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My father-in-law would enjoy kidding me. He would ask, “Does the Bible say to keep the faith?” As I sought to give a serious answer, he would press on, “but I thought you were supposed to give it away.” And he would chuckle in laughter – again and again. He had been a lawyer and a judge, so words and phrases meant a great deal to him, especially if you could make fun by twisting their true meaning.
Here of course was the intentional confusing of a personal faith in Jesus with the Great Commission. Oh, did his eyes twinkle when he asked me those questions!
People may unintentionally become confused over this verse, “fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” That’s 1 Tim 6:12. If you are struggling for acceptance or mired in performance based religion or mixing Old and New Covenants, it will be easy to get confused, worn out, frustrated, and depressed.
Here Paul is encouraging a young evangelist with a personal letter. He understands life can be a struggle, so he encourages Timothy by reminding him that he HAS made the good confession of Jesus Christ, so hold fast to his new identity in Christ as a son of God, adopted by God the Father. This is a reminder to firmly enter the REST of GOD. Every believer can do that, by believing in God and all He has promised.
The fight is from a place of REST in Jesus’ finished work. The fight is to remain focused upon Jesus, to retain our identity in Him. At Calvary Jesus took care of the sin issue, took care of those accusations against us. We are forever accepted in the beloved, in Jesus. God is pleased with us, my friend!
Ah, but you say your faith is a little shaky? Well, where does faith come from? “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word concerning Christ.” That’s Ro 10:17. So LISTEN, pay attention, to true words about JESUS CHRIST and what He has done. FAITH WILL COME freely, because it is a GIFT OF GOD, Eph 2:8.
Yes, it’s all right to READ those words. Paul meant we should pay close attention to them. Like in the Gospels when Jesus would say, “Truly truly I say to you…!
Today, how about we fight that good fight of faith, resting, not struggling to perform, but resting in His finished work, all right? Let’s receive those promises of God – and COME ALIVE!
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