“The Good Fight of Faith”
by Matthew Chapman
Fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)
Whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
“But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
(Hebrews 10:38)
“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)
We
know from the scriptures that being of faith and walking by faith (i.e.,
having faith in our hearts and expressing that faith through what we
choose, say, and do; James 2:18) is a bottom-line, essential element
of the Christian life. Apart from faith, there is no way to receive
the salvation that God in His grace provides through the blood of Jesus
and be born of His Spirit. Apart from faith, there is no way for those
who have experienced the new birth to relate to God their Father and
walk with Him on a daily basis (2 Cor. 5:1-10). Apart from faith, there
is no way we can partake of “everything pertaining to life and godliness”
that He has supplied for us and carry out our function in the body of
Christ (2 Pet. 1:1-3). Apart from faith, there is no way for us to be
pleasing to Him (Heb. 10:38, 11:6). Apart from faith, there is no way
to overcome in this life and “inherit the promises” of God (1 John 5:4,
Heb. 6:11-12). So much more could be highlighted as to how living by
faith is intrinsically necessary to abiding in Jesus and His kingdom
and living out His will, and most of us get the standard and have at
least some basic understand of this truth. Yet when Jesus posed the
question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
it is clear that true, living, active faith in God will be a scarce
commodity in the last days. And so it is becoming.
Whether
you are aware of it or not, there is a violent, intense war going on
in the unseen spiritual realm, and we live in a segment on the timeline
where the powers of darkness are winning many victories and making significant
gains on almost every front throughout the world and among Christians
as well. Let's be honest, the overall condition of the church (and thus
the individuals who compose her) is not good, and the gates of Hell
are largely prevailing because the anemic, weak, and diminishing faith
of God's people poses little threat. This is not because God and His
way is impotent or inferior—quite the contrary. It's because lawlessness
is increasing, the love of many is growing cold, deception is rampant,
and so few professing Christians truly walk wholeheartedly in His way
by faith. This is exactly how Jesus said it would be in these times
leading up to the end (Matt. 24:1-14, 2 Tim. 3:1-9).
Yet
there is a remnant of the Lord's people who do seek to break free from
all the chains of death (religious and otherwise) and be properly built
together by Him to be His dwelling place and Lampstand that expresses
His fullness (Eph. 2:19-22, 4:11-16; Rev. 1:12-2:5). Satan hates and
is “enraged” by these faithful ones who “keep the commandments of God
and hold to the testimony of Jesus” and “makes war” with them (Rev.
12:17). He uses every means to launch relentless assaults upon their
hearts, minds, lives, and gatherings to try to knock them off of any
footing in faith that they possess which would allow for “the manifold
wisdom of God to now be made known through
the church to them, the rulers and the authorities in
the heavenly places, in accordance with His eternal purpose”
(Eph. 3:10-11).
By
virtue of the new birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can
“overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus who loves us”—the victory is already
ours in Him. But just as the children of Israel had already been given
the land of Canaan by God before they ever
arrived there and set foot in it, we too must believe and walk in what
is already true in Jesus and “fight the good
fight of faith” in order to possess this land. This is what “obtaining
the testimony” and being a part of the Hebrews 11 legacy is all about
(read Heb. 11 and particularly note verses 2, 39-40). In the same way
too, our unbelief will lead only to our being defeated by “the people
of the land,” which in the New Covenant reality is the powers of darkness
(Eph. 6:10-20), and dying a slow death in the wilderness of unabundant,
compromised, hollow, religious-life as His people who would not exercise
the measure of faith that they had been given (Heb. 3:1-4:16, Rom. 12:3-8).
Much
needs to be imparted to the church in order to equip the saints who
endeavor to live and function together under His headship so as to manifest
“the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness Christ,” displaying
His life and light and love in the world. But since the body of Christ
works “according to the proper working of each individual part,” there
is also the need for strengthening the faith of individual Christians
for daily living in Him (Eph. 4:11-16). As “each individual part” comes
more and more into “proper working,” greater strides in the church's
together-life can also come forth as the Lord intends and desires for
His bride. So what does it mean “to walk by faith”? If we're weak in
this area or have run aground, how do we “prime the pump” and get [back]
into the flow? How do we maintain faith that is vibrant and alive? And
what is it about being of faith that overcomes the world and is so precious
to the Lord?
Where
faith begins
“Faith
comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
Hearing the Lord is the very starting point, and faith comes when we
believe Him and respond in obedient trust to what He says. The faith
itself is “evidence and substance of things not seen” that we have laid
hold of in God. And our inward being of faith
affects everything—including our outward
words, choices, and actions—because genuine faith in God in the heart
always “comes out” and is expressed through
our lives (Heb. 11:1, Rom. 10:8-11, 2 Cor. 4:13, James 2:14-26, et al.).
In other words, our inward believing becomes lived out “works of faith”
that line up with what God has spoken and revealed because we truly
believe Him and stake our lives on Him.
If
the Christian life is anything, it is a relationship
between the Lord and His people. Relationships involve interaction and
communication, and the Lord does His part impeccably. Our part is to
continually give ourselves wholly to Him, believe with all our heart
the things that He speaks and makes known to us, and respond to His
initiations with eager obedience from a heart that is already saying
“Yes!” to Him before He even initiates. Because this is the very essence
of walking with God, it is imperative that we continually keep our ears
inclined to Him, ready to hear any & everything He has to say.
During
His time on the earth, the Lord Jesus taught and modeled for us the
reality that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Consequently, He did
and said nothing but what He heard and saw from His Father (John 5:19,
30; 8:25-29, et al.). In like manner, the Lord Jesus is ever speaking
to His people and showing them what He is doing as well (John 14:26,
16:13-15; 1 Cor. 2:6-16, 1 John 2:25-29, et al.). If we have “ears to
hear and eyes to see” Him, our part is to likewise respond to Him in
faith and then pray and act under His authority (i.e., in Jesus' Name).
This is the very essence of everyday abiding in Him and living in/from
the kingdom of God.
“The
word of Christ” in doctrine
Romans
10:17 says that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by, the word
of Christ.” This word of Christ is two-fold. First, there are the scriptures
and the teachings He imparts that reveal who He is, His character, His
purpose, and other ultimate and immutable truths in God. Second, there
are the personal things He speaks to His people that have to do with
His specific leading and shepherding of us. I would like to briefly
look at each of these because we need to be well-equipped and established
in both of these aspects of “hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.”
In
our day and time, most “doctrinal teaching” is about as desirable as
Mad Cow Disease. This is largely due to the generations of cold, unanointed
religious instruction that has preceded us, and is still found today,
that fails to impart Life and leaves the hearers stuck with a mental
concept of a distant God who, for all practical purposes, is detached
and irrelevant to their lives. In reaction to this, a large segment
of Christendom has chosen to propagate teaching that is “inspirational,
motivational, and practical”—sermonettes and discourses that are much
more enjoyable and crowd-pleasing to be sure, yet still mostly void
of the Spirit (2 Tim.4:1-4). Then you have the whole realm of theology
that has become almost exclusively another niche of higher education
and scholarship—like physics, political science, or English literature.
Most theologians love to dissect and debate their wealth of biblical
information and yet are seldom men whom you would describe as full of
the Holy Spirit and faith whose goal in instructing is to bring about
“love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” in
their students (1 Tim. 1:3-7).
The
need for sound, biblical teaching and doctrine in our day is inescapable,
and the lack of it is very tragically evident throughout the entire
“Christian world.” The church desperately needs to recover not only
"the elementary teaching about the Christ" and go forward
from there "to maturity," but also the Lord's way of imparting
this aspect of “the word of Christ” as He intended (Heb. 5:11-6:8).
We undeniably live in "the time... when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate
for themselves teachers according to their own desires, and will turn
away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (2
Tim. 4:1-4). Today, truth is considered a very relative thing, being
shaped by the world's leaven, what people "feel," feminism,
political correctness, and whatever the newest "waves and winds
of doctrine" happen to be that are currently tossing Christians
"here and there" (Eph. 4:14 in context). You know
this is true when, despite the fact that the Lord through the scriptures
speaks so clearly to such things, "the church" in our day
is grappling with whether or not it's okay for us to relate to
God in ways other than the masculine way He has revealed Himself, should
women be in positions of authority in the church, is homosexuality really
sin or just an alternative lifestyle, should right and wrong be publicly
declared or should churches be more "seeker friendly" and
only speak of what's "positive and uplifting," do Christians
really have the right to declare anything as absolute truth, and even
silly things like getting tattoos, and many other such things. These
"issues" are really non-issues if you simply hold to (continue
in faith with) what the Lord has made known through His word rather
than run the word of Christ through the previously mentioned filters
and prisms of worldly leaven, human thinking and feelings, and making
allowance for the current winds and waves of unbiblical doctrine. When
the enemy succeeds in using these and other means to knock us off of
what is true in God, we begin to drift and cease to abide in Jesus and
partake of the substance of the unseen realities of His kingdom (Heb.
2:1, 11:1).
I think it is very revealing that, in First Corinthians 12:28, Paul
writes that “God has appointed in the church, first
apostles, second prophets, third
teachers…” because these are all men whose primary ministry to the body
of Christ is through what they communicate through their mouths. And
remember, the Spirit of the same Lord who hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans
and leaders who lord over His people inspired these words. What this
tells me is that, at the least, the first three priorities in the life
of the church, by the Lord's own designation, have to do with verbal
instruction and teaching, because this forms the foundation in the lives
of His people upon which everything else is built (please read
1 Cor. 3:5-15, Eph. 2:19-22, 4:11-16).
The
New Testament example of the men through whom these foundational, doctrinal-type
teachings are imparted is “apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds,
and teachers” who, in the context of the local church,
“equip the saints to do the work of service”—they are not employees
of an organization within a greater system who are paid a salary to
do the work of service for the saints. Neither are they purveyors of
lifeless, biblical information who, like the chief priests and scribes
before them, can intellectually delineate correct scriptural facts (like
where the Messiah would be born, Matt. 2:1-6, 7:28-29). They are humble,
non-lording, anointed men who “have been with Jesus,” who possess depth
of “true knowledge,” are proven and accountable in living it out, and
are gifted to teach reality in God in a way that equips disciples of
Jesus for real-life serving, overcoming, and fruitfulness for Him. They
speak forth the word of Christ in a way that spawns revelation by the
Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of those who hear. This deposit
of revelation, as confirmed by the scriptures, lays in the foundational
truths and spiritual realities upon which these “living stones” are
built together into “a dwelling of God in the Spirit” and become “the
household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar
and support of the truth” (Matt. 7:28-29, 16:15-19; John 7:26, Acts
4:13, 1 Cor. 2:1-5, 1 Thes. 2:1-13, 1 Tim. 3:14-15; Eph. 1:15-19, 2:19-22).
“The
word of Christ” in daily life
The
second aspect of the word of Christ has to do with His speaking specific
direction to His people and leading us in matters of daily life. How
do we know what's next, or where to go, or which one, or what's needed
in this situation or that circumstance, or when to act, or when to wait,
etc.—the things there are not “chapter and verse” for? He speaks to
us, and He leads us—“all who are being led
by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Remember,
Jesus didn't say we “live by every word that proceeded from
the mouth of God,” but rather “by every word that proceeds
from” His mouth. “Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:12-19). Once again, by virtue of
the new birth, we have been given the ability to recognize and know
and hear His voice, and He is faithful in His daily shepherding of our
lives (John 10:1-6, 16, 27).
When
the Lord speaks to us, we hear Him in our inner man—our spirit, that
part of us that was “born of God” and became a “new creature in Christ,”
and “is one Spirit with Him” (John 1:12-13, 2 Cor. 5:17, 1 Cor. 6:17).
So regardless of the means through which He speaks to us—whether through
the scriptures or through members of His body or through written materials
or through what we see in His creation, or through Him simply speaking
to our own heart with His “still, small voice”—when we hear Him and
recognize his voice, we are hearing Him directly in our inner man. Our
response is to always believe and then follow Him in faith and act upon
what He has made known.
This
is why it is imperative that we relate to
God and interact with Him and keep our ears
ever inclined to Him, listening for His voice.
For those who are seeking first the kingdom of God, the word of the
King is our very lifeline. How can we, His sheep, know the way to go
unless we hear from our Great Shepherd? How can we, His bride, submit
to and correspond to Him in all things if we aren't hearing from our
Husband, the Bridegroom? How can we, the members of His body, know how
to function coherently unless we are discerning His orchestration of
us? How can we, the church, fulfill the purpose of God in our generation
if we aren't receiving His specific guidance for the time in which we
live? We can't. At best, we extract scriptural information, piece it
together, and strive to fulfill it in our own strength apart from the
Lord Jesus and His life (John 5:39-40). At worst, we can just outright
pretend. Remember, sin is defined in the New Testament as “whatever
is not from faith,” and “faith [only] comes by hearing and hearing by
the word of Christ.” If we continually seek Him and listen for Him,
we will hear Him and He will lead us in His way as we follow Him in
faith (Matt. 7:7-11, Rom. 8:14).
There
are a lot of voices out there competing for our heart's attention. We
hear things, audible and inaudible, from the world, demons, and even
our own human thoughts, along with the voice of the Lord, all the time.
How can we learn and know the voice of our Beloved? First, you have
to believe His word that you can hear Him
(John 10:1-6, 16, 27). Second, you must begin wholeheartedly seeking
Him and learn to live with your ears always inclined to Him. Third,
you have to act upon what He speaks to you, because “faith” without
some form of action or expression is dead and is not really faith at
all (James 2:14-26). Forth, you have to walk humbly before the Lord
and men because you will make mistakes along the way, thinking you heard
the Lord when you didn't. This process sanctifies our hearing and discernment,
and deepens our relationship and dependency upon Him.
The
enemy will do everything he can to get you to quit when you miss the
Lord, but don't get bogged down in condemnation, guilt, and looking
backward at your failures. Clean up your messes and learn from your
mistakes, and keep going forward in the Lord. He will work through it
for good to further train and sharpen your hearing. The two greatest
safeguards the Lord has given us in our journey of learning to walk
in this way are the scriptures and the body of Christ. The Lord will
never speak anything contrary to the scriptures. And if our life is
submitted and accountable to those “proper working” members of His body
whom He is knitting us together with, they will be used by the Lord
to help confirm and even clarify what He is saying to us as well as
caution against what is questionable and not of God.
People
who are doctrinally correct and theologically sound but who live with
an inability to hear the Lord in daily life and flow with the Spirit
of God (John 3:8) are like well-formed river beds that have no living
water flowing through them (John 7:37-39). They think right and have
good perceptions based on their knowledge, but they are starved for
real intimacy with Jesus, The Person. On the other hand, people who
know they can hear the Lord in daily life and truly endeavor to live
by flowing with His leadings and yet lack a solid doctrinal foundation
are like top-notch roller-coasters—their lives are a well-worn track
of ups and downs. They go from really encountering the Lord and being
exhilarated by His life and seeing Him order their steps with glorious
perfection to doubting and feeling like He has left them alone and they
are horrible failures. The confusion, instability, and proneness to
deception they possess stems from having gaps in their foundation that
would allow them to renew their minds to Kingdom of God reality and
continue abiding in Jesus regardless of circumstances.
The
ferocious fight of faith
This
brings us back to fighting “the good fight of faith.” Our enemy in this
war is “not flesh and blood, but the entire demonic realm—“the rulers,
the powers, the world forces of this darkness, and the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). We are citizens of
the unseen kingdom of God, which makes us “not of this world” and “strangers
and aliens” who live in a world that “lies in the power of the evil
one” (Phil. 3:20, Heb. 11:13-16, 1 Pet. 2:9-11; John 15:19, 17:14-16,
18:36; 1 John 5:19). Working in league with the people of this world
and even disobedient sons of God who “walk according to the course of
this world and the prince of the power of the air,” these powers of
darkness will do everything they can to cut the legs out from under
you when it comes to your walking by faith (Eph. 2:1-3). They will assault
and test you over the truth that is in God that you stand for and live
by. They will work to thwart, obstruct, hinder, and derail you from
following His leadings. They will accentuate every trial and difficulty
to discourage you from believing God's promises and persevering until
you see them fulfilled.
Make
no mistake, the battle is over your faith—your continuing in “the substance
of things not seen” with human eyes and the word of Christ that you
received and believe. What do you think demons are after when, for example,
they fire their “flaming arrows” of accusation and condemnation into
your heart and mind, especially when you are in the midst of repenting
and confessing your sin to God? They are after your faith in the very
Person and character of God and His mercy and forgiveness by screaming
their contradictions into your mind and calling these very things into
question. They are after your faith in Jesus and the power of His blood
to keep you and cleanse you. What do you think these unclean spirits
are after when they use your relatives, neighbors, and people in your
community to question and challenge God's order for marriage and family,
“your interpretation of the scriptures,”
and His leading for how you do life? They are after your faith in Him
to keep standing in the truth and continue in how He would have you
order your lives. What do you think Satan is after when, right after
you receive greater revelation and insight from the Lord or win a significant
victory in life, he brings difficult trials and hardships upon your
life? He's after your faith!
I
could list an infinite number of contexts like these in which the enemy
seeks to make inroads into our lives in order to destroy our faith in
God and His word and anything else he can wreak havoc upon. They will
hit you with temptation, fear, doubt, lust, confusion, affliction, worry,
accusation, condemnation, and any number of varieties of tribulation,
and all of it is designed to get you to cower in unbelief, lose heart,
and ultimately doubt and grow cynical about God and His kingdom and
way. Saints, this is where we must stand firm! We must renew our minds
to the truth in God in every circumstance, encourage ourselves and one
another in the Lord, and keep exercising the measure of faith that He
has given us, knowing that it pleases our Lord Jesus and brings Him
honor when we do. Our faith will increase in the process as well.
I
have emphasized how faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, but there
is another aspect of Romans 10:17 that is equally important, and that
is that we “hear by the word of Christ.”
I mentioned earlier that “there are a lot of voices out their competing
for our heart's attention.” As we receive the word of Christ and believe
it, faith also comes as we then “hear by” that word that He has made
known or spoken to us. We do this by filtering all the voices and all
of their words, opinions, ideas, suggestions, challenges, and the like
through His word and what He has revealed, and everything that is contrary
should be disregarded and thrown out. Use the opportunity to declare
again and reaffirm with your mouth what the word of Christ is (Rom.
10:10, 2 Cor. 4:13). This is a crucial part of continuing in faith and
overcoming in this life.
Saints,
“fighting the good fight of faith” is something we are called to do
and is part of our “taking hold of the eternal life to which we were
called” (1 Tim. 6:12). Let us not “throw away our confidence” in God
“which has a great reward and “shrink back to destruction,” but rather
let's endure and “have faith to the preserving of the soul (Heb. 10:38-39).
The enemy will do everything he can to knock you down and get you in
a stranglehold, but saints, the victory is overwhelmingly ours in Jesus!
If we abide in Christ and His word abides in us, we will overcome and
inherit the promises because we are in Him, The Overcomer! Don't waste
a single circumstance and trial. We see the storm that is coming upon
the world, and all of today's victories that propel us forward “from
faith to faith” will also prepare us for standing in its ferocity (1
Sam. 17:32-37). May God's remnant go forward in faith and knock the
gates of hell off their hinges!
Kindling Publications
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