Fight the Good Fight

by Andy Foster

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1 Tim 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. 13 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 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 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. NIV

To be a follower of Christ is to be a life of commitment and not just involvement. It is easy to busily take part in “Christian” activities, to give a showing without laying it all on the line, but are we committed as a soldier of Christ, devoted to his purpose, plan and glory?

It has been said - “The difference between involvement and commitment is like a breakfast of ham and eggs. The chicken was involved, the pig was committed.”

Paul proclaims here that a follower of Christ is one that “fights the good fight of faith”. We may not think in terms of fighting as Christians. We may think our Christian walk is to be a peaceful journey marked by spiritual bliss and tranquility. In fact many in the church measure their well being whether it be physically, financially, as a mark of their spiritual success. Those who succeed are deemed to have more faith while those that struggle or not achieved and ascribed spiritual status are perceived to be spiritually inferior.

We also may prefer not to be bothered with conflict and turmoil involved in being a genuine follower of Christ. I have been saved, now let me go in peace and hide in the corner until Christ returns.

However, those are not attitudes we find in scripture. In fact we see the very opposite commanded and exemplified.

2 Cor 6:4-10 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. NIV

It is easy for believers--especially in the Western world, where the church is generally prosperous and respected--to be complacent and become oblivious to the seriousness of the battle around them. We rejoice in "victories" that involve no battles and in a kind of peace that is merely the absence of conflict. Sometimes trivial matters are mistaken to be real battles. Our call as followers of Christ is not one of passiveness. In fact if you feel no conflict, no internal struggle, be wary. The battlefields we face are many. Whether the temptation of our flesh, the schemes of Satan, or the delusions of this worldly kingdom there is no time for nor is their safety for sitting on the sidelines.

This call to “fight the good fight” is applicable to us. We live in distracting if not perilous times. I am not talking about the economy but the assault on the truth and existence of God even within the church. The truth is under assault, the reality of Christ mocked, the certainty of our hope undermined.

So, what does it mean to fight the good fight? This word “fight” in the Greek is to contend, agonize, strive and engage.

What are we fighting for? Good faith. “Fight the good fight of the Faith…” – A theme that became apparent in Luke, is that our hope is not based on some mythical concept but on historical fact and hope that is real.

A good faith puts total trust in the Son of God as crucified, buried, risen and ascended Savior; Faith in the infallible and authoritative word of God; Faith that looks forward with certainty to the Lord’s coming and the reality of heaven. A good faith is a faith that gazes upon the heart of God.

This fight is not for ourselves, pride, reputation, status or territory.

We are to take hold of this faith that has an eternal perspective- 1 Tim 6:12b - “…Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Take hold is to seize, catch, lay hold, to take. So, what are we taking hold of? We are to cling to the reality and hope of our eternal life with Christ.

By commanding Timothy to take hold of eternal life, Paul did not mean to imply that Timothy needed salvation. Instead, he admonished Timothy to "get a grip" on the reality of eternal life, so that he would live and minister in the light of eternity.

Col 3:1-4 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts (affections) on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things..

Phil 3:19-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

By setting our affections on eternity and recognizing our citizenship, when our focus is on the reality of the work of Christ, when believe Jesus for he is, when rely on the fact that the holy spirit indwells us as believers, when we truly believe our God is sovereign in all things, and when we take of hold of eternity in heaven as fact, we will be an effective ambassador for Christ.

Paul is telling Timothy the good faith is a faith which he should fight for, take hold of, and confess to in the sight of God.

This is the faith that we confessed to – “when you made your good confession”. In other words, the faith which we acknowledged and professed. Paul says take hold and fight for the faith in which you claim allegiance.

We have no problem standing up for many things that we claim devotion and allegiance such as our favorite teams. You may stand by and fight for your Cardinals, or Royals in baseball, or Chiefs or Rams in football. We will wear sweatshirts, hang flags outside our home, and put bumper stickers on our cars.

We stand by our commitment to a political cause or candidate, and more importantly we stand by our confession of devotion to our spouse and our children. As confessing Christians, do we stand by what we claim to believe? Are willing to contend and agonize for a faith that we claim to have? Paul says  take hold of that faith in which have confessed. If we truly believe in the confession we made when we accepted Christ and chose to follow Him, then our natural reaction will be to cling to it and fight for it.

A theme that has been reiterated in my life is what I truly think about eternal life. The crux of how I conduct myself and where I place my energies is dependent on whether or not I truly believe in our future in heaven. Do I truly have an eternal perspective?

The man of God, aware of God's call to eternal salvation and his own public profession of faith in response to that call, maintains an eternal perspective. He does not engage in the petty, meaningless battles of this world, but focuses on the eternal things. He lives above the mundane and trivial matters of the passing world. He is consumed with what will never pass away--God's Word and the souls of men.

We live in a time the church as a whole has fallen into easy believism and easily distracted. Instead of counting the cost for being a follower of Christ, we seek how the Christian life may make us more comfortable.

Many want a faith that is trendy, current, self gratifying. “Faith” is thrown about casually; as many will say my, “faith is important to me”, “my faith is what gets me through”. Many times this is self fashioned faith that suits the taste of the individual. However, if faith is an object in and of itself it is not saving faith at all. The object of faith is what we take hold and cling to.

But many have grasped onto a false faith. A defective faith results in an inward numbness and insensibility to the things of God and the loss of a genuine hope of eternity.

Rather than believing in the certainty of a living and loving God and eternal life with Him, “Many go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle”

And this can happen to us, “We can make the Word of God conform to our personal experience rather than allowing it to conform us. And this is indeed happening within the church.

To combat this, our hope, our focus must be right and sure. The reality of our hope not only gives us assurance of the future but the strength now to endure and persevere.

Are we prepared as a people here to not only face these battles but even recognize the battle before us? Are we distracted? Are we lazy?

It may be hard for you to imagine, but I actually [ played b-ball ] . To borrow a term from my old high school basketball coach that was yelled at many times during the practice, “Don’t be lackadaisical”.

Our Weakness - One of the biggest obstacles to winning any victory or any game is not having the right understanding of one’s own weakness as well as the capabilities of our enemies.

Like Timothy we have our share of failings and weak spots. But also like Timothy we are called to a life of ministry and holiness.(cf. 1:18; 4:14; 6:12). Do you relate to any of these shortcomings and obstacles as did Timothy?

1) He faced great opposition, 2) He was an outsider, alone in confronting both opposition from false teachers and the sins of his people. 3) He was looked down on for being young (4:12), 4) battled with the lusts of youth (2 Tim 2:22), 4) His youthful zeal also tended to make him combative and overly argumentative (2 Tim 2:24-26). 5) lack of experience dealing with false doctrine. 6) tempted to abandon his ministry there altogether. 7) Pressured to become ashamed of the gospel, 8) a tendency to be timid.

This knowledge of ourselves should all the more cause us to earnestly seek God for help.

How are we to fight? And it does matter how we fight? Like Timothy we are sorely in need of encouragement, fortitude, and strength to live as a follower of Christ, and to remain true in the teaching and preaching of the God’s Word.

Paul says…2 Ti. 2:1-4 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs-he wants to please his commanding officer.

What makes a good soldier? One is choosing the right battles. If we are to fight the good fight, implies there battles we choose to fight that are not good. Are we fighting the right adversary?

As a good soldier we must be strategic and purposeful. We cannot be distracted and bogged down with worry over finances, career, politics, energy focused on comfort? As a church, we need to ensure we are putting our energies into an effective battle plan and continually evaluate our focus.

Let’s look at some characteristics of a good soldier. Consider how you stack up?

- Uses the right weapon – Like Timothy, we are exhorted to hold fast to sound doctrine.

Titus 2:1-2 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

2 Tim 4:2 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction..

- Stands firm - 1 Cor 16:13 3 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Eph 6:14-15 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

- Has the right armor – Eph 6:10-11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. This armor

- No shame - 2 Tim 1:8-11 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace….”

- No fear of evil - Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

- No fear of death - 1 Cor 15:55-57 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Heb 2:14-16 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

- Focused (knows the goal)- 1 Cor 9:25-27 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. NIV

- Is Humble – “James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” While we understand that in ourselves we are nothing, in God we have everything. And as we grasp how God sees us we care little of what the world thinks.

Our Example - We certainly have seen examples of good soldiers for Christ. Those in our church body who have endured great loss, physical pain, and emotional turmoil while taking of hold of their eternal hope and contending for the truth of Christ. These are people who probably do not fit stereotypical frame of a soldier, but are those are deeply devoted to their King We think of who have been steadfast throughout their lives.

I think of Heidi’s grandmother who in her 80s would ride her stationary bike everyday while memorizing scripture. She would say…

I think of my grandparents who you could barely hear or see, but you could hear praying out loud together when drove up in the driveway. They were fighting the good fight.

Think of those who have faced great obstacles in scripture even to the point of death. I think of Stephen who in the midst of being stoned cried in praise to His God.

Of course the greatest example is our Lord Jesus Christ who took the fight directly to the enemy by laying His life down.

“…13 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…”

Do we exemplify the traits of a good soldier? Do we stay true to our commander and chief even in the most dire situations?

As most of us can testify the struggle is revealed not on the heights behind the fort but in the trenches of everyday life, in the midst of great temptation, pressured on all sides by the various trials of life. Many of the battles we face are not fought on a grand stage along marked battle lines, but often they are skirmishes deep within our hearts.

Our Motivation - Paul does not give excuses to how to avoid this conflict, he does not offer Timothy a way out. Paul says…

…I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 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. NIV

Our Motivation must be clear – The ultimate motivation and cause for our fighting will determine the fierceness in which we stand and point us toward enemies that match the cause.

First Paul charges Timothy to “keep this command” What command are we to keep? We are to be faithful to the Word, faithful to the Scripture, faithful to the revealed commandment of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament

Second – We must be motivated by our knowledge and affection for God.

To him be honor and might forever. Amen. NIV

First Timothy begins and ends with a doxology--a hymn of praise to the Lord (cf. 1:17). Therein lies the single greatest motivating factor for a man of God: the character of the God he serves. The apostle knew that theology controls behavior. Put another way, how a person lives reflects what he really believes about God.

A. W. Tozer stated "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" He went on to say,

“The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man's spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. . . . For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. . . . Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, "What comes into your mind when you think about God?" we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. (Tozer, 9)”

This fight is for the honor and praise and God.

Conclusion - So as we consider these things let me ask you. What are you fighting for? Do you believe there is anything at stake? Are you prepared to fight?

Revelation 2:10 says to those who are being thrown in prison for their faith, "Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."

This is very different from the mood of American Christianity. Here in this verse something infinite and eternal hangs on whether these Christians keep their faith in prison. But today worship services, Bible studies, prayer meetings, and fellowship gatherings in many churches do not have a spirit of earnestness and intensity and fervor and depth because people do not believe in their heart that anything significant is at stake—least of all their eternal life.

Our fervor and focus will determine the way we view our future, by what we see at stake, and motivation and purpose by which we live. Are we contending for the truth? Do we seek to follow and defend God’s word above else?

We must be a church that fights the good fight, a church that upholds the Word of God over opinion, programs or plans, we must we be church that grasps reality of our future to the extent that if permeates our attitude and vision, and must be church that strives and agonizes to walk in holiness and to be humble and worthy ambassadors for our lord.

What gives this fight meaning is a heart fixed on God and His glory. Rev. 4:11 “for thy pleasure I was created.

When we are determined to set our minds to exalt God, we no longer get caught up in the world’s rat race, but increasingly find that we are walking in holiness.

To fight the good fight of faith we must take hold, get a grip, with confidence our hope of eternity with Christ and citizenship in heaven, and to hold fast to the Word of God and do all things for the glory of God. This is a standard for our personal lives as well as our church.

When the battle is over let us be able to say as Paul did…

2 Tim 4:6-8 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. NIV