Fight the Battle Well…Wage the Good Warfare…Fight Well in the Lord’s Battle…Fight the Good Fight
In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul charges his mentee, Timothy, to “fight the good fight” or in other translations it is written as listed above. “This command I entrust to you”, Paul says to Timothy, because Paul is transferring his spiritual wisdom to Timothy and he knows that Timothy must engage in the battle, warfare, and fight not just for his own faith, but by his calling as a Pastor he must speak the Truth and warn against false teachers for the faith of all believers. As believers, we are all ministers of faith and so we must acknowledge that there is constant battle, warfare, and fight between good and evil, which is God and Satan, for us at all times. Each side is wanting our allegiance. So, you and I might not be a Pastor, but as believers, and ministers of faith to others, we still have the same choice to make at all times…good or evil, God or Satan.
Paul reminds Timothy that as he fights the good fight of faith, it must be in good conscience. In Romans 2:13-15, Paul wrote about how the Gentiles didn’t have the law, but “their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right”. (v.15) “For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.” (v.13) A good conscience that is fed by the Spirit of Christ will produce the Fruits of the Spirit, and when evil behavior takes place that person’s conscience will feel a sinful response and that person will know that they must repent and turn away from sin.
Our “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” (Heb 11:1) So, by rejecting a good conscience, a person will shipwreck their faith. We must remember that Satan is cunning, and he will use people, circumstances, events, things, and take small steps to cloud our understanding of the Truth, and to slowly pull our souls towards him and away from God. We must never lose sight of the significance of this life, and it is to remain in alignment with God and to keep moving towards Him and away from Satan. We see below when Hymenaeus and Alexander shipwrecked their faith where that led them, and we do not want that for our own lives.
1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NASB)
18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.
Prayer: Jesus, please keep growing my faith walk each day through Your Word. Help my conscience to be renewed by Your Spirit and drawn to live and speak Your Truth. Please quicken my soul by Your Spirit to turn away from sin. Forgive me, Jesus, of all sin. I want to walk each day with You, standing against all false teachings, and further and further away from Satan. I ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.