Fight on and Keep on Fighting on

“I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Tim 6:13-14).

This one is going the distance. Like Rocky and Apollo (both times). Like Rocky and Clubber Lang. Like Rocky and Drago. Like Rocky and (Insert name of opponent from any sequel here. You get the idea.) This slugfest that won’t end early. No matter the foe and no matter the flick, the Italian Stallion will fight on and keep on fighting on. Yo, Adrian!

A couple of thousand years before Stallone gave us the original Balboa, a young slugger named Timothy was in the fight of his life. But check out who he had in his corner. Paul. We’re talking about THAT Paul. Yeah, the APOSTLE Paul. The same Paul who wrote a hefty chunk of the New Testament. You think that’s something? Father God and Jesus Christ are right there too giving Tim the supernatural strength and encouragement to go the distance. 

We pick up the action late in the fight. The camera zooms in on Tim’s corner. Let’s listen in to what Paul tells him. “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v12-14). Don’t give up. Don’t EVER give up. Fight on and keep on fighting on.

Because Jesus fought hard for us when He was cornered, we can to! Yo, Timothy!

It’s been a brutal battle so far. A team of false teachers dominated the middle rounds at the church in Ephesus. They used all sorts of funny business to fool the followers of Jesus. Wacky religious theories and complicated family histories (1Tim 1:4-7). Outright lies and downright demonic doctrine (1Tim 4:-2). And you thought Mike Tyson chomping down on Evander Holyfield’s ear was a dirty move! By the way, folks are still throwing these low blows in church’s today.

But truth made a comeback. Then again, God’s truth always does. Jesus’ church gets up off the canvas and fights back to take control. In the corner, Paul grabs Tim’s tired shoulders. “I charge you” (v13). He uses a Greek verb (Gr. paraggello) which means to give strict orders or make specific instructions. It’s the same word Matthew uses when Jesus orders His posse to do advance work for one of His preaching tours. “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing (Gr. paraggello) them” (Mt 10:5). He gave them detailed instructions just as the apostle coaches up his protege.

I’m no different than Timothy. God has to get up in my grill to get my attention too. Sometimes I forget I’m in a fight. Other times I get tired. Or distracted. He has this amazing ability to reset my focus. He’ll do it through a friend. Maybe through prayer. But consistently use His Word through people like Paul. The Lord regularly grabs me by the shoulders and gives me a hard shake when I’m reading Scripture. It’s time to fight on and keep on fighting on!

Paul then reminds Tim of Who’s in his corner. God the Father. God the Son. You can bet God the Spirit is there too but He’s not the One to draw attention to Himself. The Trinity is total agreement on the strategy. The apostle encourages his spiritual son that our Heavenly Dad is the One “who gives life to all things” (v13). God is not just the Life Producer but the Life Preserver. Take a look around you right now. What do you see? What’s alive? Well, if it’s breathing, creeping, barking, hopping, flying, blooming, or growing, God is the One who makes it happen.

The Son of God is there and brings a ton of experience to Team Timothy. Paul tells his young fighter how it was “Christ Jesus who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession” (v13). This is certainly a big bout but it’s nothing compared the fight Jesus won against sin and death for us. Forget the Fight of the Century. It’s the Fight of Eternity! And Christ won the belt!! Place your trust in what He did that we could never do. 

The apostle jogs Tim’s memory about one specific aspect of Jesus’ fight on our behalf. In one of the toughest rounds, Christ stood toe-to-toe with a local Roman governor and “made the good confession” (v13). Let’s swing over to the Gospels to see what made His confession so good. When Pilate interrogates the Rabbi/Carpenter directly and asks if He really is the king of the Jews, Jesus replies “You said it” (Mt 27:11; Mk 15:2; Lk 23:3; Jn 18:37). When backed into a corner, Jesus delivers a devastating short right of truth. He is indeed the One the Father promised would come to rule and reign (2Sam 7:12-16).

Paul compares Jesus’ “good confession” of Jesus to with to the time Tim did the same thing and “made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1Tim 6:12). When did this happen? Who were those witnesses? It might have been when the young buck from Lystra first placed his trust in Jesus. It might have been answered God’s call to ministry, which by the way included getting circumcised…as an adult (Acts 16:3)! I’m pretty sure I would have made a confession that day and it wouldn’t have been good!! Or it may have happened once when Tim had his back to the wall as a member of Paul’s team in places like Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9), Berea (Acts 17:13-15), or Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). Since the apostle connects these two incidents, you have to believe he’s refreshing Tim’s memory of when God gave his partner the strength to stand strong. Fight on and keep on fighting on!

There are going to be times as a follower of Jesus when you and I are stuck in a corner. Times when we have to stand our ground. Times when we’ll need to make our own “good confession” (v13). When there’s no seeming escape, remember that we don’t have to answer every question. We’re not going to argue anyone into heaven. We simply point to the One who won the fight for us. Or as the writer of Hebrews tells us, run the race with everything we’ve got while keeping eyes locked on Jesus who endured the cross on our behalf (Heb 12:1-2).

In the critical moments of the fight, Tim is “to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v14). Folks have wondered about just what command Paul is talking about here. The best answer is probably his instructions to “fight the good fight of the faith” back in verse 12. That would be the big idea of this entire letter. In other words, there are a some specific things to do in the Ephesian church but the big idea is to fight on and keep on fighting on. 

If you want a more specific commandment to follow, think back to what Jesus tells His dozen disciples the night before His own death. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (Jn 13:34). As a matter of fact, it’s through keeping this command that people around the world can be sure we’re followers of Jesus. You just can’t go wrong when you love the folks God puts in your life. 

Just before the bell rings to start the next round, Paul delivers the last part of his instructions to Tim. Keep this command “until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v14). We win the fight when we continue the fight. Jesus has already won it for us. And He’s returning one more time. In the words of LL Cool J, don’t call it a comeback. Christ isn’t like one of those sad aging heavyweights who continue to come out of retirement for one more shot at former glory. No, when Jesus returns, He returns in top form (Rev 19:11-16). Fire in His eyes. Crown on His head. Tattoo on His thigh. Sword in His mouth. 

This fight is going the distance. But instead of being saved by the bell, we’ll be saved once and for all by God Himself. We don’t know when, but we can be certain He will return. Until then, remember you’re not alone. The Holy Trinity is in your corner. Jesus already won the fight for you. Until then, tell folks about Him. Tell them you trust in Him and not yourself. Remember that He’s returning one final time. Until then, fight on and keep on fighting on.

Because Jesus fought hard for us when He was cornered, we can too! Yo, Timothy!