Take Hold Of The Eternal Life

1 Timothy 6:12-16 - Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

1 Timothy 4:16 - Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

John 18:36 - Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

Conclusions:

• Timothy had possessed eternal life since he had first been saved, but Paul urges him to claim its benefits in greater fullness
• When you made your good confession is probably a reference to Timothy’s confession of faith at his baptism during Paul’s first missionary journey
• God alone saves, but Christians can be God’s instruments to bring about the salvation of others
• Salvation is both an event and a process
• We are saved at the time of conversion but are still being saved in the sense of being made more conformed to Christ’s image
• Jesus agrees that He has a kingdom, but asserts that it is not the kind of kingdom that has soldiers to fight for it
• Jesus’ kingdom was not built, nor is it maintained, by military might

Application:

• Are you fighting the good fight of the faith?
• Are you God's instrument to bring about the salvation of others?
• Are you in Jesus' kingdom?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible