3. A Fight
1 Timothy 6:12 ‘Fight the good fight of the faith.’
Again the original Greek word for this term ‘fight’ is ‘agon’ meaning a struggle in the soul from which we get the English word agony or agonize. And we should handle the fight as one who recognizes that he has an adversary. It is not just a matter of the ‘road being steep’ but we have an adversary – the devil, and we must fight on. We must never surrender and we must never throw in the towel. Our faith walk can be compared to a fight.
4. A Wrestling Match
Ephesians 6:12 ‘We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’
A wrestling match is a very intense picture of a struggle. God’s Word translation: ‘This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent.’ Wrestling is a form of combat. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two (occasionally more) competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position. God wants to give you and I the upper hand and we must realize we are in this fight and our battle is not against flesh and blood. The odds are much higher. Our faith walk can be compared to a wrestling match.
5. Our Faith Walk Is Warfare
2 Timothy 2:3-4 ‘Take your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.’
The analogy the Bible uses is that we are soldiers. You and I are soldiers, soldiers of Christ. He is our commander and the battle is His. We can’t just coast through the challenges of life. Our faith walk is warfare and we are soldiers. There is a great old hymn with the following words: Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle see His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.
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