FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience.

1 Timothy 1:18-19a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. 1 Timothy 1:17

In yesterday’s message, we looked at the importance of giving honor where it was always due, to the Lord our King who is eternal, immortal, and omnipotent. He has no rival or equal as His sovereignty and supremacy are unmatched so all glory should go to Him above anyone and everything else.

This was Paul’s command to Timothy who was once his young protégé but had grown and matured to be his missionary partner in the Gospel ministry.

As Paul wrote this first letter to Timothy, we know he did so with concerns about the church in Ephesus, the place where Timothy was ministering. Of chief concern was the teaching of “false doctrines” by “certain people” in the church. These falsities included a devotion to “myths and endless genealogies” which Paul said promoted “controversial speculations” and constituted “meaningless talk” instead of “advancing God’s work” in the church by faith (1 Timothy 1:3-4,6).

The bottom line is that the purity of the Gospel needed to be preserved and any attempts to pervert that purity needed to be strongly opposed. In other words, a battle was going to be at hand within the Ephesian church as Timothy went to work to eradicate the false teaching that was occurring.

Now, if anyone knew about going to battle for the cause of the Gospel, it was the Apostle Paul. His whole life seemed to be ensnarled in a constant fight against opposition to ensure people heard the good news of salvation through Jesus by faith and faith alone. No other requirements or works were needed.

And so as he called Timothy to wage war against the false doctrines that were trying to infiltrate the church of Ephesus, we find him exhorting his fellow ministry mate to stay the course through the confrontation. Look at these words found towards the very end of chapter 1:

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Vv. 18-19a

Timothy was ordained into the Gospel ministry and had come to Ephesus to serve as the pastor of the Christian church there. The commissioning involved the laying on of hands that Paul himself had been a part of (2 Timothy 1:6-7). This was the prophecy that Paul is referring to here, that Christian leaders had acknowledged his special gifts and motivation for the cause of Jesus which qualified him for the Gospel ministry.

Having traveled with Paul for some time, Timothy knew all too well what he was getting into. He had watched his mentor go through trial after trial after trial. Now, he was on his own and so we find Paul exhorting him to “fight the battle well” and to do so by “holding onto faith” and a “good conscience” that the cause he was fighting for was worth every ounce of energy to defend it.

Today, we often come up against opposition ourselves when we boldly carry the good news of salvation through Jesus to others. When that happens, let us hear the words of Paul speaking to our hearts and minds as well, words that urge us to keep fighting against anything that would serve to pollute or hamper the Gospel while holding onto the trust that our Lord walks with us every day we go forth for His cause and will do so until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.