Fighting the Good Fight of the Faith

To be a Christian is to be at war—with our flesh, with the world, and with devil. The primary ground for which we’re fighting is our own souls, and what’s at stake is eternal communion with or eternal separation from God. The stakes could not be higher.

At one time we did not fight. We were willing captives of the enemy of our souls. But now that God, in Christ, has opened our eyes to His surpassing glory, now that “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), we fight with all our might that we might gain that one great treasure: perfect communion with the Creator of our souls, in Christ.

And make no mistake about it, we do not have the luxury of choosing whether or not to fight—either we fight or we die. Consider the following quote from the nineteenth-century pastor J. C. Ryle:

“Whether we are churchmen or not, one thing in certain—this Christian warfare is a great reality, and a subject of vast importance. It is not a matter like church government, about which men may differ, and yet reach heaven at last. Necessity is laid upon us. We must fight. There are no promises in the Lord Jesus Christ’s epistles to the seven churches, except to those who ‘overcome.’ Where there is grace there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier. There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight” (Holiness [Charles Nolan: Moscow, 2001], 67).

So, brothers and sisters in Christ, fight with all your might! Delight yourselves in the Word of God. Devote yourselves to prayer. Commit yourselves to sharpening and being sharpened by the body of Christ. Plead with your Father to fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you may have the power you need to do what he commands. Take up your cross and die to your way of life. Follow after Jesus and learn to be imitators of God.

Fight, Glory of Christ, fight! And at the end of time, when you have fought the good fight, the promise of 2 Timothy 4:8 will belong to you: “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Fighting the fight of faith with you,
Pastor Charlie