What exactly are we supposed to “fight” for? Isn’t it all taken care of? Hasn’t the victory already been won? Wasn’t everything settled at the cross? And yet Paul told Timothy to “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life!”
In addressing the Corinthian Church the Apostle Paul said Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
You will never get the idea from the epistles that Christianity is spectator sport, where we just kick back and watch it all play out. It’s a very active walk of faith that demands our active, daily participation. Jesus said If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. The Race doesn’t end at the cross, it begins there.
In addressing the Corinthian Church the Apostle Paul said Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
You will never get the idea from the epistles that Christianity is spectator sport, where we just kick back and watch it all play out. It’s a very active walk of faith that demands our active, daily participation. Jesus said If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. The Race doesn’t end at the cross, it begins there.
We will face ups and downs in our pursuit of God….the battle to keep our zeal after God strong and our hearts warmed in His presence. The fight to be sufficiently engaged and focused on the pursuit of Him so as to be “filled with all joy and peace in believing and abounding in hope (Rom 15:13)”. The Psalms are filled with the high points of David’s relationship with God resulting in glorious outbursts of praise and adoration, but they also contain some very low points where he despaired of life itself as he struggled to understand why certain things were the way they were, and why it was difficult at times to “find God”. But he always knew where his refuge was and he always fought to find his way back to the anchor of his soul..and he ALWAYS found his way back, why? because God made sure he found his way back, why? because he knew David’s heart was wholly consecrated unto him...if you seek me you will find me, IF you seek me with all of your heart and soul and strength. Are our hearts wholly consecrated unto the Lord? Or are they divided? That’s a question only we can answer….but it’s a good question to ask. God promises that he will show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect, which means “wholly committed” unto Him, but only to those who are wholly committed. A half-hearted walk with God will never provide the kind of “joy” in our salvation and sabbath rest that was always intended to accompany our walk with God and make the race a joy to run.
But all of that being said, there should be no ups and downs with respect to holiness and moral purity, that is a wholly different issue that must remain fixed and ever guarded. Don’t give the flesh any leeway for indulgence, you must remain ever vigilant and ward off any attempt of the flesh to try and regain dominance in your life, which it will always attempt to do if not steadfastly subdued by walking in the Spirit. The Apostle Paul himself said “I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest after having preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” So must EVERY person claiming Christianity do, as it says in 2 Tim 2:19 “....The Lord knoweth them that are his, and, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”. There is no room for waffling on that front, you must purge any accommodation or justification in your mind for the presence of any ongoing sin, any sin whatsoever, so that we can be of the same conviction as the Apostle Paul in Rom 6 when he said: “How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein??”.
But all of that being said, there should be no ups and downs with respect to holiness and moral purity, that is a wholly different issue that must remain fixed and ever guarded. Don’t give the flesh any leeway for indulgence, you must remain ever vigilant and ward off any attempt of the flesh to try and regain dominance in your life, which it will always attempt to do if not steadfastly subdued by walking in the Spirit. The Apostle Paul himself said “I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest after having preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” So must EVERY person claiming Christianity do, as it says in 2 Tim 2:19 “....The Lord knoweth them that are his, and, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”. There is no room for waffling on that front, you must purge any accommodation or justification in your mind for the presence of any ongoing sin, any sin whatsoever, so that we can be of the same conviction as the Apostle Paul in Rom 6 when he said: “How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein??”.
