Easter Living I Timothy 6

 Easter Living I Timothy 6

This lesson , and as the Gospel proclaims the risen Christ , truly living now in heaven, seated at the right hand of God, so we look to this Scriptural record and truth for our lives now----Christian living is the issue. We who are in the world and part of the church witness to a living Lord , and we do this by our faith and in its practice in the moments and days of our lives. This is the whole point, is it not? For these are doctrines not just of the head, but they are of the heart as well, and that is that where the rubber meets the road , in our living. I have often hummed this hymn : " Because He Lives"

God sent his son

They called him Jesus

He came to love

Heal and forgive

He lived and died

To buy my pardon

An empty grave

Is there to prove

My Savior lives

(Chorus)

Because he lives

I can face tomorrow

Because he lives

All fear is gone

Because I know

He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because he lives

This hymn written by the Gaithers recounts their Christian response to several situations that were difficult in their lives and in the lives of their family.

If we believe that, how our lives to be different from the rest of the world then? Timothy in light of that in his letter spoke to the Christians and the God we worship, " alone having immortality 6:14-15 about Christ" 6:16 to as people of God to " flee these things." What things are we to flee from?

The Apostle enumerates them -----" the love of money" 6:10; " controversies" " strife , envy , slander, evil....." This seems obvious. If Christian lives are not showing love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion for fellow believers, the root may be a lack of spiritual life in the person. " men corrupted in mind and destitute of the truth" 6:5

Instead the Apostle encourages Timothy to pursue "righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness..." These are to be the hallmarks of our faith and our fellowship, not the other things. Yes , as the hymn, said " life is worth the living, just because He lives"

So does the Resurrection of our Lord from the dead permeate your living or is it just something we recite from the Apostles or the Nicene Creed?

What is the root of strife, envy and slander ? " perverse disputings" comes from one greek word meaning " empty business" or " wrangling" " constant arguing" as Strong's has it . If we are doing this we are not pursuing God's way. Couples get into this in marriage and usually because they fail to communicate. Proper commo is respect first for the other person and giving them the benefit of the doubt. If we are talking and thinking about what we are going to say to the other person instead of listening, we are not listening . " You, man of God, flee these things"

Instead we are to pursue after righteousness. " the condition acceptable to God" as one greek scholar said. We must start with this, not the rituals of the church or the ins/ outs of church politics. We must start with ourselves and our standing before God . In other words, " integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in feeling and acting" This is what we call belief in Christ for salvation , is it not? This is at the heart of our religion , the good news , the gospel, the evangel, that we who deserve eternal death because of our lost condition and sin, receive eternal righteousness and love in Christ Jesus.

The word is meekness but in the orig language literally means gentleness of feeling.

Then if we have received and are rooted in Him Colossians 3 read usually at Easter week, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.....Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." Pursue ,lit. run after love, godliness, kindness,gentleness and endurance.

Yes , life is worth the living just because He lives. And I know He holds the future, just because He lives. Easter is about hope that life can be different. So on this Sunday may we not be low in our faith or our Christian conduct, but always think about who we are in Him before we speak, and utter words of hurt and instead say words of healing and love.

He Lives! Do we? Amen.

Conclusion:  " (Timothy) is exhorted to ' fight the good fight of the faith'.  Here Paul uses words which refer to the ancient Greek games, and he pictures the Christian life as a ' contest', noble, indeed in contrast with the physical struggles of the arena , a contest in which victory can be secured only by faith in Christ, and in which the prize is nothing less than life eternal."  Erdman in The Pastoral Epistles of Paul.