Fight

Fight the Good Fight Of the Faith

7.2.23 [1 Timothy 6:11-16] River of Life (5th Sunday after Pentecost)

Grace and peace to you from God, the Blessed and Only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light, now and forever. Amen.

This Tuesday, we will celebrate the 247th birthday of the United States of America with flags and fireworks and four F-35s flying right over our church. But the freedom we enjoy as people of this great nation has come at a great cost. The more we study our own history, the more we appreciate what was won for us at places like Yorktown, Antietam. and Midway. Without these battles, Tuesday would be very different.

You may not be able to remember the ebbs and flows of the siege at Yorktown, or recall the generals who were in command at Antietam, or exactly why the 2.4 sq. miles of Midway was so hotly contested. But each was crucial. Without Yorktown, we don’t have our independence. Without Antietam, we wouldn’t still be the United States of America. Without Midway, we might not have those F-35s flying over our heads.

The importance of what happened in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and WWII is why you recognize places like Yorktown, Antietam, and Midway. But they're not the only ones foundational to our freedom.

In August of 1814, the British attacked Washington D.C. and burned the Capitol building, the White House, and the Library of Congress. Two weeks later, they had their sights set on Baltimore, our 3rd largest city. The only thing standing in the way was Fort McHenry and its 1,000 or so defenders. For 25 hours, the most powerful naval fleet in the world rained down bombs and rockets on that little fort. It must have seemed like a lost cause to those fighting for Fort McHenry.

But on the morning of September 14th, 1814, when the smoke and fog cleared, the folks defending our flag were still there. Still fighting for their cause and their nation. Even though they were severely outnumbered & outgunned, they fought for what they believed in. Their perseverance & tenacity forced the British Navy to withdraw. Within a few months, the War of 1812 came to an end. Who won depends on whose history you read, but as a country, the United States had finally earned the respect of the world. The faithful service of a few helped secure freedom for many. This weekend we celebrate the freedom others fought for.

But we have a greater citizenship to celebrate. This world has its mind set only on earthly things. (Php. 3:20) But our citizenship is in heaven.

Because our mind is not set on earthly things, because our citizenship is among a people far greater than the United States of America, we think, and talk, and live differently. That’s the point Paul is making as he writes to the young pastor he stationed in Ephesus, Timothy. (1 Tim. 6:11) But you, man of God, flee from the sinful way the world looks at their lives and instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight this good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life.

Throughout this letter, Paul details the struggles Timothy was facing in Ephesus. Powerful people were angry and selfish and violent. (1 Tim. 5) Many were downtrodden—financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

But it wasn’t just Timothy's city that was hurting. His church was struggling, too. (1 Tim. 1:18-20; 4:1) Some who had been a part of his congregation had abandoned the faith entirely. (1 Tim. 1:3) Others were teaching false doctrines and slandering our Savior. (1 Tim. 4:12) Even those who were trying to be faithful, wondered if this young pastor Timothy was the right guy to be leading their congregation. Paul recognized Timothy’s physical, emotional, and) spiritual struggles.

Some of the Ephesians thought they needed Paul to return. Timothy wanted that, too. But Paul couldn’t come back to Ephesus again. So he wrote this letter, to encourage their young shepherd and them in their fight. Fight the good fight of the faith, Paul implored. The Ephesians needed to hear this. One of the most difficult struggles they were facing was the connection between faithful living and God’s blessings. Some of them figured that godliness was the best way to get on God’s good side and if you were on God’s good side you’d get his good blessings.

But when you’re only trying to appear godly so that you can get “the good life”, you’re inevitably going to fall into hypocrisy—putting on a good show rather than pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. That’s a struggle we all deal with today.

We will do the right thing if we know we’re going to be rewarded. We will show love when we think it will be reciprocated. We can be patient when we know there’s a payoff. We’ll treat people with gentleness when it gains us something. But ask yourself: Whom are you really serving? Whom are you really trusting? Why do you really do what you do?

Greediness can put on a godly mask and look the part, but it’s never the real deal. It’s opportunism rooted in selfishness and sin. Not God.

Let me show you how it disguises itself. The person who is looking after #1 can do the right thing, so long as it lands them that promotion or the attention and respect they crave. The person who is looking after #1 can be patient, kind, and gentle. They can endure difficulties in life. They’re patient because they believe good things come to those who wait. They’re kind because they want people to be kind to them. They’re gentle because they’re afraid of making someone mad at them. They’re perseverant because they believe in themselves and their plans.

But none of that is rooted in faith in Jesus. When the good things don’t come, the patience disappears. When the world gets mean, they grow cynical and cold-hearted. When bullying seems to get the job done faster, they fall in line. It’s pragmatic. Not faithful.

That’s what God lays out for us here. Fighting the good fight of faith must begin within us. Fighting the good fight isn’t about taking our country back or legislating people into more moral behavior. Fighting the good fight of faith begins with rooting our faith in the Word of God, where we find the blessed and only Ruler of this world taking on flesh and blood and become our servant. Fighting the good fight of faith continues with watching and learning from the immortal God who subjected himself to death so that we might have life. Fighting the good fight of faith persists as we see Jesus, who possesses might and deserves honor unlike any other, be dishonored and become weak so that we might be made the people of God. Fighting the good fight of faith means fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.

The God-Man Jesus fled from all kinds of sin as if his life depended on it, when it was ours that did. The God-Man joyfully pursued righteousness and godliness even when it brought him trouble and heartache. Jesus was faithful in the face of temptation. When the devil said, as the Son of God, you shouldn’t have to be hungry, use your might and turn these stones into bread, Jesus fled sin and pursued God’s will. He wasn’t hungry because God had turned his back on him. He was fasting so that he might focus more on the Word of God and prayer.

Throughout his life, Jesus fled sin and pursued God’s will. Though he ate and drank with the gluttons and town drunks, he never ate or drank too much. He spent time with them so that they could see his love for them. He gently rebuked bruised sinners. He patiently endured disciples who were slow learners. He loved those who hated him. Jesus fled sin and pursued God’s righteous will. That will led him to the cross. On the cross, all the burdens of the sin that we have not fled from was placed on the God-Man.

On the cross, the Righteous One, The Faithful One, The Gentle Son of God was abused and mocked. He suffered physically and was forsaken by his Father. Yet, even as he died, he remained righteous & godly. He was loving and gentle with those who were crucifying him—praying for his Father to forgive them. He endured the fires of hell. He fought the good fight so that we might be given eternal life. This man of God, who fled sin and pursued righteousness and godliness, has made us his own. You are a man or woman of God.

So live like it. Jesus has won the war for your soul convincingly. He has exerted his might to redeem you from all sin. Don’t give your enemy the devil another inch. Live like Christ’s sacrifice matters to you. Fight the good fight of faith in everything you think, say, and do. And understand that the good fight of faith is going to look and feel different at different stages of life. The fights at Yorktown, Antietam, and Midway were all very different. But they had the same cause. So your good fight of faith will look different at different times and different seasons of life.

The good fight is rooted in faith in God’s wisdom and love. That means in order to fight the good fight we must be in the Word. Only the grace of God can train us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. Only the grace of God can teach us to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives here and now. Only when we know how much God sacrificed for us—what our sin cost him—will we begin to deny sinful cravings of greed & lust and renounce sinful inclinations of anger & anxiety.

When you are young, you desire to go and do your own thing. Fighting the good fight of faith means honoring those God has placed in authority over you and respecting your elders and the wise and godly counsel they have to offer.

As you mature, so too do your desires. You want to have money and the security it seems to offer. You want to experience life, make memories and friends, and find someone to build a life with. Fighting the good fight means tending to the needs of your soul and those entrusted to your care before that of your stomach or wallet or your passions or your bucket lists.

Most of all, fighting the good fight doesn’t end until God says it’s over. Too many Christians only see God’s purpose for their lives in the past. They wonder “Why am I still here?” God tells us to keep on fighting. People of God who listen to his Word and trust his plan and pray for his people are fighting the good fight to the very end. How we finish the fight matters. It is a witness to our faith. It is an inspiration to those who watch us fight.

Watching others fight at Fort McHenry changed the way we look at ourselves as Americans. One man watched the fighting at Fort McHenry from Baltimore. He was inspired to watch his defenders deliver him. His heart spoke “Does not such a country and such defenders deserve a song?” So Francis Scott Key sat down that day and wrote about the rocket’s red glare and the bombs bursting in air. He penned the most popular patriotic poem, what we now know as the Star Spangled Banner. Bravery, courage, and perseverance in the fight are just that inspirational.

So it is for us as citizens of heaven. We can and should be patriotic. But we are even more proud of the freedom that Christ has won for us by his life, death, and resurrection. His love moves us to sing and to strive to fight the good fight with all our might. Christ is our strength. Christ is our light. Lay hold on life and it shall be, your joy and crown eternally. Amen.