Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

(1 Timothy 6:12-16 – Fight the good fight of the faith)

In this passage of scripture Paul exhorts Timothy to fight the goof fight of the faith. We too need to follow those same instructions.

We are at war in the spirit. We have the whole forces of Satan and his demons arrayed against us.

But we also have Jesus Christ who has defeated Satan and who can and will lead us to fight the good fight of the faith. And we must remember that faith is the key to fighting the good fight.

Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

This is what the scripture today has to say.

12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 15 and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen (1 Timothy 6:12-16)

What was the confession that Jesus made before Pilate? And what is the same good confession that Timothy made before witnesses?

These are important for us to know if we too are to fight the good fight of the faith.

The confession of Jesus

When Jesus stood before Pilate, He said these things.

36 Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.” 37 Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:36-37)

Basically Jesus made two significant points in these words.

1. Jesus showed that He was indeed a king, but not of or from this world. His reign was over a spiritual people.
2. Jesus confessed that His reason for coming was to bear witness to the truth and that His people would hear His voice.

So, if we are to fight the good fight of the faith, it is critical that we too learn His truth. It is the truth that leads us to God. No lie will ever lead us to God, and if we want to find the truth we need to seek it through Jesus.

How do we find the truth?

The key to finding the truth and to then fight the good fight of the faith is through faith.

Everything in our walk with Christ rests upon a foundation of faith. As the scripture also says:

And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

You cannot please God unless you approach Him through faith.

Faith is the starting point for all we do in Christ, and God set it up that way because every person has the capacity to believe and have faith. It doesn’t matter what your status in life is, you can believe that God exists and that His Son Jesus came to the earth to die for your sins.

When we have faith, all obstacles can be overcome and we will fight the good fight of the faith.

The Link to Truth and how to fight the good fight of the faith

In verse 14 of the scripture today we see the link between having faith and knowing the truth. Paul tells Timothy to, “…keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How do we keep the commandments of the Lord free and unstained? We do this by ensuring that we always seek and adhere to the truth.

Sadly, there are those in the church who will not listen to the truth. Instead they choose to follow cleverly devised lies. There are preachers who appeal to the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh, and many choose to follow those lies rather than the sometimes harsh reality of the truth.

But it is only when we seek and live by the truth that we will receive the rewards of the Lord, whether that be blessings now or eternal life. And verse 12 in the passage makes that point saying, ”…take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…”

We take hold of eternal life in the Lord when we follow Him in faith and in the truth. And it is by doing these things that we fight the good fight of the faith.

If you would like to know some more about how to fight the good fight of the faith, especially as it relates to truth, check out this Bible Plan on YouVersion titled, “How Do You Find The Truth.”

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