“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In other words, the passions of the worldly life that the old self used to enjoy, they are now things of the past. The new regenerated person in Christ is now embracing the new life in Christ. Things of the past are beginning to fade out as the person is growing by yielding to the leading of the Spirit of God within his or her life.
In 1 Timothy 6:11-12, we learned of the Apostle’s advice to young 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 called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Question to ask, how do you know if a person is truly a godly person? We can learn from the Apostle Paul’s advice to Timothy. Timothy was called not to be a worldly man, but a godly man. That is why Paul started out in verse 11 by saying, “But you, o man of God…”
Nearing the end of his life as he was about to pass on the baton to Timothy, Paul knew the challenges that Timothy would be facing. Hence, he felt the need to encourage young Timothy to be strong as a young man in the ministry.
He further wrote in his second letter to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing,” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
You could learn more of it in Acts 16, but for the sake of understanding, a brief history for how this strong relationship had begun between Paul and Timothy. Timothy was proven to be so trustworthy that Paul sent him as a representative to the churches he was concerned about (1 Thessalonians 3:2; Philippians 2:19). Paul referred to Timothy as “my son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2, 18; 2 Timothy 1:2). Paul was impressed by this young man’s faith and love of God that he picked him up in Lystra on his second missionary journey. Timothy’s mother was a Jewish, but his father was Greek. Although Timothy was free in Christ and he knew that circumcision was not necessary for salvation, yet he allowed himself to be circumcised to rid of anything that might be of hindrance to the effectiveness of the ministry toward the Jews. In writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law, to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some,” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
Do you have a desire to be a man or a woman of God, a person who seeks to live a godly life? How do you know if a person is truly a godly person? Paul wrote in verse 11, “But you o man of God, flee, run away from these things. The word flee means to run away to seek safety or escape something, safe from danger. Flee is a continual way of life for a child of God. It is not an option. If you’re going to be a godly man or woman, you need to continually runaway from those things that would lead you away from Jesus Christ.
A good example in the Bible is the story of Joseph in Genesis 39. When he was confronted by Potiphar’s wife, and when he was given the opportunity to sin, he ran in the opposite direction. Sin will always hinder the work of God’s Spirit within your life. It will always rob you of the blessings that God desires to give to you. The blessing of His peace, His joy, the blessing of assurance and comfort.
The Bible tells us that when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown, brings forth death. Therefore, if it brings death, run away from it.