Fight the Good Fight
Christianity ever stands in opposition to the world system ruled by our adversary, the devil. Every person finds himself aligned with either the kingdom of this world or with the kingdom of God. Therefore, Christians must be vigilant to keep the people and ideas of the world from infiltrating Christ’s church. Those appointed and called by God to be elder/pastors are especially accountable to God for the stewardship entrusted to them. Shepherding the flock includes guarding the flock (1 Pet 5:1–5).
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy at Ephesus to encourage him to consider his gifts and calling. He also gave his protégé the task of guarding the Gospel. This is the good fight of faith still being engaged, today. We do not war against flesh and blood; but the spiritual warfare in which believers contend is for the Word of God over and against the wisdom of the world (Eph 6:10–20).
Paul’s pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus teach us that men of God are vital components to this battle for the mind and the heart. The Christian faith must be passed on from generation to generation. For the transfer to fail, as it has in many nations over the centuries, there is the loss of God’s revelation of truth. The void of truth is always filled by some religion or philosophy conjured by man.
A shipwrecked faith is a reproach to Christ’s church; but without repentance, our Lord has promised to remove the lampstand from disobedient local churches. Simply put, He will build His church elsewhere among others.
For those who love the truth, as it is in Jesus, there will be seasons of gain and seasons of loss. The truth of the Gospel will prosper and advance; or it will fade and fail in the possession of false teachers. So called “false brethren” are destroyers, as is their father, the devil (2 Cor 11:26; Gal 2:4). You will know them by their fruit (Mt 7:16, 20). Bad trees produce bad fruit. This is true morally, ethically, and spiritually.
Paul exhorted Timothy to hold firmly to the faith passed down to him (1 Tim 3:9; Jude 3). The pastor at Ephesus needed a personal faith that matched or exceeded those who went before him. Just as God had planned and then equipped the Apostle Paul, so Timothy was encouraged that God would fulfill His promises to aptly equip Timothy, in order to fulfill his own ministry. Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist in his office of elder/pastor. He, too, would have to identify gifted men — disciple, teach, and position them as elders for the ongoing work of the ministry.
There is an urgency about this task for the church. A favorable legacy depends upon the serious effort to preserve the integrity of the faith. The alternative was prophesied by the Apostle Paul at Miletus. At that conference with the elders of Ephesus, he warned them of dangerous men from among them who would rise up and poison the church from within (Acts 20:29–30). The Ephesian Christians worked hard against the intrusions, but they were later charged with leaving their first love (Rev 2:2–4). In their case, a good offense would have served as their best defense.
Today, elder/pastors must earnestly contend for the Christian faith handed to them by faithful men of God. They must boldly proclaim the excellencies of Christ, regardless of the cost to them. Sound doctrine must be the hill they fight on and even lose some battles worth fighting, in order to preserve the purity and simplicity of the Gospel. It is certainly time for faithful men of God to go on the offensive against the likes of Hymenaeus and Alexander.
These two “leaders” were dealt with by Paul himself. They served as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They taught some version of the Ephesian Heresy (a version of Gnosticism); and Paul wrote that He turned them over to Satan for their just punishment (1 Tim 1:20). At the very least they had been excommunicated from the Ephesian fellowship. Having tasted the good things of God, these men consciously abandoned the faith in favor of some worldly gain.
God’s Word often leaves out the details of certain scenes so the broader application may be used by those who study the Bible, today, and in every generation. Paul’s “thorn in his side” is one example. Nobody has ever conclusively identified the thorn; therefore, it serves much more broadly in application.
Naming gross offenders does have its place in Paul’s practical theology. Some are offended when false brethren are called out by name; but this practice serves to warn others that the way of false teachers will not prosper with God. Who wants to be a named false teacher? If the case against them is strong enough, Paul’s example of naming the perpetrators is the prototype for us to follow. For most, social ostracism is still a potent deterrent and actual punishment.
The Gospel of God is the authority in all disputes in Christ’s church. Have you not heard? Is it not written? Are both valid lines of inquiry for those who claim to have true fellowship with God through Christ. The test for every believer and every local church is submission to the Word of God. This is true for practice of the Christian faith and for worship of God through Christ.
It behooves every believer, every elder/pastor, and every local church body to examine their alignment with the Word of God. It starts with the words, “I believe” or “we believe.” If there is a disconnection between the Holy Bible and one who claims to be walking in the truth, it is the work of the minister of God’s Word to present teaching, correction, reproof and rebuke (2 Tim 3:16). There must be a firm, yet kind and gentle approach to those who have gone astray. No one is exempt from the temptation to drift away from Christ Jesus our Lord.
Finally, then, let us renew our commitment to the Word of truth. Let us believe with the measure of faith granted to us as good soldiers and good sailors of our King, to whom we must give an account of the fight we fought by His design and decree.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
October 19, 2023
1 Timothy 1:18–20
