Following Christ and Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

In Exod 23:20-33, there is a close connection between the promises and blessings of God’s covenant relationship with Israel and the essential command that Israel fight the good fight of faith. To wit, in v22, the promise that God would be an enemy to Israel’s enemies was conditioned with the following words, “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say…” (Exod 23:22 ESV). Again, the covenant blessing of fruitfulness was conditioned with these words, “You shall serve the Lord your God…” (Exod 23:25 ESV). Once more, God’s promise that Israel would obtain the inheritance of the land promised to their forefather Abraham is followed by these words: “You shall make no covenant with them and their gods” (Exod 23:32). In each case, there is a close connection between God’s blessings and promises and Israel’s faithfulness to follow the word and the will of their God. This whole idea is summarized in this text with the following words: “for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you” (Exod 23:31 ESV).

Translated into New Testament terms, this is the principle that Paul professes in Philippians 2: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (vv12-13 ESV). This principle means that our faith is not something in name only; it works against the common false notion that I simply need to pray a certain prayer and then I’m free to carry on living my life. Quite to the contrary, when the exalted and ascended Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, he, without fail, calls the churches to conquer. Therefore, true and living faith in Christ means following him where he leads—which is to our eternal inheritance—and fighting the good fight of faith along the way.

But what does it look like to conquer in the Christian life? How do we fight the good fight of faith as we follow Christ who leads us into our inheritance? With the balance of this reflection, I want to present a few ideas that will serve as points of application for my sermon on this text. First, Paul exhorts us with these words: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5 ESV). The life of the mind is a battleground of the soul. We are in a pitched battle against an opponent who knows that words and ideas can actually bring hurt to us, as when the serpent said, “Did God actually say…” (Gen 3:1). To conquer in the Christian life, then, is to actively combat bad ideas and false notions about who God is, what he has done for us, and how we relate to Christ. May we take every thought captive to obey Christ and not our own fancies.

Second, Paul simply and straightforwardly exhorts us, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess 5:16 ESV). How we feel about following Christ significantly contributes to our efforts to fight the good fight of faith. Does this consign us to a fake kind of sentimentality when we actually need to lament? Not in the least. To rejoice always and to weep with those who weep are not contradictory, because our reason for rejoicing is securely located somewhere other than the occasion for weeping. Just as Christ despised the shame of the cross on account of the joy set before him (cf. Heb 12:2), so Paul exhorts us to orient our affections towards the fullness of joy that is found in unhindered communion with God (cf. Ps 16:11). The point is that we may weep, but with hope. We must rejoice always because Christ is leading us even now to a joy that transcends our sojourn in this world. May we, then, rejoice always as we follow Christ to our heavenly inheritance.

Third, Paul again presents a simple and straightforward way to fight the good fight of faith: “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18). Lest we think that Christ calls us to be so heavenly minded that we fail to do earthly good, Paul reminds us with this specific—and perennially appropriate—exhortation to conform our wills in this present life to the good and acceptable and perfect will of God (cf. Rom 12:2). The simple fact is that what we do with our bodies matters, and sexual immorality of all shapes and sizes is lawlessness, a lack of holiness. But we must strive for holiness if we want to see the Lord (cf. Heb 12:14). May we, then, conquer sinful habits, fallen ways of being in the world, with a vigor that matches our desire to be with Christ forever.