Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew

FIGHT for your FAITH

1 Timothy 6:11-12, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 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."

INTRODUCTION – These are the words of the apostle Paul to his spiritual son, young Timothy, as the latter took on the post of pastor of the church at Ephesus. He was inexperienced, pastoring one of the more established churches in Asia Minor. He needed all the encouragement his wise spiritual father could render to him, like many young graduates from Bible Colleges/ Seminaries, or like believers who are beginning a new phase of life in Christ.

They must bear in mind that the world is not their friend. Wisdom from God is needed to keep every child of God on the righteous path of holiness. The philosophies of the world have the desire to suffocate and destroy the witness of every disciple of Christ. The very pervasive worldly wisdom and the ploys and cunning devices of many angels of light will infiltrate into these spiritual institutions of learning and local churches to destroy the Christian witness at its source. The source of a holy witness for Christ (young or old) is the Word of God. This is the heart and soul of every spiritual blessing and gifts. For example, a sincere child of God cannot serve faithfully if he serves sinfully because his service is not based upon God's truth. Sincerity of service is only useful and acceptable to God when it is served truthfully according to Scriptures.

This is also true of the preaching of the gospel. There is no salvation if the gospel preached is another gospel that is not according to the truth of God's holy and perfect Word. Some people foolishly reason and deceptively argue that the most important is to preach the gospel. As long as the gospel is preached, the rest of the doctrines of the Bible is not important or of lesser importance. This was not what the Apostle Paul, by inspiration of God, wrote. If the Christian Faith (subjective and objective) of the believer is not defended (which means every doctrine of the Bible is of great importance and vehemently defended), then very soon there will be no more Bible based gospel to preach, and his life and witness for Christ would be in tatters. No one will come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour by looking at his life because he has become carnal. The gospel he preaches will be as dead as a door knob, cold and lifeless.

Beware and be warned of the danger that is out there. There is no better place to go to for protection than God’s Word.

NEVER STOP FIGHTING – Before we examine 1 Timothy 6:12 we need to look at verse 11. Timothy was commanded by Paul to “flee these things.” The word “flee” literally means to shun. To avoid at all costs “these things.” What are these things that every believer like young Timothy was commanded by Paul to avoid? The love of money and the falsehood that gain is godliness are some of the things Timothy was commanded to shun all his life (see 1Timothy 6:1-10).

In other words, before Timothy could even begin to fight the good fight of faith he was commanded by God to “clean house.” These sins must not be found in his life if he wants to fight for his faith! The word “flee” is in the present imperative, meaning to say that he must keep “shunning these things” on a daily basis, all his life. This will be a lifelong struggle that will only end at death. So must all of us as we live in this sin sick world. The temptations presented by the world are very attractive but God says shun them daily like you would the bubonic plague (like AIDS today). Materialism is the heart and soul of every society since the beginning of the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden. This is the deception that the god of this world has employed successfully for centuries in blinding the minds of millions into living and dying in sin in the pursuit of what they sincerely believe to be the good and successful life of owning as much of the dust and ashes of this world as possible.

When a child of God is entangled in his heart by the love of money, he no longer believes that godliness with contentment is great gain. He lives for mammon. He is motivated by the praises and accolades of the world and the praises of man. This carnal life is useless for God’s glory but extremely useful for the devil’s glory and will enhance his diabolical plan of leading more and more souls to hell. That is why God says to Timothy and to all believers that to fight the good fight of faith, such sinful entanglement must be torn asunder from his whole being and then he runs as far away from this materialistic seduction. Once when this holy step is taken and maintained will the child of God, like Timothy, succeed in fighting the good fight of faith!

This is the fight Timothy was told to begin fighting and keep on fighting every day of his life as he serves God as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. The word “fight” is used here figuratively. It means “it is the task of faith in persevering amid temptation and opposition. It also came to mean to take pains, to wrestle as an inward contest, straining every nerve to the uttermost towards the goal [Zodhiates, New Testament: The Complete Word Study Dictionary, page 78].” The temptation to be like the rich neighbour at work, or living in this or that prestigious location, is very real in the working world. God says fight this temptation child of God! Do not let this temptation win in your witness for Christ. Do not be like the people of the world who are like the god of this world; but be like Jesus Christ who is the express image of the one living and true God! He who has seen Christ has seen the heavenly Father!

FIGHTING SUCCESSFULLY – When the child of God fights successfully, he becomes more and more like Christ and less and less like the world. How can we be like God on a practical level so that by our good works Christ will be clearly seen by all around us? It must begin with the right direction. Paul says, “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” The verb for “follow after” is “to run swiftly to catch someone or something.” This verb is translated as “to persecute” in other contexts. The determination and the speed of pursuit is emphasized by the use of this word to describe the Christian’s struggle against carnality and holiness. The child of God must by all means run after these spiritual qualities all the days of his life as this is a command with the present imperative. It must be noted that this is not salvation by Christian works; Paul was not telling Timothy to seek these qualities and then he would be saved. Paul was commanding Timothy (and all believers) to follow after these attributes because as a Christian he already received them from Christ the moment he was born again. These qualities are already owned by believers who are now commanded to run after them, to let them be seen outwardly what God has already given in every believer’s heart inwardly!

• Righteousness– The child of God has been imputed with the righteousness of the law which Christ obtained for them by His perfect life of active obedience to all of God's laws. Because every child of God already has this righteousness in his positional relationship with Christ, they must now live in righteousness always. To live in righteousness means obeying all the teachings and doctrines of the Bible. This includes repentance of sin. Having Christ’s righteousness positionally does not mean sinless perfection. It is to always strive to do what is right which includes true and earnest repentance before God (and man) when an iniquity is committed;

• Godliness– It is defined as one’s piety toward God. It is to be like God in every way because the child of God is already transformed from a sinner into a child of God. His nature is now one of Christ-likeness which is the same as God-likeness since Christ is the Son of God. This is the same as allowing others to see Christ in the life of the disciple of Christ when he lives in piety toward God;

• Faith– Faith is used in the Bible as Objective Faith (i.e. the Christian Faith) and the Subjective Faith (which is the faith given by God to all sinners at the point of salvation that enables them to believe in Christ as their Lord and Saviour). Objective Faith does not increase or decrease. When the Bible says that the Christian Faith has fallen away it means it has become apostate. It ceases to portray the Christ of the Bible. Instead it portrays a devilish and deceptive “Christ”.

Subjective Faith should grow into maturity like a baby growing from infancy to adulthood. There is no difference between salvation faith and growing faith. They are one and the same. This faith must grow just as a healthy baby must grow. It grows through the study of the Word of God with obedience. When the Word of God is obeyed in the believer’s life, his faith in God through Christ will grow from strength to strength;

• Patience– This is the perseverance under difficult circumstance of life as a believer lives for Christ. This word is used often when the child of God is being persecuted. He is commanded by God here to hold on to Christ and keep on believing in Him regardless of the painful loss he suffers on earth. The painful loss would include his job, his family, his health, his freedom and even his life. He must persevere to the end of his life. To the child of God this is the definition of Christian victory;

• Meekness– It is the same as being humble. This is strength under control. Christ is the prime example of what meekness means. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. He possessed the power of God almighty as the Son of God when He was persecuted and then crucified. He did not lift a finger to protect or defend Himself, and He allowed Himself to be killed, for this was the only way to save sinners form their sins. Every child of God must endure suffering for Christ without retaliation. He surrenders his rights for the sake of Christ. He gives up his remuneration for the sake of Christ. He gives up everything for the sake of Christ.

Remember that this is a daily battle. The world will forever be a place of wickedness and doom until the Lord returns in power and glory. Do not think that gain is godliness but believe that godliness with contentment is great gain. The battle is the devil’s deception versus God’s revelation! Fight with all your might and heart and soul and mind. The enemy will try his best to stop the child of God from following after these godly qualities. The child of God must fight to hold on to these manifested spiritual qualities in his life.

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT – The constant daily fighting is very exhausting and at times even very discouraging but it is definitely worth it all. The word “fight” is in the present tense and is a command. The child of God must be like a pugilist fighting to win a prize! He does not stop trying until he wins! It is this kind of determination that will win the fight! God’s Word describes the fight as a “good fight”. It is a fight characterized by goodness because it is a fight of faith. Your faith and the faith of other believers are at stake. God’s children must all fight together against their common foe, the devil! It is called a good fight of faith because the devil will try his utmost and use everything at his disposal to trip to push or pull the child of God away from the narrow path of faith into the broad path of sin and carnality! He does so by attacking the Objective Faith so that the Subjective Faith will be shaken to the core and when this happens the believer will slide downhill toward backsliding. The spiritual qualities that he once bore will fade and be replaced by the qualities of carnality! He becomes unrighteous, ungodly, unfaithful, impatient and proud!

How important is faith in the life of every child of God? Romans 14:22-23 says, "Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Anything that we do that is not based upon God’s faith is SIN. Something as simple as eating if not done in faith is considered a sin in God’s eyes. For example, a child of God does not pray and give thanks for his meals because he fails to realize that his life and all that he receives come from the good hand of his heavenly Father. This is an act of ingratitude. Psalms 62:10says, "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them." You and I must remember that the fight we are in involves our faith, and our faith in God. Do not replace God with faith in money, friends, position or power. This is sin. This is a fine line within every believer’s heart that he must not cross. His motive behind every thought and deed must be done in faith, which means according to God’s teaching and for God's glory. The world wants us to live a life of facts or experience or education or money or of knowing the right people and pulling the right strings. But God says the just shall live by faith – nothing more and nothing less!

As God’s children, with our daily struggles, whether one is a pastor or not, we need to ask ourselves whether we live by faith or by sight. This is a fight worth fighting even if it means a daily battle with self and with the world’s system and all its accompanying influences. Keep on fighting the good fight of faith! It is the only faith that God in Christ has given to us. There is no battle more worthy to fight in than to fight for one’s faith in Christ. This is the only way to personally lay hold of our own salvation. With our own salvation secured we can live for others as God has called us to do. He has left us behind to be a good witness for Christ before all man. Those outside Christ might come to Him when they witness the wonderful Saviour in our lives. Others in Christ will be encouraged to keep on living and fighting for their faith as they see the sufficiency of Christ in those lives of earnest contention for the good faith!

CONCLUSION -- Is it worth fighting the good fight of faith? As the apostle Paul languished in a dark, probably rat infested, damp and filthy dungeon waiting to be executed because of the faith he had in the Lord Jesus Christ, he wrote these final words to Timothy and to all of us . . .

2 Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

Fight the good fight of faith dear reader! Your trust and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ will not be in vain. Keep on fighting and never give up. The victory is yours to claim through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.