1 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.

THEME OF THE DAY. FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT. The Apostle Paul is arming a young pastor, Timothy, with words describing the reality of and effort necessary to live the Christian life. Using the word “arming” is appropriate, not only for Paul to Timothy but to us as well. The Bible teaches the whole of the Christian life is a war. From the time a Christian awakes in the morning till the lights are turned off at night, an intense inward and outward spiritual conflict exists. And even after we go to sleep, the fight is fought with the Lord “on guard” throughout the night. This simple truth often goes unnoticed to most Christians. They simply go through the routines of life and rarely realize they are in a war of extreme combat with severe consequences if the daily battles are lost. But there are believers who do recognize the Christian life is war. The problem is they misinterpret true spiritual warfare. There is not space or time to properly address this, but here are a couple of things. If what is happening to us also happens to non-Christians, it is not spiritual warfare. Like having schedules changed by circumstances, like financial setbacks, like sickness . . . anything that an unbeliever may encounter and happens to a Christian cannot be spiritual warfare. Why? Unbelievers are already held captive to the devil. They are not in spiritual warfare. The other thing to consider is a simple definition of spiritual warfare – “Spiritual warfare is anything that attacks the mind and heart of believers to distract them from the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel in their lives.” Basically, the fight of spiritual warfare is a fight to keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

In today’s scripture, Paul’s instructions are directed in two ways that we may fight the good fight and do so consistently on the victor’s side.

First, always remember that the Christian life is about a real walk with the Lord Jesus. It is not a lifeless profession of faith It is not about do’s and don’ts or just being moral. The Apostle tells Timothy, “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” What is eternal life? Knowing God and the Lord Jesus (John 17:3). The minute we forget the Bible is given to us to know God, that prayer is a language of relationship, and we gather with each other to deepen our relationship with the Lord, we are losing in the good fight of faith. All the devil needs to do is get us to forget to guard and cultivate our relationship with the Lord, and we are casualties.

Another help from Paul in today’s scripture is to remember we are being observed in our homes, communities, on the job, and throughout our lives to see if what we proclaim is what we are – 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. Notice the appeal Paul makes to Timothy. He says, “Fight the good fight. People are watching you. You made a bold confession of the Lord Jesus before many people. Let that motivate you in the fight.” And it should motivate us as well. May it never be that any of us give a children, spouses, neighbors, friends, or co-workers a reason not to believe on Jesus because of our poor testimony.

So, fight the good fight by keeping your eyes and heart on Jesus, living in the world as a good ambassador of Him.

PRAYER: “Father, help me see all of life is a war demanding diligence to prevent my defeat.”

QUOTE: “The Christian life is a constant war putting the Christian on constant alert.”