Daily Devotions
1 Timothy
"Fight the good fight of faith..."
Text: 1 Timothy 6:12
SPIRITUAL BATTLES
Once again the apostle Paul reminded Timothy of spiritual warfare. Paul was consistently conscious of being involved in spiritual battles.
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
to which you were also called and have confessed
the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1 Timothy 6:12
1. “Fight”
a) Waging a good warfare was advised early in this pastoral epistle (1 Timothy 1:18).
b) The word “fight” involves a number of elements:-
i) This word is often used to describe athletes in competition.
ii) The competitor often has to endure some agony before he can succeed.
iii) The word “fight” is derived from consciousness of the struggles involved.
2. “The good fight”
a) The word “good” may also be translated “noble” (Luke 8:15 “noble… heart”).
b) This is not a fight where blood is shed.
3. “The good fight of (the) faith”
a) The article ought to be included.
b) This is not so much subjective faith as “objective faith”.
c) This is a description of the Christian faith that the apostles had defended against all odds.
WHO WERE THE ENEMIES OF THE FAITH?
Timothy had been well-advised to look at the enemies of the faith that sought to overwhelm the church at Ephesus. In summary the following may be highlighted:-
1. There were those who had rejected faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:19).
2. There were others who had been deceived and were promoting false teachings (1 Timothy 4:1-4).
3. There were still others who were promoting the idea of godliness as a means of obtaining wealth (1 Timothy 6:5).
4. These false teachers were men of “corrupt minds and destitute of the truth” (1 Timothy 6:5).
BATTLING AS A MAN OF GOD
The true man of God must have a sense of courage to struggle against these false teachers. The battles were not physical ones. These spiritual battles were sometimes far more difficult because the forms of battle were in the realms of ideology, teachings, practices of life etc. Nevertheless the strong and courageous man of God must not fail to battle for the sake of the faith. His motivation is a deep love for truth and for the church of God. He will do whatever is necessary to defend the faith by the grace of God.