Men of God, is that you? Or are we still children? Listen to this Bible study and ask yourself the question.

Here is the text:
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1 Timothy 6:11, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. “

Interesting points:
1. With this verse Paul transitions from the previous section concerning those who teach false doctrines and/or are motivated by greed to encourage and urge Timothy forward in his faithfulness and righteousness. His tone is one of fatherly mentorship underlining both confidence in Timothy’s ability to resist temptation and resolve to pursue God’s righteousness even as he fulfills His calling on his life.

2. Notice how Paul refers to Timothy, calling him “Man of God”. The term was used in the Old Testament describing men like Moses (in Deuteronomy 33:1), Samuel (1 Samuel 9:6) and other prophets (for example, Shemaiah in 1 Kings 12:22). However, only Timothy is referred to as a man of God in the New Testament, revealing Paul’s high confidence in Timothy’s character, motivations and heart for God.

3. Paul does not merely warn Timothy to avoid the love of money and the teachings/actions of the false teachers in this verse, he tells him to "flee", meaning to escape from becoming entangled in these spiritual traps. Wisely, besides identifying the things to avoid, Paul instructs Timothy on the areas of focus to weaken their allure: pursue (study) God’s righteousness, apply it in life, trust in His promises, love as He loves, persevere in the face of difficulty, and humbly and kindly minister God’s Word to others.

Application.
Brothers, this verse should give us pause: yes, we are children of God but have we become or do we strive to be “men of God”; mature in our faith, opting to live righteously, using Scripture to gauge the suitability of our words and decisions, certain of His work in our lives, demonstrating His love and character in our lives and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ to live victoriously in Him?

Would others ever identify us as “men of God”? The truth is, we can never be on our own merit BUT, like Timothy, we can pursue God’s righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. In doing so, we not only become discerning enough to flee situations where we pierce ourselves “with all types of grief”, we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and transform our lives such that God’s character will be revealed in us, we will gain His discernment and we will indeed become “men of God!”

As Philippians 1:6 reminds us, may we be “…confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”!