FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

I Timothy 1:18-20

Notice that Paul does not say, "Fight a good fight," or, "Wage a good warfare." Paul is talking about the Christian life.

The fundamental nature of Christianity is a warfare in which we are all involved; and there is no exit until the end.

The moment you began your Christian life, by faith in Jesus Christ, you entered a lifelong battle. There is a widespread mistaken attitude today that when you become a Christian God began working for you so everything has to work out nicely.

The object of this warfare is living a Christ-like life in the midst of dangerous pressures and countering forces.

The battle is the battle is to live redemptively.

The warfare is to live your life for a purpose, not merely to spend it on yourself.

People are not the enemy. "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood," {cf, Eph 6:12a KJV}.

We are opposed by three ruthless enemies called, the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The world is society, committed to a godless philosophy.

The flesh, opposing us from within. It is dedicated to selfishness and self-centeredness.

Then there is the devil, and all the hosts of fallen angels.

Transition: So there is the battle -- to be Christ-like, loving, forgiving, understanding, and pure in the midst of those pressures. This is what Paul is referring to when he encourages Timothy to, "Fight the good fight."

The central thing is, "How do you fight the good fight?" Paul says it requires two things: The equipment and weapons of war - the faith and a good conscience.

"The faith" means the truth of Christianity and of Christ and of the Word of God.

But with faith there must be a good conscience.

Many feel that the conscience is given to us to teach us the difference between right and wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The conscience is given to us so that when we know what is right and what is wrong, it insists that we do the right and avoid the wrong. But it is the Word of God that teaches us what is right and what is wrong.

The Word of God is what tells us what is right and what is wrong. Conscience is given to us to help us know when we are beginning to fail, or fall away from that right path.

A good conscience is a synonym for an obedient heart which wants to do what God says is right.

A good conscience is the discipline of the mind and the will that says, "I will follow my Lord and do what he says to do."

The warning is frightening. Conscience can be put away, and faith can be shipwrecked.

Paul says, "By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith."

These are people who know the truth, but because they have chosen not to obey it, they not only have wandered away, they have eventually destroyed their faith.

Paul mentions the discipline which he exercised against two men.

This is not a single act, suddenly taken in the heat of anger. This is the result of a long course of spiritual deterioration which ends in the fourth step suggested by our Lord in Matthew 18.

Testifying of truth but not acting on it is blasphemy. This is destroying the image of God in the eyes of others, making God look ridiculous because they are not consistent in the walk.

The question this leaves us with is: "What are we doing?" We are called by Christ, called to live a Christian life in a godless world. This is not something to take lightly. We are soldiers in a battle, a fierce war against sin, called by Christ himself to "fight a good fight, to hold fast to the faith, to hold to a good conscience." God's image in the eyes of others is at stake. We are to live redemptively in the midst of a fallen world.

Small Group QUESTIONS:

1) Do we do a good job of communicating our confidence in individuals to encourage them in the difficult tasks they face? Do others encourage us as Paul does here to Timothy?

2) What are the primary weapons of this warfare for sound doctrine?

3) How sensitive are we to the promptings of our conscience? Have we developed callouses in certain parts of our conscience?

4) Paul certainly knew the pain and hardship of being shipwrecked. What are some elements of this analogy that Paul is trying to apply in this spiritual realm?