1 TIMOTHY 6:11 - FLEE FALSEHOOD: FOLLOW AFTER FAITHFULNESS

1 TIMOTHY 6:11

FLEE FALSEHOOD:

FOLLOW AFTER FAITHFULNESS

But thou, O man of God, flee these things;

and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith,

love, patience, meekness.

The word translated “faith” is the same Greek word throughout the New Testament. It means to trust in Jesus alone for salvation and to stand firm in that belief no matter the circumstances. Timothy was surrounded by many false teachers, and Paul was admonishing him to remain faithful to the truth of the Gospel message taught by Jesus. He was to flee from any teaching not in keeping with the scriptures and the gospel he had learned from Paul.

Fleeing false teachers is not just for those in the pulpit or teaching ministry. All believers are responsible to adhere to this instruction. In order to protect ourselves from being drawn into false teaching and away from the truth, we must diligently examine all teaching that is given in the pulpit, in Bible study class, the television, the radio, the internet, or in books. The plumb line is scripture, the word of God. A person needs to be well-versed with the word in its context in order to determine whether someone is trying to use the word of God as an a la carte menu rather than taking the whole counsel of God into consideration. This cannot be accomplished by only attending church worship services. Our relationship with Jesus is personal and requires personal, individual, specific time between each believer and the Lord. Corporate worship is great and needed, but we each need time alone in the Bible with the Holy Spirit to instruct us.

Sharpen your ability to distinguish truth from falsehood and to remain faithful to the Gospel by doing the following:

• ·    Attend and participate in Bible teaching church regularly
• ·   Set aside time each day to read and study the Bible (start with a few minutes and build up gradually).
• ·  Pray, asking the Holy Spirit to help you understand the word of God
• ·  Commit key verses to memory so the Holy Spirit can bring them to mind
• · Discuss what you have studied with other believers because iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17)