Fight Faith’s Fight!

19th Sunday after Pentecost, 10/20/19
1 Timothy 6:6-16


Fight Faith’s Fight!
I. Pursue godliness with contentment.
II. Keep your Lord’s command.


It’s such a small thing when you consider the countless other things that I should notice and be concerned about. But it still bothers me.

To what am I referring? Redundancies. For instance, I cringe when I hear an advertiser tell me that he is offering me an added bonus. That’s what a bonus is; it’s something added.

I roll my eyes when I read in print that writers have written their opinions on this matter. Of course they did; that’s what writers do. They write.

But I also realize that redundancies can get a little ridiculous and they can even be intentionally stated to project some humor. That’s why the sign in the office reads, “This office will not tolerate redundancy in this office.” Admit it; it makes you smile, doesn’t it?
But I want you to know that I’m not trying to be humorous this morning. And yes, I do know what I’m stating. But then you might be puzzled by this morning’s sermon theme. It’s likely that you’ve already read it and now, based on what I just told you, you’re puzzled. The sermon theme reads, “Fight Faith’s Fight!” If I know what I’m doing and if I’m not trying to be funny, isn’t that a little redundant?

Not at all. Please hear me out. First, it’s textual. Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes, “Fight the good fight of faith.” Today’s sermon theme simply restates those words in a slightly different way.

Second, I want you to understand that your faith in Jesus is a very living and active force in your life. Your faith in Jesus is not simply something inside of you that has no bearing on how you think or what you do during your day.

Thirdly, that theme states clearly that you’re in a spiritual battle every day of your life. Do you recognize it? That battle has many fronts and one of them is the struggle between earthly pleasure and eternal treasure. How’s that battle going for you? Are you winning it? Are there times in your life when you aren’t even waging it?

I know there are times when I’ve not only called a ceasefire in that battle but have even waved the white flag of surrender. I’ve given in to the world’s ways. How about you?

Then take these words of our Lord to heart. Fight faith’s fight! Let’s see what that involves as we ponder his words to us in 1 Timothy 6.

Part I.

Are you familiar with the TV game show Jeopardy? I’m sure most of you are. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the answer is shown on the board and the contestants attempt to reply with the question.

So, for a minute, let’s play a little Jeopardy. The answer is: “A tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.” The question is? “What is materialism?”

Well, it’s a good thing that definition doesn’t fit us, at least not for the moment. By the very fact that we are here in worship this morning makes the statement that we are concerned about spiritual values. We place such a high priority on spiritual values that we’ve carved out an hour or two on this weekend, which might be rather busy for you, to focus on our spiritual lives, specifically, on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

But what about the other 167 hours during the week? I realize that you can’t spend every waking moment in worship. I wouldn’t even encourage you to do so. Your God has given you so many other things to do with your time. You have countless people who depend on you to do what you do each day. We call that your Christian vocation. But why are you doing them? And what are your priorities in life? What are your goals in life? And how often is your focus on earthly pleasure at the expense of eternal treasure? Are your concerns centered far too often about material things that won’t matter at all when your name is listed in an obituary?

I’m not trying to bombard you with questions. I’m asking you to think things through for your life. And my reason for doing so is that I’m concerned about you spiritually. Because unless you’re asking yourself those questions periodically, it becomes so easy to get sucked into the vortex of materialism which surrounds us. You know, living in the right house, driving the right car, wearing the right clothes, taking the right vacations, attaining the right retirement, living the “American dream.” And it even happens with Christians, sad to say. I don’t think any Christian ever woke up one morning and said to himself, “Today is the day that I no longer care about Jesus. From now on I care only about the things in my life.” It doesn’t happen that way. Instead it happens slowly, almost imperceptibly. And that’s why Paul warns us in our text, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” But isn’t that the way we think and feel? “I just want to live like that and then I’ll be happy.”

Paul states, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Godliness means you’re doing your best to live your life as a Christian and you’re content with what God has given you. How well does that describe your life? Do you struggle at times? Realize that it’s not just a struggle. It’s spiritual war—war for your eternal soul. That’s faith’s fight! Materialism isn’t simply a minor distraction in your spiritual life; it can claim your spiritual life. It can claim your eternal soul. So, fight it! Fight faith’s fight by pursuing godliness with contentment.

Godliness with contentment is not simply a different way of looking at the things in your life. To become content is not simply a mental exercise. It’s a spiritual battle! That’s because the sinful nature which lives in every one of us is selfish, greedy, and materialistic to its very core. It fills us with envy over what others have and leads us to falsely believe that the golden life here on earth will occur once we possess that next thing in our life. Don’t be fooled! Once you possess that next object of your sinful nature’s desire, it will be on to the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing.

So, what’s the solution? Realize every day what you already possess by faith in Jesus as your Savior. Even though we are discontented and envious daily, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus made you his own so that he can bless you eternally. And nothing can take that from you! God spent his greatest treasure—his Son—so that you could have eternal treasure in heaven. So that when this rat race we call life is ended, we know we have an inheritance in heaven that can never perish, spoil or fade. Find your contentment in Jesus who will never leave you or forsake you! But that’s not easy! Realize what a daily struggle it is and fight faith’s fight!

Part II.

Godliness with contentment isn’t the only aspect of faith’s fight. There’s another one that Paul lists in this section of 1 Timothy. Did you catch it?

If not, listen once again to these words, “I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What’s the command Paul charged Timothy and us by extension to keep? This letter from Paul is filled with commands. Precisely!

The context of 1 Timothy 6 is Paul’s warnings to Timothy about the false Christian teachers that were besieging the congregations Timothy was serving. They shared some of God’s truths with the Christians in those congregations, but they also shared false teachings to flatter the people and make those people feel good about themselves. That way the people would be more likely to support these false teachers financially.

In other words, these teachers were driven by greed. Just as the desire to make more money drives the business world, so also it can infect Christians, and even their Christian teachers, as they gather together in Christian congregations. And if it takes false teachings to achieve their goal, so be it.

Paul warns Timothy and us by extension, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Fight faith’s fight! First, live the Christian life! Call sin a sin and encourage your fellow Christians to pursue righteousness, in other words, godly living. Produce the fruits of faith which God has planned for you, not the fruits of the sinful nature. Possess and show Christian love for others. Be patient with them and treat them gently.

And then hold to your confession. Paul likely refers to the day when Timothy made his Christian confession when he was baptized as an adult. Recall the day of your Christian confession. For many of you it was on the day of your confirmation when you professed your Christian faith and then vowed to hold to it and to let nothing separate you from Christ. But that’s not easy. In fact, it’s a battle considering your sinful nature and Satan’s constant temptations.

So, fight faith’s fight! Keep your Lord’s command!

Your Lord Jesus wants you to know what his saving truth is and to continue to hold on to it. Sounds easy enough, but the reality is that it’s the most difficult spiritual task there is. And none of us on our own is up to it. It takes the constant power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you to fight that battle and win it! God’s Spirit wants to keep working in you every day through his word and sacrament so that you can win that battle. Don’t take this encouragement lightly! Your eternity depends on it. Fight faith’s fight! And with Jesus in your life, you win that battle every day. Amen.