As you watch professional athletics are you impressed with what you see? I am a football and basketball fan. Every time I watch I’m amazed at what these human beings are able to do and accomplish on the football field or the basketball court. Apart from all the animosity about enormous salaries and prima donnas I must say that I admire these men who keep themselves in top physical shape. The things that they need to do on a daily basis in order to stay competitive at that level must be astounding. Their diets, exercise, sleeping, their whole life is strictly regimented so that their bodies are at their peak.
In our text for this morning the Apostle Paul encourages us to be like professional athletes. We too have a struggle before us and we need to be in shape. We have to be in shape so that we can Fight the Good Fight of Faith. In order to do this we need to discipline ourselves for battle. We need to be offensive as we face the struggle. Our duty in this fight is to guard the gospel.
In order to fight the good fight we need to be in good shape. Good spiritual shape. To get in good spiritual shape we need to begin by disciplining ourselves. What do we need to discipline ourselves against? Paul tells us – he says that we need to be discipline ourselves against the love of money. He gives us a couple of good reasons why we should discipline ourselves against the love of money.
The first reason is that wealth and earthly possessions are not lasting. New cars rust and their engines fail. New appliances eventually break down. New clothes wear out. Money can disappear overnight – just ask someone who invests in the stock market to confirm this. The truth about wealth and about earthly goods is that they do not last. Even if we buy things with a lifetime warranty, and even if we accumulate enough money to last us for our entire life – what happens to these things when we die? They aren’t coming with us.
The second reason Paul gives us for disciplining ourselves against the love of money is this: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” If we’re going to fight a spiritual battle we have to fight against evil. We can’t be the source. If that were the case then we would be fighting this battle on for the wrong team. That battle actually begins within ourselves. The battle is against our sinful nature that desires so strongly to tempt us to put our trust in wealth. Paul tells us what has happened to those who succumbed to this temptation. He says, “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The battle is serious. In the gospel which I read just a few minutes ago we heard about the rich man and poor Lazarus. That rich man didn’t seem to have many griefs in this life, but what about after his death? He was no longer comfortable, in fact he was in torment we were told. The same will be true for all those whose sole desire is to accumulate wealth. They may have all the luxuries that this life has to offer, but the things they have last only for this life.
Paul gives a strategy which will help us overcome our sinful nature and its desire for wealth. He tells us that, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Our true riches lie in godliness coupled with contentment. These two things are joined hand in hand. As Christians we put our trust in God to provide for our earthly needs. We don’t need to chase after perishing things. Rather we look to our God to open his hand and satisfy all of our desires.
Contentment is something which doesn’t come very easily to us. It is so easy to take a look around us – at our neighbors, or family members, or co-workers, and see all the things that these people have and start to get a little jealous. Contentment is just the opposite. Content people don’t compare the blessings God has given them, they just give thanks for those blessings. This is the best possible way in which we can head off jealousy and covetousness. Give thanks to God with contented hearts for everything that he has given you, whether you are rich or poor or somewhere in between.
If we are going to fight this battle we need to be in top spiritual shape. Train yourself faithfully and diligently. Self-discipline is necessary if you want to succeed in this spiritual competition. The stakes are high. To those who don’t succeed the punishment is severe.
Discipline yourself so that you are in top spiritual shape. Be offensive as you train and compete so that you may be given the prize.
Be offensive in the way you train. Paul tells Timothy and he tells us that we are different than the rest of the world. We are different because we are men of God. He gives us some good advice in verse 11 when he says, “Flee from all this” As we train and as we compete we need to flee from temptation. The devil is wise and cunning. Our best defense in this case is being offensive, in other words not hanging around and exposing ourselves to temptation. Instead getting away from the temptation, fleeing from it.
We will also be offensive as we go about acquiring the skills needed to fight this battle. Paul tells us to be offensive when he commands us to, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” These are the things which we should desire. These are the qualities and the skills which we will need in battle. These are the things which we will pursue.
As we compete we need to focus on the prize. That prize is eternal life. That prize is our motivation to struggle. That prize needs to be the center of our attention. It is the reason why we struggle, why we fight the good fight of faith. I think of the many high school athletes in our nation. Why do they work, and train, and practice as hard as they do. In order to win the prize – whether that is a victory in a game, or a tournament, or a state championship. These athletes are motivated by their desire to win the prize.
That prize is ours. The prize is ours because of the confession that we too have made in front of many witnesses. The confession which Paul is referring to is our baptisms. In baptism we made the confession that we are Christians. We confessed that we have put our trust in God’s promises. God promises that through our baptism we have been cleansed from our sin and we are given and strengthened in our faith. Our baptism provides us with reassurance that we will be successful in this fight
Why will we be successful? Because Christ made the good confession before Pontious Pilate. What do I mean by that? When Christ confessed that he is a king but his kingdom is not of this world, he confessed that he has all authority in his heavenly kingdom. He made that confession knowing that as a result he would be sentenced to death. He made that confession because it was the only way in which he could offer us the prize. Through his suffering and death he has won the prize for us. Now he offers us the prize through faith. If our trust is in him and we pursue the things which he has commanded us to go after there isn’t anybody or anything which can keep us from taking hold of the prize that our Savior has won for us. Grab hold of that prize – and don’t let go.
We must be offensive in the competition. We have been given a solemn duty to carry out in this spiritual competition.
That duty is to guard the gospel. God has given us this tremendous gift. The gift of his Word – the Bible. This is the only book that reveals to us the things which God has done for us. The only book which moves us to fight this spiritual battle. He has given us this tremendous gift – he commands us to obey and guard it.
We are to keep it without spot or blemish. This means that we must be faithful to what it says in our own lives. We need to read and study it. We need to put it into practice. We do this for good reason. Our appreciation and love for our Savior, the one who gave his life for us motivates us to do this.
Keeping the gospel without spot or blemish also means that we will be faithful in proclaiming the pure message of the Bible to others. There are many in this world who like to use the Bible as a tool for their own personal gain or advancing their own personal agenda. They twist the meaning of the words of the Bible, they make the Bible subject to their human logic and reason, some even remove parts or add things to what the Bible says. That isn’t guarding the gospel – that’s destroying it. We must be very careful in handling the Word of God. We must be careful to proclaim the pure truth of the Word. That is why we as a church body train young men to be pastors. We give these young men the opportunity to learn how to properly use the Word of God. But this job of protecting, of guarding the gospel is the duty of all Christians not just pastors. We all need to study the Word of God. We need to know what it says. We need to test those who teach us. Compare what I say with what the Bible has to say. Do the things I’m telling you fall in line with what the Bible has to say? This is your responsibility – it is your duty. Just like the Bereans about whom Paul writes that they diligently checked the Scriptures to make certain that they were being taught correctly. Gladly take this responsibility – it is key in preserving the truth about your salvation.
Our duty to guard the gospel is for a limited time. We have this duty until Jesus’ second coming. We don’t know when this will be – only God himself knows. When this time does arrive all nations will recognize Jesus as King of kings and Lord of Lords. For those who have fought the good fight of faith this day will be a joyous one. For those who have put their trust in wealth and earthly possessions this will be a day of reckoning.
We guard this gospel with great zeal because it comes from the True God. This is the same God to whom Paul gives praise in the last couple verses of the text for this morning. He is the immortal God, who lives in unapproachable light. The God who has never been seen or can be seen. This same powerful, eternal, holy God is the one who has made himself seen through the Gospel. We hold onto this precious gift because it is the one book which contains the truth. The truth about God, the truth about us, the truth about our Savior, and the truth about our salvation.
These truths move us to give praise to God the same way in which Paul gave him praise. As Paul says, “To him be honor and might forever.” Our God is worthy of praise. He deserves our praise every single day of our lives. Our God the great and mighty maker of the universe is also the God who cares for you and me – not just for this life, but also for all eternity. As we reflect on the things that our God has done for us we can’t help but praise him.
Just like the athlete who is in the heat of competition we too have a battle on our hands. Everyone is engaged in it. There are some who choose not to fight but concede to the desires and temptations of their sinful nature. May we never become part of that group. My friends – Fight the Good Fight of Faith so that you can take hold of the eternal prize. Amen.
