The Good Fight

The Good Fight
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

The world is demanding action to bring the downfall, death or departure for the Khadafi regime. The world can see the damage of the immoral mind of this leader and can attest to the destruction of the physical bodies that his arms of wrath can reach. His uncompassionate heart leaves a wake of death behind him and his ruthless aggression continues to wreak havoc on this earth.

But, on the spiritual side of life, there is another evil force wreaking even more havoc on our fellow man. And just as the world leaders see this battle to end Khadafi’s regime as a good fight worthy of intervention, Christians see the battle against this evil ruler worthy of their participation. Christians understand that they have been enlisted in the army of God that has been commissioned to fight against the forces that try to infiltrate hearts and minds with deceitful doctrines set out to separate them from the source of life. This army is in a continuous battle to set man free from the result of serving the source of death, who is none other than Satan himself.

When Paul wrote to a young struggling preacher to encourage him in his efforts, notice how he addressed him: “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 4:3). When Jesus was called into service to fight against the evil forces, He was called into a strategy of success, a strategy not without cost. Jesus was called to serve a system of self-denial, suffering and sacrifice, a strategy that seemed to play right into the hands of the enemy until Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand. See, death was thought to be victory for the other side, but God’s love conquered that evil power and now has revealed the victory that is in faith: “But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up’ in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Dear friends, the victory in faith comes when we die to the powers of Satan that once held us captive to his deceitful scheme of destruction.

We must fight the flesh to keep our souls in the hands of the Creator. Satan’s attack on the souls of God’s creation is just as despicable as Khadafi’s attack is on his own people. But we have an undefeatable defense system called faith: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith” (1 John 4:4). God has given us a strategy that has already proved to be victorious. If we are smart people then we can easily see the choice to surrender to His plan is the way to be victorious: “[B]ut thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Many false teachers will come into your camp with another strategy and, to the soldier of Christ, he is an enemy, a soldier fighting against our faith: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8).

The enemy’s weapons of mass destruction are lies used deceive the flesh to cause divisions within the Lord’s troops (1 Corinthians 1:10). But hope that “does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5) will keep the Lord’s army intact and among the fighting elite because of their uncompromising faith in their Commander. They have set their minds on things above (Colossians 3:2) and will not be persuaded to fall from the ranks of the victorious army of God. Don’t lose heart and keep fighting the good fight of faith. Avoid the snares set by Satan’s deceitful ways to receive victory.

In His Love,
Cub