CHARACTERISTICS OF TRUE BELIEVERS….. 1 TIMOTHY 6:11

The man of God is known or  marked by what he flees from, verse 11. “But flee from these things, you man of God.” That is a present imperative, that is it is a continuing action, a continual action being commanded. The Greek verb, feugo from which we get the English fugitive. We are, to begin with, fugitives. We are running relentlessly. We are fleeing all the time. And from what? From these things, you man of God. The question is, what things are we fleeing from? If you go back just a little bit and read verses 9 and 10.  If one is to be a man of God he is a fleeing man. First Corinthians 6:18 warns all of us, “Flee sexual sin, flee fornication.” First Corinthians 10:14 warns all of us, “Flee idolatry.” And here the man of God is warned, “Flee loving money and all the material things that go with it, all the passing fancies of this fading world, all of the evils that are attached to self-indulgence, self-fulfillment, self-aggrandizement. Paul told Timothy in chapter 1 verse 4 to avoid myths, endless genealogies which give rise to speculation. Avoid those things that corrupt your clear mind and assault and attack biblical truth.

Secondly, the man of God is known not only by what he flees from but what he follows after.  In the same verse 11, you see in the word “pursue,” it’s actually the verb to follow after, “Flee from these things, you man of God, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” While we’re fleeing from the world, we’re running after spiritual virtues. We’re fleeing temporal values and pursuing spiritual virtues. And this also is a present imperative indicating continuous action under command. We are commanded to be always fleeing and always following. The negative side always fleeing the corrupting things, and the positive, always following after, pursuing the righteous godly things.  Paul is simply saying, “Get out of the sight of the things that corrupt and never let the things that produce virtue out of your vision.”  Your Christian life is an effort to run from evil and to pursue God. That’s what it is. That’s what it is for us. Proverbs 15:9 says, “The Lord loves him that pursues, that runs after, that follows after righteousness.” The man of God has to ask himself, ”  Am I fleeing man? And am I a following man?”

Thirdly, you fight.  The man of God is known by what he flees from, what he follows after, what he fights for.  Sometimes you have to tell people flee these sins. Sometimes you have to tell them follow these virtues. Sometimes you have to tell them, “Fight this fight.” It says fight the good fight of faith. What it means is the noble fight, kalos, the noble fight for the faith, the content of the Christian faith. Why? Because biblical truth is always under attack. Every faithful believer is a fighter. This is an agonizing battle in which we are engaged and a faithful man of God is a soldier, a warrior, a fighter, a boxer, a battler. Fight the good fight. I don’t know if you know how it was in ancient times. Kenneth Weistro said the gloves of Greek boxers were fur-lined on the inside and on the outside made of ox hide, sewn into the ox hide was lead and iron. That’s how you fought. It’s pretty serious conflict. And so is spiritual warfare. It’s sad to see believers and especially pastors who don’t want to fight, who don’t want to go to battle, who don’t want to guard the truth, who don’t want to protect the truth. Chapter 6 verse 20, “Guard what has been entrusted to you,” that’s just part of your duty, guard it…guard it. Second Timothy chapter 1 verse 13, “Retain or guard the standard of sound words.” Verse 14, “Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure that’s been entrusted to you.”

Fourthly, one more thing that characterizes the man of God is known by what he is faithful to. What he flees from, follows after, fights for and is faithful to… Here’s the main idea, “I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”