“But you, Timothy, are a man of God… Pursue righteousness
and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” – 1
Timothy 6:11 NLT
1 Timothy 6:11 is written out from Apostle
Paul to Timothy but this verse applies to all of us, especially who are
following Jesus Christ or want to follow Him until of the age.
Therefore, we need to pursue the righteousness
of God. Most of us may think this as unnecessary thing because of the love of
God. We believe that He understands everything, due to the fact that He knows
everything (Romans 11:33-36), so there would be no need
to pursue the righteousness of God. It is true that God understands everything
(Isaiah 40:28) and God loves us so much (1 John 4:9-10). Nevertheless, Jesus Christ
was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21) and resurrected to make
us the righteousness of God (1 Peter 2:24-25). This is because all of us
have fallen into short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Many of us tend to have a
desire to be at top of everything, so we study really hard and work for best
achievements as possible. However, the truth is that Jesus Christ needs to be
at the top of everything since everything have been created through Him and for
Him (Colossians 1:16-17).
But whatever were
gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I
consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my
own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the
righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know
Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the
resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)
This is why we need to pursue godly lives. “For physical training is of some value, but
godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life
and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8) This is the reason why God
has poured His Spirit into us (2 Peter 1:3-11) Hence, we need to repent before Him (Matthew 3:2) and overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5). The main reason for this is
that the desires of the Spirit are contrary to the desires of the worldly nature
(Galatians 5:17). For example, money is the
center of the worldly nature because we are able to buy everything with it and
the desires of this are going to never stop, unless we set our minds to the
Spirit or the Kingdom values (Matthew 6:19-24).
Those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since
we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25)
Faith in Christ Jesus is what we truly need
to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age, even though we get justified by
our deeds to enter the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age (Matthew 16:27). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) In addition, John 3:16-18 states that whoever believes
in Jesus Christ is going to have eternal life now (Romans 6:23) and is qualified to enter the
kingdom of heaven at the end of the age (John 11:25-26). This is because if we
believe in Jesus Christ, then we are believing in God as well since Jesus is
the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15). This means we approve
that God has created us (Genesis 1:27) and He is now working
powerfully within us as the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21).
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe
also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have
told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that
you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so
how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me,
you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have
seen him.” (John 14:1-7)
Love is the best godly attributes that we need
to have, in order to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age, as 1 John 4:7-18 further explains what love
really is. God has loved us first (1 John 4:19) so that we are able to love
Him back with all of our souls, hearts, and minds (Matthew 22:37-38). If we love God in this
attitude, then all of the other attributes of the fruit of the Spirit
automatically comes along (Galatians 5:22-23) and we are willing to do
everything for Him in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, God has also loved us so that
we can love others, as love brings unity in Him (Colossians 3:12-14). These are probably the
reasons that love is the two greatest commandments of God (Mark 12:30-31) and the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10).
If I could speak
all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only
be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I
understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had
such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be
nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I
could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient
and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand
its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It
does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love
never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every
circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)
Perseverance is the most hardest part of
godly attributes that we also need to have, to follow Jesus Christ until the
end of the age. Many of us think that persevering in Jesus Christ is
unnecessary because we do not want to suffer for Him. We may even think resting
in Him is all that we need to follow Him until the age. It is true that all of
us need to have rest because humans cannot function properly and Jesus Christ
have said resting in Him is required in Matthew 11:28-30. Resting is required but
persevering in Him is required as well, especially for those of us who consider
as the children of God (Romans 8:14-17) This is because if we only
rest throughout all of our days, then we do not have time to serve God as the
flesh is contrary to the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). This is probably the
reason why we need to sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) and deny ourselves in Jesus
Christ (Matthew 16:24-27).
Therefore, since
we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in
which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so,
but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not
put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)
Gentleness is what we also need to have
within us every single moment of our lives to be follower of Jesus Christ until
the end of the age. Most of us are gentle to only those whom we love and
treasure because our lives are devoted to them. It is good to be gentle to them
but we actually need to produce our gentleness to everybody, including our enemies
(Luke 6:27-36). This is because God wants us
to be peacemakers with everyone (Matthew 5:9), for we are members of Jesus
Christ (Colossians 3:15).
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted
to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be
lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with
the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with
those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one
another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low
position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right
in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live
at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave
room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says
the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something
to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21)
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