Fighting the Good Fight:

 Below are some reflections on what it means for us to be a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  The apostle Paul urged Timothy to meditate on the things that God gave Paul to write for him.  We should apply our hearts to wisdom and seek God for understanding to apply God’s ways to our lives and to be GOOD SOLDIERS of Christ Jesus in this generation in which we live.  There are not many examples of godliness in our day.  We must hold fast to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and follow His example.  Many say they follow Jesus, but few are actually holding fast to the calling which we have received.  My prayer for you is that you would seek the will of God in your life and, by faith, lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has laid hold of you to accomplish through His Spirit who lives in us who believe.  Meditate on what I say; and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

How we will be good soldiers of Christ:

(2 Tim 2:1-19 NIV)  You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

(2:3-7 KJV)  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. {4} No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. {5} And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. {6} The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. {7} Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

• We must be strong in the grace of Christ so we can stand against the devil’s schemes and temptation when it comes.
• Endure hardness; persevere, be patient, suffer because of trust and obedience to Christ
• Not entangled (from entwined and give self wholly to): not woven with the ways of this world
  • The call of duty and having family and affairs in their proper place in life.  Pleasing our commander, Jesus, always and not being distracted.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.
• Seek to please Him; find out His will and walk in it by the Spirit; He has chosen us and called us (and determined that we should be holy--Eph 1:1-6)
• In order to win the prize, we must strive for it and we must strive lawfully (according to God's commands, we cannot have our own path to God)
  • If we go out of bounds we are disqualified for the goal.
• We must know our calling and hold to it. 
  • Labor in the things God gives us and apply them in our lives.  Stir up the gift(s) that God has given us and do not forget the Lord’s provisions for us.  He gives us everything that we need for life and godliness.
• Meditate on/consider these things to have understanding
  • Understanding means: to connect/apply knowledge to the mind for practicality

 On the contrary, we are to give ourselves wholly to:

(1 Tim 4:12-16 NIV)  Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. {13} Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. {14} Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. {15} Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. {16} Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

 So what about love and the law?

(1 Tim 1:8-11 NIV)  We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. {9} We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, {10} for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine {11} that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

 (Rom 8:1-4 KJV)  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: {4} That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

* The law is fulfilled in us--not through the law, but through the Spirit of Christ.

 (Rom 13 KJV)  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. {2} Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. {3} For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: {4} For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. {5} Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. {6} For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. {7} Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. {8} Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. {9} For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. {10} Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. {11} And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. {12} The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. {13} Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. {14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

(James 1:21-27 KJV)  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. {22} But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. {23} For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: {24} For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. {25} But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. {26} If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. {27} Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

We should be doing what is right and not being overly critical while being unspotted:

(James 2:8-13 KJV)  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: {9} But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. {10} For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. {11} For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. {12} So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. {13} For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

* How we view each other and make judgments.

Some take this to rituals and ceremonies and days and foods and customs but we are warned about such things:

Read and meditate on Romans 14:1 - 15:5 about faith and weakness and what it means to edify others rather than to condemn their every decision.

How to fight this spiritual battle:

(Ephesians 6:10-18 AV) “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

(2 Cor 10:3-5 KJV)  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: {4} (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) {5} Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

• The weapons of our warfare are spiritual, not fleshly or carnal

• They are mighty through God

• They tear down strongholds and imaginations and lofty arguments

• By the Spirit we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

Contrast a good fight of faith and a false/bad fight which will be lost:

(1 Tim 1:3-5 KJV)  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, {4} Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. {5} Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

(2 Tim 1:3 KJV)  I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

(2 Tim 4:7-8 KJV)  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: {8} Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

*****************

(1 Tim 1:5-7 KJV)  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: {6} From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; {7} Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

* Like driving, we must stay on the road and pay attention to our trip so we do not crash.

(Jude 1:3-8 KJV)  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. {4} For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. {5} I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. {6} And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. {7} Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. {8} Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

(2 Pet 3:1 KJV)  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

What is currently deceiving multitudes?  This is our spiritual battle:

(2 Th 2:3-12 KJV)  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; {4} Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. {5} Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? {6} And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. {7} For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. {8} And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: {9} Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, {10} And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: {12} That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

(Matthew 7:13-28 KJV) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:”

• Sin, iniquity and unrighteousness is the cause for deception in the world today.

What we should do:

(1 John 2:6 KJV)  “He that saith he abideth in him [Jesus] ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” We need to follow the example of Jesus Christ

(Ephesians 5:1-21 KJV) “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.  Be not ye therefore partakers with them.  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

(1 Peter 1:13-16 KJV) “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

(2 Thess 3:1-5) – Finally pray for ministry and to be led into the love of God and patience of Christ.

Scripture Quotations are taken from the King James and New International Versions of the Bible.

Grace to all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth--Ephesians 6:24
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