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Outline 083 of 100 · 1 Timothy

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

1 Timothy 6:11-16 — Pursuing righteousness while resting in Christ's finished victory

Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.

Synopsis

Paul charges Timothy to flee the love of money and instead follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. This is not a call to earn salvation but to live consistently with a salvation already received — 'lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.' The fight of faith is real and strenuous, yet it is fought from a position of grace, not toward one. Timothy is to keep the commandment without spot, unrebukable, until Christ's appearing, an appearing whose timing rests entirely with 'the blessed and only Potentate.' The doxology at the chapter's end reminds every struggling believer that the One who calls us to fight is Himself immortal, dwelling in unapproachable light, and it is His power, not ours, that secures the victory. Righteousness by faith produces earnest, disciplined living precisely because grace has already laid hold of us first.

  1. I. The flight from false gain

    • Flee the love of money (6:10-11)
    • The root of all kinds of evil
    • Many have erred and pierced themselves through

  2. II. The pursuit of Christlike character

    • Righteousness, godliness, faith, love
    • Patience and meekness
    • A consistent walk, not sporadic effort

  3. III. The fight fought from grace

    • "Lay hold on eternal life" — already called (6:12)
    • Fight as one who has already been apprehended by Christ
    • Keep the commandment until His appearing

  4. IV. The certainty of Christ's power

    • The blessed and only Potentate (6:15)
    • Who only hath immortality
    • Whom no man hath seen, nor can see
The appeal

You have already been laid hold of by Christ; now fight the good fight from that secure foundation, not toward an uncertain one. Will you pursue righteousness today, resting fully in His power to keep you?

Key points

  • The fight of faith is fought from grace already received, not toward merit.
  • Christlike character is pursued as fruit, not as payment for salvation.
  • Christ's sovereign power, not human strength, secures the believer to the end.

Key passages

  • 1 Timothy 6:11-12
  • 1 Timothy 6:14-16
  • Philippians 3:12
  • 2 Timothy 4:7-8