I Timothy 6:11 “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
When Paul wrote the epistles, he was able to express details and reality of the spiritual world we inhabit in this physical world. He was in prison. Around him were Roman soldiers. Many Romans felt animosity toward the Jews and Christianity. Even so, Paul noticed how well trained soldiers were. Through the unique organizational structure of the military, Rome was able to dominate the known world.
This is why Paul wrote to Timothy as a good soldier. In II Timothy Paul talked about the external conflicts. There is so much we fight against. In the above scripture it’s different. Before we face the challenges from without, we have to struggle with the enemy within. There is no greater enemy than our old nature. All of these have a commander and chief in the devil himself. Behind every adversity is the motive to bring us down. The fight we wage is with ourselves, our old nature, our old feelings, and fleshly lusts. In verse 11, Paul says to “flee these things; and follow after righteousness…fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” The best way to do this is to keep fighting our spiritual battles. The struggle is great. The devil wants to get us down and living in spiritual bleakness to make us lose the fight. The devil is determined to keep fighting; we should be also. Our Commander and Chief has a fighting spirit. We can win, even over ourselves.
Who among us doesn’t deal with provocations and lusts? We’re tempted to lie. We are all bothered by the devil; he makes sure we’re tested. He’s a real fighter. We have to be real fighters too. Many look at Christianity as if playing a game. It is not. Many treat Christianity as a role they play in church. God doesn’t play games. Neither does the devil. This is not a sport to be a player in. We fight a fight to the death. Either the devil wins or we do.
I’m thankful for times of recreation; we get a breather from our everyday life. This is not recreation. Christianity should never be a diversion from our everyday life. It should be our life. When we rest, it has to be with our sword in hand. This is not a drama we act out. Jesus saw the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They would don their robes and put on a good act, but Jesus said they were like dead men’s bones inside. We never act like a Christian; we are to be one or nothing at all.
The devil is who he is. Sin is what it is. This is why Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. The stakes are too high. The causalities are too great. The threat is too ominous for us not to be engaged. A soldier first enlists. To be saved we must enlist under the command of the Lord. He gives us training. He gives the orders. We don’t tell God what to do anymore than a soldier tells his commanding officer what to do. All the work and discipline of a soldier is to equip him to stay alive. Jesus enables us; he trains and disciplines us. He keeps us on the narrow way. He can take the most unlikely recruit and make a good soldier out of him. A war is successfully fought by following orders. God knows more about our enemy that we do. He’s not backwards and doesn’t cut corners. We cannot make excuses for ourselves. Don’t say “I’m human.” We can cut our own throat quicker than anyone else.
Faith is the key to Christianity. We cannot grasp the danger of a soldier overseas. He has to have faith to go and faith in the commander. As a child of God we must never lose our fighting spirit. Always follow God’s orders even if you don’t understand them. Ours is not to question but to do or die. We need to live for God without questions. We know the outcome. Verses 13 and 14 say “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you sometimes wonder how long you can fight? Do you ask yourself if you can hold out? You can as long as you follow your Commander. The weapons Jesus gives us are always loaded. He has a constant ammunition supply so we can keep fighting. And these weapons are superior, for they are spiritual. If we surrender, it is not the Lord’s fault. We have simply quit trusting the Commander. Paul told Timothy to endure, to keep his fighting spirit. The outcome will be good. Hold on until you see the cavalry coming over the horizon. Paul’s last words were that he had fought a good fight and finished his course. Was Nero to get the crown? No. Paul said there was a crown laid up for him.
When the apostles were martyred, someone picked up the flag. It’s now in our hands, and we must go on. Our Commander is still Chief. The devil is defeated. Paul didn’t just say “fight.” He said fight a “good fight.”
Don’t commit treason on the Lord. Our weapons are not carnal. We can fight, and we can fight the good fight of faith.
How is your fighting spirit?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 