Pursuing Righteousness

16th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 21)                                                LSB #’s 668, 664, 660
Text – 1 Timothy 6:11-12
 
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called & about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
 
PURSUING RIGHTEOUSNESS
 
 
Collectors  accumulate their favorite items – from sneakers & baseball cards  to art & jewelry – for various reasons.   Men  are more bullish on the potential value of their collections.  39% of them  think theirs will be worth a lot of money,  compared to 24% of women. 
In spite of that difference,  59% of all collectors accumulate what they do  out of love for what they collect.  Interestingly,  that percentage is consistent across age,  gender  & household income.   They will arrange their lives to find & to buy  what is dear to them. 
A man I knew loved collecting John Deere tractors & going to tractor shows.  He bought a motorhome so he could spend two to three days on the site of the shows.   One time, he drove that motorhome from Michigan to the state of Washington  just to buy a tractor.  Driving 5 miles to church   that  was not as high a priority. 
Collectors of earthly things  arrange their lives to find  & to buy  what is dear to them.  St. Paul believes that Christians should do the same;  not to find  or to buy what is dear to them, but to pursue the eternal blessings of God:
“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.   Pursue  righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,  gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.”  (1 Timothy 6:11-12a ESV)   In his lead in to pursuing righteousness, Paul first tells us to flee these things.  He’s not suggesting that we avoid them,  but that we literally run away  from them.   So, what are those things? 
In verses 9-10 the Apostle spells them out: “…those who desire to be rich  fall into
temptation,  into a snare,  into many senseless & harmful desires  that plunge people into ruin & destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving  that some have wandered away from the faith & pierced themselves with many pangs.”  (6:9-10 ESV)  All kinds of evils spring from the love of money  & people have lost their salvation because of it. 
It should be easy to grasp  why Paul tells us to flee those things.   The Gospel reading highlights an example of a rich man who ended up suffering the fires of hell  because he did not pursue righteousness  in this life.   When God blesses people with financial wealth,  there’s a great temptation to lean upon that wealth  instead of  upon the mercy of Christ our Savior. 
It is only our Lord’s mercy that saves people from damnation.  Not a one of us  is able to save ourselves.  That’s the bad news.   The good news  is that Christ  Jesus took our place,   & when He rose from the dead,  He made it possible for everyone  to join Him in paradise  forever.  So,  why aren’t we all living happily ever after?   Satan,  & all who follow him, refuse God’s gift. 
And not only  do they refuse God’s gift for themselves,  many want to destroy that gift for others.  For that reason that St. Paul wrote, “Fight the good fight of the faith.”  (1 Timothy 6:12a ESV)    Spiritual warfare is going on  in your life  whether you realize it or not.  It’s going on whether you are resisting it  or just allowing yourself to be swept down  the broad & easy road. 
Satan is waging war.  His mission – “…to steal  & kill  & destroy.”  (John 10:10a ESV) Whether you’re fighting back,  or  are a pacifist,  all your suffering in this life is due to the spiritual warfare that’s going on  every day.  We do not live in a neutral world.  Life on earth is never fair.  “…the deceitfulness of riches… choke the word” of God.  (Mark 4:19 ESV) 
In order to actively participate in the spiritual warfare, on the side that has already won the victory,  Paul writes, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”  (1 Timothy 6:12a ESV)   The words, “Pursue righteousness,” can be twisted into a works religion.  Your pastor may suggest that you give a certain amount of money every week in order to pursue righteousness.  You should serve on at least two boards or committees.  You should attend Bible study & be in church every Sunday.  Much harm has been done in the name of Christianity with that understanding of pursuing righteousness. 
Martin Luther suffered greatly under it,  yet,  out of that suffering, by the power of God’s Word, our Lord brought tremendous good.  Luther unleashed the Reformation when he rediscovered this about righteousness, in Paul’s writings at Romans 1:
“…I am not ashamed of the gospel,  for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…  For in it the righteousness of God  is revealed from faith for faith,  as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”  (1:17-18 ESV)   
What Luther realized  is that righteousness is not something we earn by good works or pious living.  Instead,  righteousness is a gift we receive from our Lord & Savior.  Jesus earned righteousness for us by dying on the cross  as the one & only  holy sacrifice.  Luther received that gift through the Word of God, when he understood what Paul was saying in Romans 1. 
If you were baptized as an infant,  the Holy Spirit granted you that gift of righteousness then.  God has created His church on earth  in order to dispense the gift of righteousness through preaching & teaching,  as well as  through the sacraments of Baptism & Holy Communion. 
We do not earn more righteousness by going to church more often.  Rather,  the more often we are in God’s house,  the more often the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to give Christ’s righteousness to us.  We could say that pursuing righteousness is simply putting on the robe of righteousness that Jesus earned by His death & resurrection. 
That sounds rather simplistic,  & in truth  it is simple.   It is sin that complicates & confuses the purity & the simplicity of God’s plan.  It is Yahweh’s plan is to rescue mankind from eternal suffering.  And because of the effects of sin,  God’s children are best served by continually pursuing the righteousness that Jesus offers to us.  Like collectors who are constantly searching for a new prize,  the children of God should arrange their lives to pursue righteousness.  That pursuit is as simple as living out the faith that God’s Spirit creates within us. 
Satan is constantly pursuing us.  St. Paul reminds  you & me  to be constantly pursuing righteousness as God’s antidote to sin.  But pursuing it isn’t something we do.  It is something we receive.  If you knew of a bank that was giving out free money,  you might get in line,  but somehow when God offers free forgiveness, free life & salvation,  we lose interest.  
Pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness,  those are all ways of “fighting the good fight of the faith.”  They are all ways of taking “hold of the eternal life  to which you were called.”  (1 Timothy 6:12)  Those are all ways of waging spiritual warfare against Satan.  Anything less is allowing yourself to be swept down the broad & easy road. 
That’s why it’s so important to know that Jesus has come to rescue each of us from the broad & easy road of this world.  He lived the straight & narrow life  in your place,  so that your sins might be forgiven.  He lived the straight & narrow road in my place,  that my sins might be forgiven.  Our guilt & our shame is gone. 
If you simply stay connected to the Vine,  which is Jesus,  then you are pursuing righteousness.  And Jesus promises to lead you & strengthen you  in that pursuit.  Amen. 
 
 
 
Fight the good fight  with all your might;  Christ is your strength, & Christ your right.   Lay hold on life,  & it shall be  your joy & crown eternally.       Cast care aside,  lean on your guide;  His boundless mercy will provide.  Trust, & enduring faith shall prove  Christ is your life & Christ your love.       Faint not  nor fear,  His arms are near;  He changes not who holds you dear;  only believe,  & you will see  that Christ is all eternally.  Amen.  LSB 664:1, 3-4.