Fight the Good Fight
Ethan Sayler
1 Timothy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 Timothy 6:11-16
1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Christian Life is a Fight Worth Fighting
The Christian Life is a Fight Worth Fighting
Chesterton - “Marriage is a duel to the death that no man of honor should decline.”
Roughly based on Eph 5, “husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” Chesterton was saying that while marriage means sacrifice, dedication, and even dying to yourself, the rewards and joys of a life together are worth the struggle.
As Paul wraps up his letter to Timothy and the Church in Ephesus, he calls all the people of God to fight the good fight of faith.
The Christian life is a struggle - taking up the cross daily and following after Christ - but the reward far outweighs any sacrifice
As we hear the call to fight the good fight, may we:
Know what we are fighting for
Know our enemy
Know where our strength and victory can be found.
Know What You Are Fighting For
Know What You Are Fighting For
The end goal of the good fight of faith
The end goal of the good fight of faith
The eternal life - not just endless days - but days of eternal, abundant life, lived in the glory and joy of the presence of God
What we were designed for - the fellowship, rest and delight of God’s presence.
Eternal life is God’s free gift to everyone who comes to him trusting Jesus Christ and asking for forgiveness of sins.
The upward call of Christ
Secured in Christ, be we strive toward it - it is something that we must take hold of - to see it unfold in our lives, even now, and to hang on it until the end.
Flight and Fight
Flight and Fight
Flee these things
The trappings of the false teachers
Deceitfulness of riches and the cares of the world
Youthful passions
Quick to speak, slow to listen, chasing desires
Not enough to turn from sin, you must turn to righteousness.
The qualities of Christian living we are to pursue - the way we fight the war is essential
Righteousness and godliness -
This should be our relationship with God.
Faith and love -
These are the principles of the Christian life
Steadfastness and gentleness -
How we relate to a hostile world
The Good Fight
The Good Fight
The bad fights
Too often we fight about things that aren’t the good fight; we fight with one another rather than the enemy
We focus on what the person in the pew is wearing…
Too often we think the Christian life comes easy, and don’t even engage in the battle - it’s lost before it began
Believing in Christ is a fight, a struggle - there will be many trials that will tempt the “man of God” to turn from faith in Christ - but you must fight.
The good fight - keeping and defending the faith
Keeping Christ’s Commands
Unstained and without reproach
Defending the Faith
The authority of God’s word
The depravity of man, the gracious election of God, the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the persevering and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
The Lordship of Jesus Christ which we confess
This is Jesus’ testimony before Pilate, and ours to the world
This is the confession Timothy made - that Jesus Christ is Lord - before the Church - when he professed his faith.
This is the confession every believer makes when they confess their faith before the church
You must fight
But the man of God must fight to maintain his faith. It will be a lifelong struggle, but at the end, the man of God will have the opportunity to take hold of immortality.
Know Who You Are Fighting
Know Who You Are Fighting
With whom do we do battle in the good fight of faith?
So often, other faithful men and women are caught in the crossfire, and we turn on each other.
The inner man
Fighting the temptation, inward desires, old ways
Battling one sin after another; always striving toward righteousness
The spiritual forces
Eph 6 - not against flesh and blood
Even those who stand for the very things that God hates, they are not our enemy, they are victims of the same sin and darkness in which we once walked.
Our enemy is the ruler of the power of the air
He’s fierce, but he’s defeated by the blood of the lamb
Know The Strength For The Fight
Know The Strength For The Fight
We know we are to fight, we know our enemy, but what is our strength - our defense? It is the very person of Christ himself.
Our salvation is secured, the victory is won in Christ -
Martin Luther “Christ’s victory … is the overcoming of the law, of sin, our flesh, the world, the devil, death, hell and all evils; and this his victory he has given to us.”
His confession before Pilate was his testifying to the kingdom, but also his dying upon the cross, and his rising again. And Paul says, at the appointed time, he is coming again.
The Doxology - ascribing glory, praise, and honor to God
What Paul proclaims about God
God is the blessed and only sovereign
God is the King of kings and Lord of lords
God alone is immortal
Our immortal soul rests in His immortality, not in any inherent strength
God dwells in unapproachable light -
no one has seen or can see
God will receive all honor and dominion
Why does Paul break out in a Doxology?
Praise/Worship renews us in faith, strengthens us for the fight of faith
Why we sing hymns - old hymns and new - they teach the faith
Gideon’s Call - Go in the strength you have, I am with you
Go in this might of yours and save Israel… do I not send you?
Gideon’s reply, “I am least in my father’s house…”
“The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor… Go in the strength you have, I am with you.”