<< Back |
Chosen no: R-1040 a, from: 1888 Year. |
Change lang
| |
Fighting The Good Fight
"Fight the good fight of
faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou art also called."--1 Tim. 6:12.
If we are naturally combative, we may see, or
think we see cause for a continual warfare from the cradle to the grave, and a
little warping of sound judgment may give this disposition a seeming religious
turn and deceive such a one into the idea that he is fighting the good fight
above referred to, when in reality he is only cultivating a quarrelsome
disposition, out of harmony with that spirit of meekness and temperance which
is a most essential feature of the Christian character. Again, many of an
opposite disposition are inclined to ignore the fact that the Christian life is
to be a warfare, and to regard only those scriptures which counsel meekness,
forbearance, patience, gentleness, etc.
Here are two extremes, both of which must be
guarded against; and in order to help us to rightly judge and balance
ourselves, [R1041 : page 4] the Apostle
recommends us to mark, to observe closely, those who walk circumspectly,
according to the rules laid down in the Scriptures, and counsels us to beware
of the influence of those who do not so walk: "For," he says, "many
walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they
are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things,"
which they covenanted to sacrifice.--Phil. 3:17-19.
Let us then mark some worthy examples that we
may see how they ran for the prize and notice if there is any indication that
they ran successfully. First, we mark the perfect example of our Lord, our
leader and forerunner, in whose footprints we are invited to follow. We notice
that his course in the "narrow way" of sacrifice, began with an
entire consecration of himself to the will of God. His consecration was made
with simplicity and sincerity, and included all that he had--"Lo I come to
do thy will O God." (Heb. 10:7.)
He did not say, Father, I will give thee a tithe
of my time, my service, and my means, and retain the remainder for myself and
for the pursuit of my own ambitions and plans. He did not say, Father, I have
chosen this or that special work, and I trust thy blessing will attend it. He
did not say, As far as I understand thy will, Father, I am willing to do
it--with the implication that if the Father should ever ask anything too
severe, or seemingly unreasonable, he might change his mind. No, his
consecration was simply to the doing of the Father's will, whatever that will
might prove to be. And then he earnestly applied himself to the study of the
Law and the Prophets, that he might know the will of God concerning him. When
tempted to change his course he replied, "How then shall the Scriptures be
fulfilled, that thus it must be"..."The cup which my Father hath
given me to drink shall I not drink it?" (Matt.
26:54; John 18:11.) He laid aside his
own will and carried out the will of God, though it cost him privation at every
step and finally a death most painful and ignominious. From this course of
sacrifice he never wavered even for a moment.
That was a grand character for our imitation. Yes,
but, says one, Our Lord was perfect and therefore could do the Father's will
perfectly. Very true; we are thankful and rejoice in this, for had he not been
perfect he could never have redeemed us; yet we needed also just such an
example; for however imperfectly we, like school children, may succeed in
imitating the copy, we need to have a perfect copy.
But while Christ was much more to us than a
perfect example for our imitation, which under our present infirmities we
cannot fully duplicate, we have other examples furnished among brethren of
similar infirmities with ourselves. Let us mark them, and see how they followed
the Master. There was Peter with his quick impulsive nature, always loving, yet
so vacillating--now defending his Master at his own peril, and again
disclaiming and denying him; now boldly contending for the faith, and again
compromising with Jewish prejudices, calling forth and justly meriting Paul's
faithful reproof. Yet rightly exercised by reproof and discipline, and
endeavoring to rule himself, his Christian character ripened and beautified
from year to year as evidenced by his grand and noble epistles to the church,
written by inspiration and handed down from generation to generation for
nineteen centuries; and he had many evident marks of the Lord's loving
approval. Before he had time to express in words his regret of his denial of
the Lord, he was assured of his acceptance with him and of the continued favor
of feeding his sheep; for the Lord knew the sincerity of his love and that
through weakness and fear he had sinned. Mark too, Peter's affection for his
"beloved brother Paul" (2 Pet. 3:15,16)
who had so plainly reproved and rebuked him; and for the Lord, who had said
"Get thee behind me Satan (adversary): thou art an offence unto me; for
thou savorest not the things that be of God, but of men. (Matt.
16:23.) Poor Peter; it was an up-hill road for him, but he seemed to
consider and appreciate his own weakness and to put his shoulder to the wheel
in a more determined effort to overcome the propensities of his old nature, and
to cultivate the graces of the Christian character.
But did he finally overcome? and was he accepted
as one of that glorious company which shall constitute the Bride of Christ? Yes
truly; for the risen Lord himself declared that his name is written with the
others of the twelve apostles in the very foundations of the heavenly city, the
New Jerusalem, the Kingdom
of God. (Rev.
21:14.) See what poor weak Peter gained by his meekness and patience
under painful discipline.
Paul was a stronger character by nature. He had
evidently made a life-business of ruling himself, though he was naturally
positive and firm; and when the truth reached Paul he had a great advantage at
once, both in his natural disposition, and in his early culture, so that he
could walk more firmly and steadily; and using all his energy in this direction
he furnishes a noble example for our imitation of steadfastness and endurance,
of untiring zeal and sincerest devotion. See and ponder well, 2
Cor. 11:23-33and 12:10,15.
John was loving, gentle, and meek naturally and
that very disposition would make it difficult for him to sever the many ties of
human friendship which such dispositions always draw about them. Yet John was
faithful to his Master regardless of the human ties. He was a patient faithful
teacher of the doctrines of Christ, and willingly suffered banishment to the
lonely isle of Patmos for his faithful
witnessing to the truth.
And similar was the course of all the apostles:
they were bold faithful advocates of the truth, and examples of its power to
sanctify them wholly, as they gradually grew in grace submitting themselves to
its transforming influence. They were men of similar and varied dispositions
like ourselves. Mark those who so run and do likewise. Our Lord marked these,
and kept a careful record of their course judging them by their motives and
endeavors; and he shows us that their course thus judged, all their
imperfections being covered by the imputed righteousness of their Leader, was
acceptable to him. They left all and followed Christ. Their all was not so very much, not any more in many cases than we have to leave, but it
was their all, and so was acceptable. Peter had left his fishing business, and
his friends, to travel with the Master and learn and teach the truth; he had
thus given up his own will and present interests to do the will of God. And
when he said to the Lord "Lo we have left all and have followed
thee," the Lord did not say his little all was not worth mentioning, but
he recognized it and encouraged Peter to continue to sacrifice all, with
the assurance that in due time he would be rewarded. (Mark
10:28-30.) And so shall we all be, if we faint not; for faithful is he
that hath called us, who also will exalt us in due time.
As we thus mark the course of the faithful ones,
we see that their warfare was one largely with themselves. It was their
endeavor to keep their own human wills down while they carried out the divine
will. And even in the one case of our Lord, where the human will was perfect,
it was a hard thing to do, as evidenced by his words, "Father if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not my will, but thine be
done."
But there is another side of this warfare which
we have not yet considered, and which we dare not overlook if we would be
faithful overcomers. The truth has its enemies now, as well as in the days of
the Apostles, and we are set for the defence of the truth; hence the forces
against which we must contend are not only those within, but also those
without. To be listless and indifferent under such circumstances as surround
us, is certainly no evidence that we are fighting the good fight of faith.
To fight the good fight of faith, implies,
first, that we have a faith to fight for. No man can fight this good fight
therefore who has not come to some knowledge of the truth--a knowledge
sufficient to awaken his sympathies and enlist his energies in its propagation
and defence.
Now look at the warfare on this side and see how
the faithful soldiers of the cross from the beginning of the age to the present
time have contended for the faith delivered to the saints. Did they calmly and
comfortably rest in luxurious ease, enjoy what they knew of the truth
themselves, and say nothing about it where it would cause a ripple of
opposition, and then flatter themselves with the idea that their lazy
do-nothing tranquility was an evidence of their growth in grace? By no means.
They endured hardness as good soldiers for the truth's sake. They proclaimed it
boldly, and took the consequences of public scorn and contempt, the loss of
earthly friends, the sacrifice of business interests and earthly prospects,
together with stripes, imprisonments, and perils to life on every hand, and met
violent deaths in many cases. They not only enjoyed the glorious prospect of
future blessedness, but they became active to the extent of their ability in
carrying out God's plan for securing that end. Had they done otherwise they
would have been proving themselves unworthy of the high honors to which they
were called. And so it has been throughout the entire age, and is still.
When the great Mystery of Iniquity, or Papal
system had reached the height of its power and the very depths of its
corruption, and the eyes of a few faithful children of God were opened to see
its [R1042 : page 4] true character, noble
reformers stepped out and boldly declared their convictions in the face of most
violent persecution. And many other noble souls encouraged by their example,
braved the same dangers and endured great hardships while contending for the
truth, and gave evidence of their zeal and consecration by their faithfulness
even unto death by violent hands, and unto persecution and torture of the most
revolting and fiendish character.
It is well that we should consider frequently
such examples, that they may serve to spur our own zeal, and that we may the
more lightly esteem the comparatively light afflictions which we are now called
upon to endure, in our efforts to disseminate and defend the truth to-day. We
have now no bloody persecutions, though it is still true that they who will
live Godly shall suffer persecution. To live Godly however, implies earnestness
and consequent activity in God's service.
Remember too, that the Apostle refers to these
last days of the age as the most perilous times of all. Why? Because the errors
and temptations of this day come in more subtle forms than heretofore. This is
emphatically the age of reason; an age of advancement in almost every
direction; many are running to and fro and knowledge is increasing on every
hand. And yet, human conceit and presumption is running vastly ahead of
knowledge; and reason, unguided by the Divine Revelation, is falling into many
foolish and hurtful errors, which are passing current among those who profess
to be the children of God, who are deceived by these errors and are falling
away from the faith once delivered to the saints. And though the great Babylon system is crumbling into decay, multitudinous
errors, far more injurious than the formalism and slumber of Babylon, are at work, to build upon its ruins
other systems of iniquity in which even the foundation principles of
Christianity find no place whatever.
These errors must be met by the faithful [R1042 : page 5] few who are armed with the
truth,-- others cannot detect or defeat them. It is for these armed with the
Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to show by its profound
reasonings the difference between truth and error, and that God's plan in God's
way is superior to all the plans and ways of human arrangement. To escape
falling into these errors, and being deceived by their subtle sophistries, and
by the professions of loyalty to God on the part of the deceived deceivers who
advance them, the children of God must keep close to their Father's Word, and
be filled with his spirit; and when they see the truth they must be bold and
fearless in its defence regardless of all consequences.
This is fighting the good fight of faith whether
you are severely wounded in the conflict or not. And those who, sacrificing
home comforts, etc., to scatter the truth, which read and pondered over by
those who receive it, gives light and scatters darkness, are just as surely
fighting the good fight of faith as if by word of mouth they were arguing with
those they meet. They do it thus, much more effectually often. And such shall
just as surely receive their reward and lay hold on eternal life as will Peter
and Paul and other faithful soldiers of the cross,--if they faint not.
This little army of faithful soldiers, all told,
is but a handful, "a little flock;" but though in numbers they are so
insignificant that the hosts of the opposers of the truth fear little from
their efforts, the final victory shall be theirs; and God's power will be
glorified and manifested in them proportionately more. Like Gideon's three
hundred picked men who feared not to face the hosts of Midian because the Lord
was with them, these have but to go forth likewise, strong in faith, sounding
the trumpet of truth and breaking their earthen vessels (sacrificing their
human nature) that the blessed light of God's spirit may shine out; and at the
appointed hour the hosts of the enemy shall take the alarm and flee. Systems of
error new and old shall be turned to destruction, and, as in the case of the
Midianites, each shall turn upon the other to accomplish the work of their
destruction.
To have the privilege of fighting this good
fight of faith and of being the Lord's chosen ones for the great work now to be
done, God's children, like Gideon's army, must first be proved--tested. At
first there was a host of thirty thousand with Gideon; and when all that were
fearful were told to return to their homes, only ten thousand remained, and
when God further tested these, only three hundred remained; a little
insignificant company truly they must have appeared, not only to the
Midianites, but also to themselves. Yet, God's power was made the more manifest
by their smallness and weakness.
Just so it is now. No one is compelled or urged
into this service. All who are fearful, whose faith in God's ability and
intention to carry out his plan is not strong enough to make them bold and
courageous, and in haste to go forth, anxious to sound the trumpet tones of
truth, and willing to break their earthen vessels (to sacrifice themselves) in
the service, have the privilege of retiring from the scene: but of course such
shall have no part in the honors of the victory with the greater Captain than
Gideon.
Previous to Paul's exhortation to the faithful
few, to fight the good fight of faith, he gives the very wholesome advice that
we lay entirely aside from us the weights of our former earthly cares
etc.,--pride, ambition, discontent, money-loving, etc. We cannot grasp or hold
the treasures of this life, and at the same time run successfully for the
heavenly prize--"Ye cannot serve God and Mammon," and "A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways. Let us then take Paul's counsel--flee
these earthly things, and following after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, meekness, fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on
eternal life as joint-heirs with Christ in the glory of victory shortly to be
granted. If after we have consecrated our all to God, we turn to mind and seek
earthly things, and glory in their possession, we are really glorying in our
shame; and the end of such glory if pursued to the end, is destruction. See
that ye walk circumspectly, not minding earthly but heavenly things, and not
yielding to the temptations of those who walk otherwise. Thus we also shall be
setting an example to others worthy of their imitation.
W.T. R-1040a : page 4 -1888r