持定那真正的生命 Take Hold of That Which is Truly Life

Title: Take hold of that which is life
Preacher: Rev Enoch Keong
Date: 01 October 2023

The conclusion of 1 Timothy is replete with words of warning and exhortation. This feature leads me to come up with my home spun summary and reflection: Attractions power drives; focus leads to life.

Paul warns against 2 things: the love of money, and false teachings. These two things Paul warned against, I call them attractions.

In church we are used to calling the love of money and false teachings distractions. We say it this way because in church the supposed subjects are God and the life of faith. So, whatever might rob our concentration on worship and spiritual growth, the church labels them as distraction.

Yet money and false teachings really are attractions, and not just distractions. Attractions are objects that captivate peoples’ attention. Attractions power the drives in people to get them. Attractions can even make Christians deprioritize the life of faith and go high gear in obtaining them, especially money.

I believe Paul meant to shout loudly these warnings to the readers. We are reading them in that part of the letter where Paul would typically pen words of greeting and instructions on things to be done soon. In the other 2 pastoral letters the instructions were to ask Timothy and Titus respectively to go to where Paul was at.

But in 1 Timothy, we see him forgoing the greetings and instead rehashing subjects already discussed. His reemphasis on the love of money and false teachings goes to say, that he finds such attractions to be very dangerous and should be avoided as much as possible.

Are these warning applicable to us? Well, yes and no.

In Jubilee, false teachings I believe is not an issue; correct me if I am wrong. But ours is a world where all sorts of teachings on faith get passed around easily through the internet, word of mouth and Christian music. Some of these teachings are a very good mix of sound and false teachings. If we are not careful, we will want to listen more because they are sound yet interesting (interesting slash false). And as we listen on, in time, we buy into a new mix. These new mixes tend to encourage us to love God more, yet at the same time demand and control him more. An example would be the ‘to name it and claim it prayers’. Or to love God more, yet at the same time being more man instead of God centered. So, whether the warning on false teaching is applicable to us today, in our world which is an unchecked melting pot of ideas, Paul’s warning is much needed.

As to warning on the love of money, well, love of money is an all-time favorite, isn’t it? Is it applicable to us? I would say that for my 9 years in Jubilee Church, I have seen many brothers and sisters who are indeed people that are doing good, rich in good works, generous and ready to share. Some of us even walk the extra mile, doing so regularly.

In this case, do we need to spend another minute on this? I would say yes. The love of money remains an all-time favourite for good reasons. As Christian we are not for the love of money. Yet we for fulfilling responsibilities, we are for better and more comfortable lifestyles, we are for future planning, and in all these areas, we can be pressed unwittingly to focus on money more than we hope to be. Perhaps we can this then, Paul warning on the love of money cautions us to be at least a little weary of the preferences of the populace, and to instead channel our focus on things with true value.

This leads me to the second half my home spun summary statement, attractions power drive, focus leads to life.

Paul states twice in these concluding verses what he believes should be our focus. He uses slightly different wordings each time, but they really mean the same: to take hold of the eternal life or to take hold of that which is truly life.

The first thing to take note here is the attitude that Paul is pushing for. He uses the Greek verb translated into “take hold’ in both verses. Take hold generates a picture of someone being proactive, aggressive, fighting, seizing and tenacious.

Have we had meals and snacks with people who normally don’t eat much of what is placed on the table. But when it comes to something they really like, it could be preserved fruits, durian, or something savory, you are still going at your usual pace, enjoying both the food and the fellowship. And in no time, you realized that the plate is empty. The person before us had chomps everything down on the plate without a pause. No courtesy, no mercy, no spirit of sharing, everything seized in lightning speed.

Going all the way, doing it violently is what Paul is suggesting for us as we take hold of that which is truly life. I use the word ‘violently’. Does it sound bad? Remember Jacob’s wrestling with God, he fought really hard, seized God violently till daybreak, and he was blessed. Abraham, in the sacrifice of Issac, sweat it all out. God responded to his tenaciousness by providing a ram in place of Issac for the sacrifice.

So, to take hold, doing it proactively, aggressively, tenaciously, and even violently, is altogether biblical. In day-to-day terms, to take hold of that which is truly life would be to press on and keep doing the good works, etc. that we have been doing, doing so proactively and tenaciously. And that would mean whether we see progress or regress, whether we feel appreciated or disappointed, as Christians, we press on.

Why the need to stress taking hold and being tenacious? Because to keep doing good and showing generosity is a must.

Remember what Jesus said about good works and generosity in the gospels? In Matthew 7.24-25 and Luke 12 he gives encouragements on doing good works and showing generosity, to do these things was compared to building on a solid foundation that is able to withstand destructive forces, and to lay up treasures in the heavens. Yet, in the very same chapter, Matthew 7, we find a stern warning on failing to do God’s good will.

The Lord Jesus is using a dual approach of encouragement and warning to push the message across. Hard and soft approach thrown in at the same time to stress that good works and generosity is a must have for his followers. Because good works and generosity are the evidence of one’s salvation.

A quick clarification, even if we have already heard such clarification a thousand times. Jesus is not saying that we will be saved because of our good works. But good works and generosity must be evident in the lives of those who are saved. They are necessary expressions of the new life energized by grace.

So, we get the message. We are reminded that to take hold of that which is truly life – that is to keep doing good – and it’s a must. But honestly to do so is not something natural for many of us.

Allow me to share 3 thoughts. I hope they will be of use as we strive to take hold of that which is truly life.

The first one is based on the way Paul lived his life.

The most striking thing about this passage is that in the middle of his advice to Timothy on riches and false teachings, urging him to pursue virtues and to keep the commandment, all of a sudden, Paul burst into doxology, before he continues on the subject matter. Picture with me. Paul sitting at his desk with his pen, prayerfully thinking about what to write to Timothy, then suddenly went, He is” the King of kings and Lord of lords…To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (v.16) Isn’t that a bit too random.

But what if it’s not at all random for Paul? If so, it would mean that for Paul, life is lived by honoring the presence of God at all times with the help of the Holy Spirit. God says he is with us and Paul took it seriously and literally. Hence, the vison of the immortal and invisible God was never far from his mind. I believe this to be the reason for him to be thinking about advising Timothy, then lapsed into doxology, then continue to write again. The way Paul lives is instructive for us.

Paul lives life before one audience, God, always, through the help of the Holy Spirit. All the advice he ever gave was framed up inside that abiding presence of God. How might we be different? Could it be for many a Singaporean Christians, it goes something like this: on Sunday morning, we are in church, our audiences, God, church friends and fellow church members. Sunday afternoon, our primary audiences become our family members and friends. Mondays to Fridays, depending on who we need to face in schools and at our workplace, we live life by facing people we need to deal with. God, could be a there and not there thing. In the evenings, when we chill and wind down, there would again be another switch. The one I often face when winding down has a name, anyone wants to make a guess? Netflix.

Paul, we know, writes not so much as a teacher but as a life example to Timothy and the church. He kept taking hold of that which is truly life because he always lived life to one audience, and he acts and responds accordingly. May we, like Paul, that when God says he is with us, we take what he says seriously and literally, and we strive to remain in the presence of God through the help of the Holy Spirit. Taking hold of that which is truly life might just become more natural a thing as we do so.

Second, taking hold of that which truly life is a must, and I believe we do want to do it. But we might not have the opportunities to do them. Our church is gearing up for evangelism, the church encourages us to pray for friends to bring to church and for the evangelistic teams. I like to suggest we add to our list: to pray for opportunities to do good and show generosity, and also the willingness to step forward when opportunities arrive. And who knows, through doing good, doors to evangelism might just open up.

Lastly, do we know that God is pro-enjoyment? Verse 17 says that God richly provides us with everything to enjoy. God is pro-enjoyment, only that God’s definition of enjoyment is one that’s against hoarding and selfishness. Instead, sharing to God is part and parcel of enjoyment. God is not against accumulation by the way, we are not told to sell and give everything thing away but only to be ready to share.

To do so might pose some challenges. Just this week, I heard one evening on the news that water is getting more expensive, the next evening the news says that electricity will also be going up. The tempo and intensity in which life is lived in our city also means that time and energy are limited and precious commodities. Doing good and sharing is a must, but not always easy.

The one who advises us to do good also tells us that we do have help. Every letter of Paul’s ends with a prayer for grace without fail. Grace in other words, is enablement by God. For grace to be the standard sign off for every letter goes to say one thing, grace is an absolute essential. As Christians we are to store up good deeds, it’s a must, but it is possible only by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. What it means is this, we are to step forward and be ready to share, but it is after all God who give the provision and who is doing the work. And since that the case, it is no wonder Christians have nothing to be prideful and to boast about, apart from gospel and the gospel only.

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