Young People's Group

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

by Mitchell Tan
April 07, 2017

AN IMPERATIVE WORD TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

Our precious faith is something worth fighting for. False teachings can infiltrate the church and affect people’s faith adversely. The need of the hour is to fight for the truth of the gospel. It is to battle against false teachings that cause people’s “faith” to be ruined (1 Timothy 1:19). The Spirit also expressly says that some will depart from the faith through deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). There were younger widows who would cast off their first faith (1 Timothy 5:12). It was in the light of this that the apostle Paul gave Timothy the following command.

“Fight the good fight of faith …”
1 Timothy 6:12

This is an imperative that must be obeyed. Timothy was meant to put in much effort in this war for the truth of the gospel. It is a battle for our very faith. This was the faith and ministry that the Lord had entrusted to Paul and to Timothy. It was a most honourable and worthy cause to stand up for. Paul had earlier commanded Timothy that he was to wage a good warfare with faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:9). He once again commanded His spiritual son to engage in this good fight for the faith. Why do we want to even be involved?

1. BECAUSE OUR LIFE IS AT STAKE

“… Lay hold on eternal life …”
1 Timothy 6:12

The phrase “lay hold” in Greek means to “grab hold of something”. Timothy was meant to seize this eternal life that had been placed before him. Eternal life is not just a reference to life after death. It is a reference to the abundant life that the Lord Jesus had promised to us (John 10:10b). We can live our life to the fullest for God. Paul became a great servant and teacher of God. He lived out his life fulfilling his greatest potential for the Lord. This was something that Timothy was meant to have too. He could look forward to experiencing both abundant life and eventually eternal life in heaven. If we do not fight the good fight of faith, our life could be greatly affected. We may not live to our fullest for God.

2. BECAUSE OUR CALLING IS AT STAKE

“… To which you were also called …”
1 Timothy 6:12

The Lord has called us in a number of ways. He has called us to salvation in Christ. There is also the calling to be a disciple of the Lord and to become fishers of men. There is the call to serve Him too as Paul had. If we do not fight the good fight of faith, we may not be true to the call that the Lord has given us. The endeavour to fulfil our calling may be affected. We may not grow in faith as we should. Thus, we may not turn out to be the servant God desires us to be.

3. BECAUSE OUR GOOD CONFESSION IS AT SAKE

“… And have confessed the good confession”
1 Timothy 6:12

The good confession is basically our declaration of faith in the Lord. Timothy must have publicly declared how he was seeking to serve the Lord before many witnesses. If we do not fight the good fight of faith, we can also end up not following through with what we have declared before others. This in turn would cause our testimony to be affected. Let’s seek to fight the good fight of faith that we may follow through with our good confession.

Back to Article Listing