lievers do not suffer as wicked per sons. When suffering does come be cause of Christian profession, one can glorify God on that very account (Num. 12:10, for the former, and Gen. 45:5 for the latter):
LESSON MATERIAL: 1 Timothy 6:11; 1 Peter 4:12-16. GOLDEN TEXT: “ Seek ye first the king- dom of God, and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). Outline and Exposition I. T he O bjectives of the T rustees .. (1 Tim. 6:11, 12) The Apostle had been writing of the things that form the objectives of the world and warned Timothy to “flee these things” ; he was told to “follow" after other things. The word “follow” is taken from the hunt and means “to pursue as prey,” with all the facul ties alert, with a readiness to seize the catch as it comes within reach. Timothy, as a “man of God,” and therefore a trustee of the promises, was commanded by Paul to pursue righteousness, or acts of righteous ness induced by the principle of right eousness within him. He was exhorted to godliness; daily becoming godly in his living and growing more and more after the image of the heavenly Father; to faith: laying hold of the unseen and bringing it into practical daily living, making real to the Chris tian heart what to the world is com pletely unreal; to patience; in the midst of all unexplained providences, resting in the assurance that all things were working together for good, and being satisfied that God is over all experiences; to meekness: God’s answer to the world’s pride. Timothy was encouraged to the good fight of faith—f a i t h here meaning that body of truth upon which the be liever rests. In such manner of life Timothy would be laying hold on eternal life, that is, he would possess eternal life in practical experience. Timothy had been called to such living, and had already professed a good profession before many wit nesses. The Apostle Paul urged that he continue as he had begun. II. T he C ontrol of the T rustees (Vs. 3-16) Several times Paul solemnly charged Timothy concerning his personal liv ing, and also concerning his public service. In this instance he empha sizes these charges by reference to the confession of Christ before Pilate (John 18:33-38). That c o n f e s s i o n was that Christ had come into the world to bear witness to the truth, and that is the commandment passed along to all followers of the Lord Je sus Christ. The truth was to be main tained in the face of all opposition, as long as the Lord Jesus Christ was ab sent. The time would come when Christ would appear and, Himself be
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