1 TIM. 6:11. THE NOBLE CONTEST. 259 But you, for your part, O man of God, keep clear of these things. Strive after goodness, piety, Faith, love, Endurance, gentleness. Keep exerting yourself to the utmost in the noble contest of the faith. Gain for yourself the prize of eternal life. For it was to this you were called and made a noble confession before many witnesses. I charge you before God, who keeps everything alive, and before Christ Jesus, who under Pontius Pilate bore witness to a noble confession, to keep the commandment unsullied and above reproach till the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, the appearing which in his own proper times will be displayed by him. Who is the blessed and only Potentate, The King of kings and Lord of lords; Dwelling in light unapproachable; Nor can see : To whom be honor and eternal might. Charge those who are in possession of this world's wealth not to be proud nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who gives us an abundance of everything for our enjoyment. 6: 18. Charge them to devote themselves to generous deeds, to be rich in noble actions, to be liberal and sociable, and, in this way, to treasure up for themselves a noble foundation for the future, so that they may gain for themselves the prize of life which is life indeed. O Timothy, keep the trust committed to you. Avoid the irreverent and empty discussions, and oppositions of falsely named knowledge, by the profession of which some have missed the mark and have proved themselves to be false in their appreciation of the faith. May the divine favor be with you. Paul, A slave of God, And an Apostle of Christ Jesus, For the promotion of the faith of God's chosen ones, And the full knowledge of the truth which produces piety; All of which is based on the hope of eternal life, Which the God of truth promised before the beginning of time, But, in his own proper time, he made his word clear In the proclamation which he confided to me to make According to the command of our Saviour God; To Titus, my true child in the faith: From God the Father, And Christ Jesus our Saviour. |