Preached Sunday, August 22, 2010
from
2 Timothy 4:7

Theme: Paul’s affirmation at the end of his Christian life encourages us to ask: Are we still fighting the good fight? Running the race? Keeping the faith?

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

The apostle Paul was sitting in a prison cell somewhere in Rome, awaiting execution. But before he was put to death, God had led him to write a final letter to a young pastor named Timothy who was serving far away in a church in Ephesus.

Timothy had carefully watched the life of his beloved mentor Paul. And the suffering that Paul was undergoing for the cause of the gospel at that time was making Timothy timid and fearful. But Paul wrote this letter to encourage him to stay true to the faith and not abandon God’s call on his life. Among the things that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in this letter are these victorious words—words that testify to the satisfying end of a life well-lived for Jesus. They constitute Paul’s final testimony on earth.

In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul wrote;

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

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I read those words just the other day. And far from being in a prison cell, I was sitting comfortably in my recliner, covered with a cozy blanket early in the morning, with my Bible in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. To the best of my ability—the first thing every morning—I have a daily time of fellowship with the Lord and of reading His word. This has grown to be the most important habit of my life.

I need to tell you about something that happened to me a few years ago during my daily time with the Lord. I had just gotten up, made my coffee, grabbed my Bible, sat down, and started reading, when there was a knock on the front door. I opened the door, and there—early in the morning—was one of my former professors from my Bible college days. He had been driving by; and he stopped to pay me a surprise visit.

I was frankly a little embarrassed, because I had just gotten up. I was still in my pajamas. I hadn’t shaved yet. I had a bad case of “bed-hair” and an even worse case of “‘good morning’ breath”. But I welcomed him in anyway; and he sat on the couch across from me—he at his ‘scholarly’ best, and me in my ‘just-got-up’ worst—and we had a wonderful visit together.

I told him I was sorry that he had caught me by surprise, and that I was such a mess. “But”, I said, “it’s good that you came when you did; because at least—as you can see—you caught me faithfully reading my Bible, just like you taught us in school.” And he seemed please to see his former student still keeping true to the important habit of daily meeting with the Lord. (It even made me wonder if it was another one of his ‘pop-quizzes’. Hopefully, I passed.)

I thought back on that surprise visit from my former professor as I was reading this passage in that same recliner the other day. Just as my professor had set an example for me, the apostle Paul himself had set a great example for Timothy. He had earlier told Timothy,

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:10-15).

And now, as Timothy watched on, his faithful role-model Paul was in prison awaiting execution for his faith. As Paul’s final testimony on earth shows, he was—as far as he was concerned—already ‘poured-out’ as a drink offering to the Lord. He knew that the time of his departure from this earth was “at hand.” And yet, he was completely ready. He was able to look joyfully ahead to the great Day of resurrection at the Lord’s return; and to the crown of righteousness that the Lord Himself—the righteous Judge—would personally give him. He affirmed that this would be true not only of Paul, but also of Timothy, and of all who love the Lord’s appearing.

And as I thought about all this, my attention was particularly drawn to the seventh verse in the middle of this great, final testimony. Paul was able to say that he had kept faithful in his walk with the Lord all the way through. There were no regrets over a wasted life. There was nothing that he felt he had left undone. He used the perfect tense of the verbs, which describe a completed action—saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul could look back on it all; and with complete integrity before the Lord, and with a victorious smile on his face, and affirm, “By God’s grace, I did it!”

And I believe he wrote these affirming words to Timothy as a way of reminding him that, just as Paul Himself kept faithful and consistent in his walk with Jesus Christ to the very end, so should Timothy.

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And as I thought about all this, I fantasized a bit. I wondered what it would be like if—instead of my former professor—it was Paul who knocked on my door and came in for a surprise visit. I wondered if he would sit across from me and say, “Greg; you first trusted the Lord Jesus Christ way back in 1973. You started on this wonderful walk with the Lord back then; and I just wanted to come, pay you a surprise visit, and see if you’re still faithfully doing the things you should do.

“You see, Greg; so many people start off enthusiastically with Jesus Christ—all filled with joy and love for Him over having saved them from their sins; all filled to the brim with excitement and commitment to serve Him; all filled with a burning desire to fight hard for His gospel and to serve and sacrifice for Him. And yet, so often, their enthusiasm wanes over time. Their fervency for Him grows cold. They stop proclaiming Him as much as they did. They stop giving themselves for His cause as sacrificially as they used to. They soon get distracted by worldly concerns. They soon lose their grip on the habits that help them grow strong in their relationship with Jesus. And I just wanted to come and make sure that’s not happening to you.

“Let me put it to you this way, Greg: I set an example in that I fought the good fight; but I want to know—are you still fighting it? I ran the race ahead of you; but are you still running it? I kept the faith entrusted to me for folks like you, and that’s why you were able to hear the gospel back in 1973 and believe; but are you still keeping that same faith so that those who come after you will hear it as you did?”

Well; that’s what I thought about in my imagination the other day. And what about you; dear brother or sister? If Paul came to your home some morning for a surprise examination of the nature of your faithfulness to Christ’s original call on your life, what would he find?

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Perhaps, in a sense—since I’ve felt led to this portion of God’s word this morning—the Lord Jesus really is using it to give us something of a surprise examination today. By the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, let’s look closer at verse seven; and examine how we’re doing.

First, let’s ask . . .

1. ARE YOU STILL FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT?

Paul said, “I have fought the good fight . . .” And I don’t think Paul meant for us to think of “fighting” in a negative way. I think he meant for us to think of it in a more positive sense—in the sort of way we would think of an athletic competition.

The Greek word that Paul used to describe the kind of fight he fought in this verse is the one from which we get the English word “agony”; and it was a word that was often used to describe a strenuous athletic competition—the prize at the end of which was a “crown” or a “wreath”. It was as if Paul was saying, “I strenuously competed in the good competition. I laboriously contended in the good prize fight.”

Do you remember the lines from the beginning of that old show, The Wide World of Sports?—”. . . The thrill of victory . . . and the agony of defeat! The human drama of athletic competition!” I think Paul would have loved that show. He was obviously a big sports fan. He often used sports analogies to describe the sort of singular focus and strenuous effort we must devote to our Christian walk. And I believe he’d want to know from us whether or not we’re still laboring for the cause of Christ like we should—that is, with all the discipline and determination of a world-class athlete.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he wrote;

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

That’s how Paul fought. He disciplined himself and made it his determination to live faithfully for Jesus all his days. And notice too that he didn’t just “fight”; but he was careful to fight for the right thing. He fought “the good fight”. He did as it says in Jude 3; and contended earnestly “for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints”. He fought earnestly to live-out and proclaim-forth the gospel of Jesus Christ—the message that, alone, is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16)!

And I believe he would ask you and me today, “Dear fellow believer; you at one time placed your faith in Jesus; and when you began in your walk with Him, your passion was fervent! You were filled with zeal! You were ready to contend vigorously for His cause! You were willing to make all the necessary sacrifices for Him and to spread His gospel!

“But are you still fighting this good fight? Has your fervency for Him grown cold? Look at me—your apostle Paul. The Lord has set me up as an example for you to follow. I didn’t grow cold! I ‘fought’ to the very end of my life—and I fought to discipline myself to follow Jesus, and to win others to Him too! Now; you make sure that you, too, fight that very same ‘good fight’ to the very end—just as I did!”

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Now; that first question involved manner in which we’re to live the Christian life. We’re to live it with the serious, concentrated effort of a world-class athlete. Are we fighting the good fight? Are we “agonizing” the good “agony”? Are we contending in the good contention?

But the next question that Paul’s final testimony asks of us has to do with our endurance:

2. ARE YOU STILL RUNNING THE RACE?

Paul said, “I have finished the race . . .” And there’s a couple of important things to note in what Paul here says about himself.

First of all, the word that Paul used for “race” is the one that means “a course”—such as in a race-course or a race-track. Paul isn’t simply saying that he “ran” like a jogger—just running anywhere that he wanted to run. Rather, he’s saying, “I have finished the course that’s been laid out for me”. And second, we should note that he said he “finished” or “completed” it. It was a course that involved not only a specific start but also a specific finish; and he successfully ran the course all the way to the finish line.

Paul is using yet another sports analogy to describe the sort of course in life that God laid out for him. Back in Acts 13:25, he spoke about the life and ministry of John the Baptist; and he said, “And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose’” (emph. added). When Paul said that John was “finishing his course”, he was saying that John was completing the life-calling that God had set out for him of pointing others to Jesus. Similarly, Paul spoke of himself in Acts 20; when he told a group of pastors,

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:22-24; emph. added).

That’s how Paul—our great example—was able to speak of his own sense of satisfaction as he evaluated his life of ministry. He sat in a prison cell awaiting execution; but he was able to say—with full integrity before God, “I have finished the race! I have fulfilled my ministry! I knew God’s calling upon my life; and I didn’t quit until I successfully did what He called me to do!”

And I believe that, if he were to pay us a surprise visit, he would ask you and me today, “What about you, dear fellow believer? Are you still running the course God laid out for you? So many people step off the track and sit down on the bleachers—thinking that they deserve some sort of credit for just having ‘started’ in the race. But you don’t win in this race unless you finish in! You don’t hear the Lord’s ‘Well done!’ unless you complete your calling and done what He called you to do!

“So; do as you have seen me do to the very end! Keep running in the race! Run to finish! ‘[L]et us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (Hebrews 12:1-2).”

* * * * * * * * * *

So; if Paul were to pay us that surprise visit that I have imagined, a first question he might ask us would have to do with the manner in which we give serious effort to our calling in our walk for Christ: “Are you still fighting the good fight?” And a second question he might as would have to do with the endurance with which we pursue His calling to ministry: “Are you still running in the race?”

And that leads us to a third question he might ask—one that would have to do with the precious value of that thing for which we are to contend and endure . . .

3. ARE YOU STILL KEEPING THE FAITH?

Paul said, “I have kept the faith.” And I believe that, in writing those words, he was still speaking in the language of athletics.

In the ancient games, runners would run in a relay race with a lit torch in their hands. They would hold their shields up over the torch as they ran to protect the flame; so that they would be able to successfully pass the torch—and its flame—on to the next runner. Even if they had managed to run all the way to the pass-off point, they would have failed if the flame of the torch had been lost and they weren’t able to pass it on.

Now; that “flame” that Paul had spent his life protecting was the faithful message of the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He didn’t make it up. It had been given to him by the Lord Himself. And Paul was earnest about protecting that precious gospel so that it could be passed on to the next generation of believers—just as it had been given to him from the Lord.

He was passing that very same precious “flame” on to Timothy. He told him;

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (2 Timothy 1:13-14).

And he wanted Timothy to protect that precious “flame”, because Timothy needed to—like Paul—pass it on to others. He wrote,

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

And if Paul paid a surprise visit to you and me today, I wonder if he would ask, “How about you, my dear brothers and sisters? Are you still staying true to the Scriptures? Are you still keeping hold of that precious “flame” of the gospel truth? Are you protecting its integrity, so you can pass it on to others—just as it was given to me from the Lord, and as it is written-down in Scripture?

“Many who started-out for the Lord have dropped the torch along the way. Many have failed to protect that precious flame. They’ve disregarded it, or despised it. Some have even dared to alter it and change it, in order to make it more ‘acceptable’ to an unbelieving world. Many have failed in their calling to pass it on to the next generation—to their children and their grandchildren; to their friends and neighbors. But don’t let that happen to you! Follow my example! I have kept the faith—protecting it and carrying it as a precious flame—so that it could be passed on to you! Now; you make sure that you do the same. Remember what I told Timothy at the end of my first letter to him—’O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust . . .’ (1 Timothy 6:20).

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Paul did those things to the very end. And at the end of his life, he had no regrets. He was able to look forward to hearing his Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” He was able to affirm, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

So; how about you and me, dear brothers and sisters? Are we still fighting the good fight? Are we still running the race? Are we still keeping the faith?

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