2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Introduction
Finally, Paul now is making his final words to Timothy. Paul’s end time is nearing, and he is sensing that the hope that he has in his first imprisonment is now gone. But even he is aware that this is going to happen, he continued to preach the gospel as boldly as possible.
Paul fought the good fight
Just like a good soldier (2Tim 2:3), Paul fought the good fight. He went out and preached the gospel even to those people where in return might kill him. He suffered from tons of persecutions, suffered from several shipwrecks, and suffered from all kinds of ministerial difficulties. Yet, he did not despair, nor rested reaching more people for Christ.
Even in prison, he continuously fights for the advancement of the gospel. He used strategies in reaching more people. He became a tentmaker to support his own self when his support did not come. He undeniably pronounces the gospel even in the midst of his enemies that makes him a true soldier of Christ.
Paul’s spiritual battle ended up to the point of his physical death. The passage tells us the final scenes of Paul’s life in prison where he suffers a lot, not just from persecutions, but from the torment of inner pain of being deserted in the midst of his difficulties.
Chains did not stop Paul in preaching the gospel, not even the bars that delimits Paul’s physical activities. Paul continued his fight as a good soldier of Christ even when all others have fallen. He has shown his honorable quality of being a good soldier, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).
What are the things that can stop us preaching the gospel and telling it to others? Was it our inner self? Was it when people will say that he does not want to hear the gospel that you brought to him? Or was it our bed and our comfortable houses? Was it our family?
Luk 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.
To overcome all this, it is very important for us to wear the full armor of God (Eph. 6:13-18):
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Paul finished the race
The end of Paul’s life has been the mark of the end of his ministry. Just like a good athlete (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), Paul in his lifetime finished the race. He competed according to the rules, so that he will not be disqualified from finishing the race. In comparison to those who did not compete in accordance to the rules. In the passage, we can even see some of the professing Christians who were not able to compete well, and some of them even quit to the great spiritual race.
As Paul run the race, we can see in the Bible that he kept some of the important things that an athlete should know in winning the race:
1. A desire to finish - Act 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
2. Strict discipline - 1Co 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
3. With aim - 1Co 9:26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
4. Going beyond what he can - 1Co 9:27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
5. Take off everything that entangles -Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The main point here is that, Paul finished the race. We have a saying that, “Quitter never wins.” This saying is true to Paul. He knows that if he stops, all the efforts that he did will be in vain. He knows that stopping in the ministry will give him no benefit. And instead of quitting, suffering from various hardships even in his early ministries, Paul continued to move on.
Paul guarded the faith.
Paul was not only a soldier of the faith and an athlete; he is also a guardian of the faith (2 Timothy 1:13-14). But how did the Paul guarded the faith?
Paul was a faith defender of the Jews originally, before he became a Christian. He is one of the main person who go after the Christians. His way of defending his former faith is persecuting, punishing, and even putting to death those who are found to be guilty of becoming a Christian.
Now that he becomes a Christian, he then becomes a guardian of the Christian faith. Christians are a little skeptic with Paul because of his background. But Paul continuously grow in the faith and he know who called him in the road to Damascus, thus he became one of the leaders of the Christian communities, a fervent missionary, and a defender of the Christian faith.
His ways of defending the faith has changed. Formerly, he is the one who persecuted Christians, but now he is the one being persecuted. Before, his answer to his opponents is violence, now he answers them with the truth found in the Scripture. He even opposed those who introduce false doctrines.
Paul continuously encourages his students to continue guarding the faith. Being on guard means being on the alert. Many Christians fail because they were easily deceived by false teachers. But what is Paul’s secret in his success of guarding the faith?
1. He commits everything to Christ - Phi 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2Timothy 1:14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
2. He avoid things that might influence him to be off guard - 1Ti 6:20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,
Conclusion
Paul can be considered to be successful in his Christian life. He was able to become a good soldier, a good athlete, and a guardian of the faith.
In our lives, how did these things reflects on us? Unlike Paul, we are still here and our time is still running. How are we going to fight the good fight? How are we going to finish the race? And how are we going to guard the faith?
Indeed, we have known so many things. We have undergone trainings, seminars, team buildings, and all things that can help us in our spiritual walk in Christ. But how do we work on things towards the goal?
If perhaps, our time is over now in this very moment, can we claim what Paul has claimed?
Today, God is giving us a choice whether or not to continue to learn and apply what we have learned in him, or to quit and stop in becoming a quality Christian. The choice is yours to make.
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