AN EXAMPLE WORTH FOLLOWING

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 8, 2025 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Sermon Message
June 8, 2025

1 Timothy 6:11-12

Theme: The pastor must set an example of devoted Christian living that’s worthy of being followed by God’s people.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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As we’ve been studying together from 1 Timothy over the past several months, we’ve learned a great deal about what God expects of the life of the church family. That, in fact, has been the main theme of this letter. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:15, “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Although it was a letter written primarily to Timothy—the pastor of the church in Ephesus—it’s truly a letter for all of Jesus’ followers. It’s filled with instructions that teach us how we all are to worship and serve together in ‘the church of the living God’.

But we should never forget that it was, nevertheless, written specifically to a pastor. It was written to give Pastor Timothy necessary instruction on how he was to teach God’s people what was expected of them, and to protect the gospel of Jesus Christ that the church was to proclaim to the world. He was to warn the people of God to stay away from the sins of this world and to beware of those who would turn them away from the purity of the gospel message. He was to lead them instead toward lives that conform to the message that they were to proclaim to the world.

And at the end of it all, the apostle Paul wanted to make sure that Timothy—as the pastor of the church—was doing the things that he should do to faithfully protect his own integrity in that vital work of ministry. He wanted to make sure that Timothy was living the kind of personal life that matched up with the seriousness of his calling. And that’s what we’ve been studying together in the later portion of the last chapter of this letter.

So; in this closing chapter, Paul began by giving Timothy some instructions about what to avoid. For example, he urged Timothy to keep himself away from pointless arguments and from those who seek to divide the church over controversial issues. In verses 3-5, he told him,

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself (1 Timothy 6:3-5).

Many pastors have spoiled their ministries by becoming so wrapped up in fights over the non-essential issues of this world that they wandered away from the plain, soul-transforming message of the gospel of Jesus. Timothy was to be careful to stay away from such things and to keep himself devoted to the essentials of the faith. But Paul also warned Timothy to stay away from the dangers of greed in ministry. Many pastors have also fallen from their usefulness to the Lord because of that temptation. He went on to tell him,

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (vv. 6-10).

These are important warnings for all of God’s people. But they’re especially important to the pastor—who is called by God to serve as the example to God’s people. It’s not just about the ‘negatives’, though. It’s not just about the things to avoid in life. It’s also about the ‘positives’ of the kind of life God’s people are to live instead. And in pursuing these things, the pastor was to be the prime example. He is to serve as the model of what it looks like to live a life that’s truly devoted to the cause of the Lord Jesus.

Now; I say all of that to introduce you to this morning’s passage. In it, the apostle Paul urged Timothy to personally, diligently live the kind of life—right in front of everyone—that should characterize a man or woman or young person who is truly devoted to Jesus. In verses 11-12, he told Timothy,

But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (vv. 11-12).

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I once heard about a conversation that one Christian had with another. They were talking about their different church families and their pastors. One of them asked the other, “So, tell me about your pastor. What kind of a preacher is he?” “Oh,” said the other, “he’s very good in the pulpit. The only thing is, everyone in our church wishes he’d never step out of it.”

I’ve always taken that to mean that the pastor preached very good sermons about living the Christian life, but that he didn’t practice what he preached. He wasn’t serving as an ‘example’. That’s always a great disappointment to the church family. The pastor is to set the pattern for God’s people of the life to be lived. And if he himself isn’t really excited about living that life—if he himself isn’t deeply grateful for the gift of God’s salvation through Jesus—if he himself isn’t living a truly sanctified life unto the Lord—if he himself isn’t completely convinced of the power of the gospel to transform the lives of others—then how will everyone else in the church family be so? It’s true that the people of God may still live a devoted life to the Lord Jesus in spite of the pastor … but they’d be doing so with a great handicap. They’d be deprived of the example that God has intended for His people to look to in living that kind of life.

Does that sound like I’m making the role of the pastor too important? Well; think of what the apostle Peter once wrote. In 1 Peter 5:1-4, he said;

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away (1 Peter 5:1-4).

In light of the coming day when they will give an account to the Chief Shepherd on the day of His return, pastors are to faithfully serve as “examples to the flock”. If they fail to do so, they will give an account to the Chief Shepherd! Or consider what the apostle Paul told Timothy earlier in this letter—in 1 Timothy 4:12-16;

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you (1 Timothy 4:12-16).

To a very great degree, then, the spiritual well-being of the people of God, and even their growth in the eternal benefits of salvation, is dependent upon the faithfulness of the pastor to set a truly worthy example before them. I take this matter personally. The Lord has not set me in this position merely to do a job for you. He has set me here to live a life before you. That’s a sobering responsibility! And it’s also a sobering responsibility for you, dear church family; because the kind of life that the apostle Paul urged Timothy to live isn’t expected just of me. It’s also expected of you! It’s a life that you’re meant to live alongside me.

As this passage shows us then, the pastor must set an example of devoted Christian living that’s worthy of being followed by God’s people.

* * * * * * * * * *

So; let’s look together at the kind of life that a pastor is supposed to live. We can sum it up in the four basic instructions that Paul gave to Timothy in these two verses: (1) what to flee from, (2) what to chase after, (3) what to contend for, and (4) what to lay hold of.

First, consider how the pastor is to set an example of …

1. WHAT TO FLEE FROM.

We see this in the first half of verse 11. Paul told Timothy, “But you, O man of God, flee these things …” The ‘these things’ that Paul was talking about would be the things that he had just mentioned in verses 3-10—such things as false teaching, pointless arguments, pride, and greed. But it would also include all of the things Paul warned about in the context of this letter.

A very important part of understanding the command to “flee these things”—and really, of understanding the whole passage before us—is to consider what Paul just called Timothy. He called him a “man of God”. That would have been a remarkable thing to be called by the apostle Paul. There were certain other people in the Old Testament that were called by that honorable name. In Deuteronomy 33:1, Moses was called “the man of God” just before giving his final blessing to the people of Israel before they went into the promised land. The prophet Samuel was called “a man of God” in 1 Samuel 9:6, when he was sought out to give a word from God to the people of Israel. Elijah, the prophet, was called “O man of God” in 1 Kings 17:18 by the widow of Zarephath. And King David was called “the man of God” in Nehemiah 12:24. That’s quite a company that Paul was placing Timothy in. These were all mighty saints who were set apart by God to stand as God’s faithful spokesmen in very ungodly times. And that’s what Paul was telling Pastor Timothy that he was. He was God’s faithful spokesman–appointed to stand against the tide of ungodliness and speak God’s word to the people of his time—as a true ‘man of God’.

And as God’s set-apart man—called out from the things of this world to be God’s appointed instrument for the times—he was to “flee” certain things. He was to run from them and keep himself separate from them. He was, of course, to flee from the things that Paul had just mentioned in the previous passage. But there were other things that he was to “flee”. Think of 1 Corinthians 6:18, for example, where we’re told, “Flee sexual immorality”. That speaks of any sexual relationship with someone that we’re not married to, or any flirtation toward such improper relationships, or even the stimulation to imagine such relationships through pornography. Immorality is not a sin to trifle with or to ‘linger along the edges of’ in the belief that we’re strong enough to resist. Many professing Christians have been utterly destroyed by it. We must flee from it. Or think of 1 Corinthians 10:14; where we’re told to “flee from idolatry”. That speaks of flirting around with paganistic rituals and occult and practices, or the outright worship of false gods. Many professing Christians became overly confident and thought they could handle it—believing somehow that it’s a culturally sensitive thing to do; and have ended up completely compromised in their faith in Jesus and have fallen into acts of unfaithfulness with those who deny the one true God. It, too, is a sin to flee from. Or think of what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22; where he told him to “flee also youthful lusts”. That’s the whole idea of whatever ‘hip’ and ‘stylish’ and ‘open-minded’ kind of thing in our culture—whatever sinful beliefs are practices they may be that people justify by saying, “Well, times have changed; and this is the twenty-first-century after all.” Such compromises with the world end up leading professing believers into impure conduct before the Lord—turning them into lovers of the things of this world instead of lovers of God. We must negotiate with such things. We must flee from them.

Do you remember the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis? He had been captured and made into the slave of a high official in the government of Egypt named Potiphar. Joseph was a godly man who did his job so well that Potiphar made him the manager of his whole household. But he was also a good-looking man; and Potiphar’s wife looked upon him lustfully. When Potiphar was gone, she grabbed hold of his garment and tried to pull him into having an affair with her. But do you remember what Joseph did? He didn’t stay put and try to negotiate some sort of compromise with her. He fled away—running from the house and leaving his garment behind. And that’s what Timothy was to do with such things as immorality, or idolatry, or the youthful lusts of this world. He wasn’t to try to negotiate with them or strike a compromise with them. He was to ‘flee’ them—even if the flight may ‘cost’ him in some way.

I ask, dear brothers and sisters; do you flee from the things of this world that the Bible tells us to flee from? To try to accommodate them, or flirt near the edges of them—to watch things you know you shouldn’t watch, or to be in relationships you know you shouldn’t be in, or go to places you know you shouldn’t go to—will cause you to fall very easily into the devil’s snare. You must heed the warning from God’s word and make as much distance between you and them as you can. You must flee from them. And the pastor must set the example in this. As a ‘man of God’, he must “flee these things”. In fact, the way that Paul puts this in the original language, he must ‘flee’ them as an ongoing practice of life.

But it’s not only about fleeing from things. Paul also went on to tell Timothy …

2. WHAT TO CHASE AFTER.

He told him, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” The word that Paul used for ‘pursuing’ these things is the same word that—elsewhere in the Bible—is translated as ‘persecute’. To ‘persecute’ someone is to chase after them aggressively in order to capture them, or malign them, or to do them harm. And in the positive sense, to pursue something in this way is to pursue it diligently and with determination of purpose.

So; what kind of things was Timothy—the man of God—to pursue with such diligence? Paul mentions six things. First, he was told to pursue ‘righteousness’. This isn’t speaking of the state or condition of becoming declared righteous before God; that is, ‘righteous’ in the sense that the guilt of our sins is washed away, and we are declared ‘not guilty’ before God. That’s only ours as a gift of God’s grace through faith in the cross of Jesus. We don’t have to pursue that, because we’ve already been given that through faith in Christ. Rather, this is speaking of the kind of practical, day-to-day righteousness of lifestyle that comes in response to having already been declared righteous in God’s sight. It’s a matter of striving in practice to live like what we’ve already been declared to be in position. A pastor is to constantly pursue an increasing lifestyle of righteous behavior before God.

Second, he was told to pursue ‘godliness’. This is something different from righteous living. Righteous living has to do with practical action; but godliness has to do with inward attitude. It’s an attitude of an ever-growing reverence toward God that shows itself in a godly devotion to Him. It’s an attitude that always recognizes that He’s present, and that He’s very holy, and that His will is supreme. It’s an attitude in which we treat the sacred things of God in the manner they should be treated; and that seeks to honor Him in all that is done. It’s an attitude of constant, grateful prayer to God. A pastor is to constantly pursue and chase after an increasing ‘godliness’ in his inward being.

Third, he’s told to pursue ‘faith’. This could be speaking of the idea that the pastor should always pursue ‘faithfulness’ and ‘trustworthiness’ in his life and ministry. That’s certainly true; and the word that Paul used would allow for that. But I tend to think that what Paul was saying is that the pastor ought to pursue an attitude of ever-growing trust in God and in His promises. He’s to grow to be a man characterized by a strong, resilient faith in the God who hears and answers prayer and who keeps every promise He has ever made in the Bible. He’s to keep a joyfully expectant outlook as he waits longingly for the day of Jesus’ return. He should be a man who doesn’t doubt God, but rather trusts God confidently for big things. He is to be a man who pursues an ever-growing life of ‘faith’.

Fourth, he’s told to pursue ‘love’. And do you notice that, while the first three things that Paul mentioned had to do primarily with our relationship with God, he now mentions things that have to do with our relationship with others? A pastor ought to be a man who’s characterized by love; not a mere sentimental emotion of love, but rather—as the word agape suggests—a self-sacrificing kind of love in which he sets his own agenda aside and gives himself for the benefit of another. He’s to have the kind of love that the Lord Jesus displayed toward us when He left the glory of heaven, took human nature to Himself, and gave Himself unto the death of the cross in order to save us. A pastor is to constantly evaluate how to put away selfish concerns, and instead seek how to love others by giving himself for them. He’s to be a man who’s constantly asking himself—in every situation of need or challenge—what the loving and self-sacrificing thing would be … and who then does it.

Fifth, he’s told to pursue ‘patience’. This is one of the most essential qualities of a good pastor. The word itself can also be translated as ‘endurance’. This can refer either to how a pastor needs to be a man who is patient and long-suffering toward other believers as God works in their lives; or it can refer to how a pastor needs to keep at his task and not give up—even when it seems as if he’s not seeing results or as if no one else has the passion for the Lord that he has. He needs to be a man who is as patient with the people of God as God Himself is with them; and who is willing to wait for the heavenly Father to work His will in their lives in His own good time. It seems like a contradictory thing to say; but a pastor needs to aggressively and diligently chase after and pursue ‘patience’.

And finally, he’s told to pursue ‘gentleness’. The word that Paul used is an unusual one—one that, in all of the New Testament, only appears here. It’s a word that combines the ideas of ‘passion’ and ‘meekness’; resulting in a word that speaks of a deep feeling of gentleness and meekness of mind toward others. ‘Meekness’ is never to be thought of as the same thing as ‘weakness’. Rather, it’s the idea of strength brought into control for the service of others. And a pastor truly must be gentle and meek in his dealings with others—never harsh or impatient or insensitive in his manner toward them. He should be as gentle toward others as the Lord Jesus is toward him. A pastor ought to constantly pursue an inward attitude of ‘gentle compassion’ toward others.

Dear brothers and sisters, I look at this list and feel very short-fallen. I miss the mark in many ways. But once again, the word that the apostle Paul used for ‘pursuing’ these things is one that doesn’t speak of a ‘one-time-only’ accomplishment, but rather of a growing, ongoing pattern of life. I, as your pastor, must be continually pursuing these things as an example to you; because, as the people of God, the ongoing pursuit of these qualities— righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness—are to characterize you as well.

Then, notice that the apostle Paul told Timothy …

3. WHAT TO CONTEND FOR.

In the first half of verse 12, he told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith …” The English word ‘fight’ almost makes this sound like a call to warfare—to do battle against the forces of evil for the cause of the faith. But actually, the word that Paul used in the original language isn’t about warfare. Instead, it is about sports. The word that Paul used for this ‘fight’ is the Greek word agōn (you might recognize the English word “agony” in that); and it refers to the ‘agony’ or ‘struggle’ of an athletic competition or a boxing match or a race in the Greek games.

In an athletic competition—such as was common in Paul’s day—an athlete would have stripped himself or herself completely of everything that would have gotten in the way of winning the prize, and would have devoted every effort and strained every limb with the singular focus of winning the prize. That was the apostle Paul’s attitude toward his own diligence in the Christian life. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he wrote;

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

And that’s what he was telling Timothy to do. That’s how seriously he was to live his Christian life as a pastor. He was to “fight the good fight”—that is to say, ‘contend in the good competition’—with the same kind of commitment, self-discipline, and all-out devotion that a world-class athlete would have in winning the game. He should be all-in and give all to the Christian life. To those who watch, it might seem like a kind of religious fanaticism; but to those who have been truly transformed by the grace of God, it’s a matter of giving their life for Christ—and the glorious prize at the end—the kind of devotion that it truly deserves.

And do you notice what this is for? It’s for ‘the faith’. In the original language, it’s not simply ‘the good fight of faith’; but rather ‘the good fight of the faith’. It’s the fight for the cause of the greatest and most life-transforming message the world has ever heard—the good news of God’s gift of salvation through faith in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross. There are times when it does indeed involve a ‘fight’. As it says in Jude 3, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” That, after all, was Paul’s instruction to Timothy at the beginning of this letter—to stay in Ephesus and charge others that they teach no other doctrine than that precious gospel. But in all of it, Timothy was to give himself over to the effort with the kind of devotion that an athlete would give to a competition in the Olympics. It’s a call to have an all-consuming whole-life devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This, too, is put in a form that suggests an ongoing, continual effort to ‘fight the good fight of the faith’. And here’s the wonderful news: it’s called ‘the good fight’ for good reason—’good’ because it’s a call to contend that comes from God Himself, and ‘good’ because its victory is sure and certain. There are other ‘fights’ that are not so ‘good’ to contend for; but this one is truly worthy of our all.

Dear brothers and sisters, I, as your pastor, am to be completely devoted—heart and soul—to fighting the good fight of the faith. And I’m to do this as an example to you because you’re to be devoted—heart and soul—to it also.

So, Paul told Timothy—as an example to God’s people—what he was to flee from, chase after, and contend for. And finally, notice that Paul taught Timothy …

4. WHAT TO LAY HOLD OF.

In the later half of verse 12, he told him to “lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” To ‘lay hold’ of something is to reach out eagerly and grasp it with both hands—as if getting a tight hold of the most precious thing there is, and holding on to it as if you’ll never let it go. And what Paul told Timothy to do was to eagerly grab hold of ‘eternal life’.

But eternal life is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus. What does Paul mean, then, that Timothy was to ‘lay hold’ of it? I believe that the best way to understand what Paul was telling Timothy to do is to look in Philippians 3:12-14 to what Paul said that he himself did. That’s where Paul spoke of how he gave up all of his efforts to earn God’s favor through the good works of the law and completely trusted in the blood of Jesus Christ for his salvation. He was saved by faith alone in God’s grace alone through the work of Jesus Christ alone. But that didn’t mean that he could now kick back, relax, and drift leisurely to heaven. He wrote;

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).

Paul was already a recipient of the gift of eternal life—although, at the time he wrote, he hadn’t yet entered into the actual experience of it in heaven. But what he was compelled to do was to strive diligently to lay hold of and lay claim to every spiritual blessing for which Jesus Christ had laid hold of him. He didn’t look back to the many sins and moral failures that characterized his past. Instead, he left his past to the grace of God, and kept his eyes looking forward to God’s upward call in the future; and stretched and strove with all his might to lay hold of “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” that was now his (Ephesians 1:3).

And that’s what Timothy was to do. Paul said that he had already made a public confession of his faith in Jesus. Paul could be talking about Timothy’s baptism; or he could be talking about his ordination to ministry—when Paul and the elders laid hands on him and commissioned him. Many had already witnessed that good confession in his missionary and ministry work. That confession was ‘good’ because it was the confession of the Lord Himself. Jesus also laid hold of what was before Him, and testified of His confidence in it even as He stood on trial before His crucifixion. As Paul said in verses 13-14;

I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate … (1 Timothy 6:13).

Jesus gave His all for us so He could have us forever. And a good pastor will diligently lay hold of everything for which Jesus laid hold of him and give his all for it. I must do this too, dear brothers and sisters, as an example to you—because you also must diligently lay hold of it yourself.

* * * * * * * * * *

So, dear brothers and sisters. This is most certainly a word intended for me as a pastor. But it’s also for you. I must be a faithful example to you of what to flee from, what to chase after, what to contend for, and what to lay hold of … and all because you must also flee from, chase after, contend for, and lay hold of the same things.

As Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6;

If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed (1 Timothy 4:6).

So; by God’s grace and with His help, dear brothers and sisters, let’s strive faithfully to live this life together.

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