In our text today, Paul is writing to Timothy, a younger brother in the faith. There are a number of imperative verbs in our passage - these are commands that Paul tells Timothy.

FLEE - Run from what will trap you. Paul says to run away from false teaching. False teaching still affects us today. We have to be discerning of our spiritual teachers. We need to also flee from having our hearts set on money or wealth. Money is a false god that will trap us. When we make it first in our hearts, we will suffer.

PURSUE - We need to chase what will GROW us. What do we pursue? We need to be single minded in our pursuit of Christ. We pursue a life based on the life of Jesus.

FIGHT - We fight the good fight of faith. We strive and struggle to live like Jesus. We struggle with our own sinful tendencies. We wrestle with our own sinful nature.

TAKE HOLD - We hold on to Jesus with all of our might. We keep our eyes on Jesus throughout life. We order our lives around are Lord.

GUARD - We guard what is entrusted to us. The Good News of Jesus has been given to us. This is worth protecting.

All of this language is active. Jesus has called us to a decisive life. We don’t drift along and follow the crowd, we actively choose everyday to pursue and follow Jesus.