Fight the Good Fight of Faith

There was great religious division in Germany in the early 16th century between the Lutherans and the Catholics. The lands controlled by the Emperor were divided among Lutherans and Catholics. They disagreed on doctrine and did not get along with one another. Charles V, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, called for a meeting between the Pope's theologians and the Lutheran reformers because he wanted to put this "silly" religious disagreement behind him, so he could get on with the important matter of the day -- uniting the empire for a military battle against the Muslim Turks.

Charles called a diet -- a meeting -- in the German city of Augsburg. The night before the Lutherans were to present their confession of faith, Emperor Charles and his brother Ferdinand, the King of Austria, met privately with the Lutheran princes. They ordered the Lutheran princes to forbid any Lutheran preaching in Augsburg during the meeting. They also commanded the Lutherans to attend the Catholic Corpus Christi -- the Body of Christ -- festival the next day with the Emperor.

George, Margrave of Brandenburg, spoke boldly for the Lutherans. He refused to concede to Charles' demands, saying, "Before I let anyone take from me the Word of God and ask me to deny my God, I will kneel and let them strike off my head."

The Emperor was clearly taken aback by George's boldness. Charles sputtered in broken German, "Not cut off head, dear prince. Not cut off head." (Introduction to the Augsburg Confession, Book of Concord, p. 25).

On June 25, 1530, a group of faithful Lutheran princes and electors met in Augsburg, Germany, to present the confession of their faith to the Emperor. This was a time in the Roman Catholic Church when the Papacy was a superpower, and dissent was handled at the stake or at the rack. All the efforts of reform by previous reformers had fallen on deaf ears or resulted in death. But, by the grace of God, this Lutheran Reformation was turning out differently.

The Emperor and the Pope had the power to arrest and kill anyone who disagreed with them. The Lutherans decided there was only one thing to do -- confess. These were not theologians that were standing before the Emperor. They were courageous Lutheran laymen -- like yourselves. They confessed their faith and told the Emperor and the Roman Church what they believed, taught, and confessed. They relied on the promise of God's Word, as contained in Psalm 119:46, "Then I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be put to shame." The Augsburg Confession was presented as a statement of biblical truth and a proposal for true unity in the Christian faith. It has never been withdrawn or found in error.

This confession caused a stir as soon as it was read. The Bishop of Augsburg, who was faithful to the Pope and in whose palace it was read, said that it was all true and could not be denied. One of the princes who was loyal to the Pope asked the Pope's head theologian if it could be refuted. Dr. Eck replied: "I can't refute it using only Scripture." The prince was stunned and asked: "Do you mean to say that these Lutherans sit inside Scripture, and we outside?"

All of us -- pastors and people -- are to make bold confessions of our faith. St. Paul puts it this way, "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:11). Faith alone makes us Christians. Confession alone marks us as Christians. St. Paul describes the relationship between believing and confessing, "Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and it is with the mouth that a person confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).

Jesus also says, "Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Our confession of sins may be private, but there is no such thing as a private confession of faith. Our confession of the Christian faith is public for the whole world to hear.

In our Epistle lesson, St. Paul gives four clear charges of confession for the battlefield to young Pastor Timothy and all Christians -- Flee. Pursue. Fight. Seize.

First, we flee. St. Paul encourages, "But you, O man of God, flee from these things" (1 Timothy 6:11). What are these things we to flee from? Paul tells us in the previous verses, "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into complete destruction and utter ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils. By striving for money, some have wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains" (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Spiritual warfare is not fight or flight; it is fight and flight. We do battle with temptation, but we also do our best to avoid temptation altogether. Paul warns that we are too often distracted by the want of more money. It's a trap that we easily fall into. We feel we need two incomes, our kids need to be in every expensive sport, and our family needs all the latest toys, gadgets, and vehicles. All these things can cause us to wander away from the church, personal Bible reading, and family prayer. We end up squandering our Christian faith.

Paul says elsewhere, "Do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh" (Romans 13:14). Jesus says that, if necessary, we are to cut off our hand our gouge out our eye if the offending body part is causing us to sin (Matthew 5:29-30). This means we go to extraordinary lengths to flee the sin we know would ruin us.

Spiritual warfare, however, is not only fight and flight, but also pursuit. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11). These virtues directly counteract the greed and pride we are to flee from. Righteousness, godliness, and faith focus on our relationship with God. Love and gentleness are putting our faith into action. Perseverance is endurance under pressure.

Fellow reformers, are you pursuing faith in Jesus -- not just keeping faith, but pursuing faith? Are you making time each day to be alone with God in his Word? Are you weaving prayer into the unique rhythms of your life? Are you committed to Lord of Lords, and intentionally looking for ways to grow and serve here? Are you asking God to show you other creative ways you might pursue these Christian virtues?

Third, we fight. "Fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). Whom or what are we fighting? Too often we get caught up fighting with each other over politics, sports or culture. Satan loves to pit us against each other. Those are all silly temporal things. The fight is not against people, but against sin, unbelief, false doctrine, paganism, Satan and his demons.

How can a fight be good? Usually, fighting is bad. We encourage our kids not to fight. Just as there are "Just Wars," so there are times for righteous fighting. We are fighting God's enemies who are coming after us, our families, and our churches.

Fight the good fight. You cannot change the world by being complacent. The only way to be in shape to fight is by daily training. But we like to sit on our couches binging Netflix and playing on our phones. That's not fighting the good fight. That's not even getting training for the fight. The good fight of faith is the constant battle in this world between God and Satan, between truth and falsehood, between the new nature and the sinful flesh.

Fourth, we seize the new life God has given us. "Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and about which you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12). "Taking hold of eternal life" means living in the present reality of our future inheritance. It's gripping Christ's promises so tightly that the temporary distractions of this world lose their grip on us. We live every day as God's confident saints. We know the prize of eternal life is already ours. Christ has already won it for us. Now we're just finishing the contest of this life. We live never being afraid to witness or live righteously or oppose evil because we know we're the winners. The unbelievers who are teasing, trashing, and taunting us are all losers!

Paul writes, "I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made a good confession as a witness before Pontius Pilate" (1 Timothy 6:13). Why bring up Pilate here? As the Roman governor, Pilate held earthly power of life and death, yet Jesus boldly confessed the truth of his kingdom. Paul reminds us that facing hostile cultural or political authorities is the standard setting for Christ's servants. Jesus is the example of making a bold confession as he faced death. More than that, Jesus' bold confession covers over our weak, feeble, or non-existent confessions.

Paul anchors this charge to "the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Timothy 6:14). Christ's second coming on Judgment Day provides eternal perspective. Daily frustrations, lack of visible results, and criticism shrink in significance when compared to the fast-approaching day of Christ's return. When we feel beaten down and lowly, we need to remember that Jesus Christ is going to be returning in all power, majesty, and glory.

Moses and the prophets, the apostles and early Christians, Luther and his fellow reformers, knew that Jesus' words would come true, "Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). We as twenty-first century Christians and modern-age reformers certainly do not go looking for trouble -- enough trouble will find us. It's been said that where Christ builds a church, the Devil builds a chapel. Wherever the gospel is proclaimed, Satan must attack. Wherever we soldiers of Christ lift high the cross, Satan's minions inflict pain and pressure. Wherever Christ reigns as King, this world's prince still scowls.

We may not fear beheading, loss of property, imprisonment, or death like other Christians in centuries past or Christians suffering presently around the world. We don't fear a den of lions or a fiery furnace, but persecution abounds when we're faithful to the Word. We lose relationships because of a Biblical belief that honors the sanctity of marriage. We lose promotions because of worship priorities. We lose friendships because we won't join in sinful talking or walking. Jesus says we will lose family relationships because of our connection to him, "I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" (Matthew 10:35-36).

Don't be fooled into faintheartedness. Don't be coerced into cowardice. Don't be scared into silence. As you allow the Holy Spirit to reform your former sinful way of life, expect derision and insults. As you work with God's Word to reform the world, expect hatred and persecution.

Also expect help from your gracious Lord, the Shepherd of helpless and hapless sheep. Even as we stand on trial for our beliefs, we are witnesses to our enemies. Even as we are arrested and persecuted, the Holy Spirit is giving us the boldness to speak clearly. Luther concludes his Battle Hymn of the Reformation: "And do what they will -- hate, steal, hurt or kill -- though all may be gone, our victory is won; the kingdom's ours forever!"

There is nothing to fear. Yes, there will be kings, emperors, and popes who will join together against the Lord. But St. John also assures us that these kings, rulers, and governing authorities "will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings" (Revelation 17:14). Flee. Pursue. Fight. Seize. Be like those early reformers who stood up to an emperor with the Augsburg Confession. Boldly confess Christ before kings, courts, and councils. "Fight the good fight of faith." Amen.