By Pastor J.D. Link
agf-blanco.com
2Tim 4:7-8 says, “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.” Good means beautiful, excellent, noble, virtuous; while fight means contest, conflict, struggle, & battle. 2Timothy is essentially Paul’s departing words to his son in the faith, Pastor Timothy. Among other things, he encourages Timothy to fight the good fight, the beautiful contest, the excellent conflict, the noble struggle, the virtuous battle. What is this “Good fight”? It is the good fight of faith (1Tim 6:12).
Sometimes faith is a fight. Just ask the man with the demon possessed son (Mk 9:24); or Jairus, who’s daughter died (Mk 5:36); or even the Apostles themselves (Lk 17:5). Yet, it is a fight worth fighting. There is a crown of righteousness to obtain. There is a reward from Jesus to gain. While the good fight is not always easy, it is always well worth it; bringing blessing in this life, and certainly in the age to come. Don’t stop fighting! Stay in faith! In Jesus Name, stay in faith!
So, we should fight a good fight, and that fight is faith - but what is faith? Heb 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The WNT reads like this, “Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see.” The ISV says, “Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.” Faith - certainty that what we cannot see exists. Awesome.
Here is a real practical description of faith: If I asked you if you believed with all of your heart that God is the creator of the universe, and you, with all of your heart, said yes - that is what faith is. It is assurance of things hoped for (mentally seen or imagined - the inward picture painted in our minds by the Word of God). It is the proof that things unseen are real. You haven’t seen God. You weren’t around to see Him create the world. Yet, you know without a doubt that He exists, and is the Creator. That is faith. Faith is not blind, but it sees beyond the physical senses. Faith sees into another dimension, another realm, an unseen realm, a spiritual realm. This realm is not unreal, or less real; in fact, it is more real than what we see with our physical eyes. It is the eternal realm. It will exist forever, while this physical realm will not.
Now that we know what faith is, how do we fight this good fight of faith? Does God fight for us (Neh 4:20, Ps 35:1), or do we fight for ourselves (Neh 4:14, Ps 144:1)? God has fought for us, and obtained total victory through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all. We are blessed - present tense - with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3). Our fight is to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (Heb 10:23). To stand in faith on every promise of God. To not allow our hope to turn into dread, and our faith into fear.
We do this by: Recognizing our battle is spiritual, and controlling our thought life (2Cor 10:3-5); by putting on the full armor of God (by meditating on the spiritual reality of each piece) Eph 6:13-18; and by fighting with purpose - fighting to win (1Cor 9:24-27). This is how we fight the good fight and obtain the victory. Many Christians, at least in America, are defeated because they are spiritually lazy, slothful, and unengaged in the good fight. There is a spiritual battle that has been raging, and is ramping up; and the sooner we awaken to that reality, the better off we will be. You may not like this, but I’m telling the truth: Satan is winning the battle for the souls of Americans right now. This victory in the unseen realm he has been obtaining for awhile now, but we are just now starting to see the physical manifestation of it. Christian, you’re not going to like what you see. I know some of you understand that.
Get spiritually disciplined and get engaged, Christian! We need you in the fight! Don’t leave the good fight of faith to a handful of your brothers and sisters! Fight it yourself, and fight it alongside others! Get right with God! Get on your face and knees before Him! You could start a revival! Where are the soldiers of the cross? Where are the Jesus lovers? Where are the genuine disciples? Where are the real men of God? My prayer is, I’m talking to them. Stand guard, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong - 1Cor 16:13. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord!
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