The Fight Of Your Life
The Fight Of Your Life • Sermon • Submitted
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“Fighting The Good Fight”
“Fighting The Good Fight”
2nd Timothy 4:6-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up 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 loved his appearing.
1st Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Paul wrote these words to Timothy while in prison in Rome just before being killed by the Emperor Nero. Paul says here that he is “already being poured out as a drink offering”. A libation, or drink offering, was to accompany every burnt offering. The animal for the burnt offering was placed on the altar first, and then the libation was offered. When the wine was poured out on the altar, it would disappear almost immediately as steam due to the extreme heat. It accompanied the main sacrifice, it complemented the main offering. When this passage is put in context with Phillipians 2:17, we see Paul is saying that the faith of the saints is the main offering and his life has just complimented it. Paul is the picture of humble in this moment.
He understands that his life is coming to an end soon.
Even facing death in prison, Paul encourages Timothy in this second letter.
Consider the wording in vs, 6, it has a ring of success to it. Paul says his departure is at hand. He is ready to leave counting his life a victory for the Kingdom.
Paul is most certainly looking Death in the face but his words are not the words of a discouraged or broken man. There is no despair, no defeat, no fear in his words. His words are calm and sure as he passes the baton to Timothy whom he considered in many ways a son.
There are 3 important things to look at in these verses. Paul addresses his entire life. "l am" (present) in verse 6, "l have" (past) in verse 7 and "there is" (future) in verse 8.
Paul's life is the model for perseverance in the face of adversity. No matter what happened to him, he never gave up.
Paul never lost sight of who he was nor whose he was.
How could anyone face death in a roman prison cell with such peace? The answer to that and to the question of what is the good fight can be found in 4:7A.
Keeping the faith is where spiritual endurance comes into play. Notice Paul compares it to running a race and considering that he is looking at the entirety of his life, it must be compared to a marathon or some ultra-endurance race.
Keeping the faith is the good fight. Not to imply that we must fight to hold onto it or our salvation but meaning that we, like Paul, must do something with it. Keeping the faith doesn't mean that we lock it away but that we steward over it, treating it as the gift that it is. How are you treating this gift that you've been given freely?
If you were to be in Paul's cell, could you confidently look back on your walk and say what Paul says here?