日期 : 02/07/10

經文 : 提前 1:18-20

題目 : 美好的仗

主旨 : 因為神已將責任委任我們，所以信徒應在屬靈的爭戰上有優勝表現。

引言 :

   在我們的四周圍有許多的戰爭，美國與基地恐怖份子正在戰爭中，在伊拉克 Sunnis 與 Shiites 在 戰爭，在阿富汗美軍和他的盟軍與哈利班戰士在戰爭，如果你擁有一部 Toyota 的話，你現在知道公司正在為著目前和將來可能的顧客的信任在做一場戰爭。

   我想我們當中有許多人大概正在想今天晚上的超級盃的足球賽，我們非常高興這場球賽不是在早上 11 點中舉行，不然的話又是一場敬拜與球賽的戰爭。

   我們既然談到超級盃的話，我想我們當中有許多人包括我在內可能對球賽中的廣告會更加的有興趣，你知道在這一場的球賽裡一個 30 秒的廣告他的價錢可以高達 3 百萬美金嗎？今天晚上我們會看到一個特別的廣告， Tim Tebow 和他的母親將會在其中出現，這一個廣告是美國的 Focus on the Family 所贊助的，已經有許多的組織覺得這是一個會引起爭議並且不適合的廣告，並且也在要求廣播電台取消這一個廣告。不論你如何看這一件的事件，很明顯這是在一個文化裡兩個不同價值的一個爭鬥。

   我相信我們當中許多人可能正在這樣的戰爭中，我們有些人拼命的想減肥，或者是在那裡抵抗一個正在慢慢侵蝕我們身體的疾病，有人正在我們婚姻裡掙扎要生存下去，在有些家庭裡有一場持續不停的戰爭是孩子的自由與父母的督促之間的爭戰。或者我們當中也有人在掙扎要克服色情網站的一些其他習慣的爭戰，這只不過是在我們四周圍一些的戰爭的例子而已，每一樣的戰爭都能夠使我們精疲力盡，在我們研讀提摩太書前書第一章的時候，看見提摩太也正在一場的戰場當中，是一場屬靈的戰爭。在這一封信裡，保羅鼓勵提摩太，要好好的打這一場屬靈的爭戰。

   現在讓我們來看一下這是一場什麼樣的戰爭，並且提摩太如何能夠打的好？

I •  我們要像軍人般為真道打那美好的仗

18 節是充滿了軍事的詞句，這裡說 「 我兒提摩太啊！我照著從前關於你的預言，把這命令交託你，為的是要叫你藉著這些預言打那美好的仗」。 提摩太這裡是被保羅吩咐被保羅命令像一個士兵一樣接受了命令要去打一場戰，要打的好要打贏，是怎麼樣的一場戰呢？我們從提摩太前書第六章 12 節知道這是一場信仰的戰爭，或者是說是一個真道的戰爭。我們知道在提摩太的教會裡有假的老師起來在教導假的教義，歪曲了真理，所以提摩太在這一場的戰爭裡他要保護真道，就是從前一次交託給信徒的真道，他要阻止那些假的老師，要破壞他們所教的錯誤，這是一場真道的戰爭。

1•  首先這裡看見保羅給提摩太一個命令 。這是一個緊急的命令，需要他立刻順服的，作為一個士兵，當命令下來要出發的時候，是沒有討論辯論不同意的餘地，如果一個單位要在 24 小時之內或是一小時之內出發的話，他們也要立刻的順服。提摩太從保羅那裡得到了一個緊急要順服的命令。除了這裡有一個緊急的命令之外，而且這一個順服也是根據：

2 •  從前的一次委任 。 當士兵要出發上戰場之前他們會有一個前送禮，保羅在這裡提到以前曾經有的一件事，但是沒有給我們太多的資料。從其他的經文裡，我們可以做一個結論，在那一次的事件裡，包括了下面的幾項。首先有關提摩太將來服事的預言，他要成為神話語一個強力的發言者，在那一次也有長老們按手在他身上為他禱告。第三，透過這樣的禱告有屬靈的恩賜給了提摩太。這一件事一定對提摩太有深的影響就好像在他的心中燃燒了一把火，因為這一個委任所以提摩太得到一個命令，他要去打這一場屬靈的戰爭。

在 Baylor 醫學院在新生入學的第一年開始的時候有一個“白袍禮“，學生在那時從學校得到他們的第一件白袍，象徵他們要照顧病人的責任。我相信對許多學生來說這一個很有意義的事。我們可以想像在許多年之後，當一些醫生或者感覺到灰心失望的時候，他們大概會想到在那一次所得到白袍的鼓勵與象徵醫學界。我們全時間服事的，我們也記得我們被按立為神福音的使者，我們得到了一個吩咐，我們要用神的話語和愛來牧養神的子民。當這個教會的長執每一年都有一個就職禮的時候，同樣象徵在這個教會所擔當的責任。

這個給提摩太的吩咐這一個命令也是給了所有的信徒，神已經將祂的真理祂的真道啟示了給教會，這一個真理、這一個真道、這一個信仰，經常的被攻擊，在早期教會的時候，有許多教導在那裡否認耶穌的神性或者人性，他不是神只不過是另一個先知而已，或者他是神卻不是一個真的人。在摩門教裡，不錯耶穌有那個神明的特色，但是他不是神，因為他是父神和天上的母神的兒子，他們天上的兄弟。在今日我們的社會裡在四周圍我們也會聽到一些教導說，如果你活得對，活的好的話，神一定會將健康財富豐豐富富的賜給你，這些都是錯誤的教導。

我們有些人或者會熟悉一位叫做 N.T. Wright 的作品，在最近幾年他在西方教會裡寫了一些相當受歡迎的書本，相信遲早也會翻譯成中文。他很能夠將一些聖經的教導和真理生活化，但是在他寫的一些書本裡，有些內容是令人有一點的困擾。在基督教，「因信稱義」是我們的信仰核心，這也是 16 世紀宗教改革的一個重點。但是在 Wright 最近的一些作品裡就好像開始給因信稱義有新的意義和定義，在一本靈修的書裡，有一位傳道人說 Wright 在作品裡建議因信稱義的意義乃是被神算我們為祂群體的成員。因信稱義就不再是有關罪被得到赦免或被神接納，乃是指著在約的群體裡的一個成員，這是一個非常危險而且錯誤的思想，因信稱義和罪的赦免和被神算我們為義是分不開的。或者我們當中也有人熟悉國內的神學思想，在許多的神學院，在最近的這幾年來，在教導在推動因愛稱義，這一些都是錯誤的教導，是委屈了真理所以這一個信仰的戰爭這一個真道的戰爭是我們要好好的打，我們不能夠像這一些錯誤的教導投降的。那我們又怎麼樣打呢？

 II •  我們要像海員般為真道打那美好的仗

在 18 節裡我們看到的都是一些軍事上的用詞，但是到 19 節的時候很快的換了一個圖案，從軍士兵到水手航海員，在第 19 節「常常存著信心和無愧的良心。有些人丟棄良心，就在信仰上失落了」在英文的翻譯裡是說有些人丟棄了良心，他們的信仰就沈船了。這裡講到如果一個船要不沈的話，要緊緊的握住 ( 常常存著 ) 一些東西，那要握住什麼呢？一個水手要握住的就是那個舵，好叫這個船能夠很安全的駛入港口。

當我在 Michigan 湖的一個 24 尺長的船裡的時候，朋友要我好好的握住這一個舵，有時候稍微動一下這個舵，就會向左或向右轉，當水是平靜的時候 ，掌握這個舵是相當容易的，但是當起了浪的時候就比較困難，為了要使這個船朝著一個固定的方向走或是一個度定的位置，你就不能放鬆這一個舵。在這裡保羅也是說如果我們要打那一場美好的仗的話要緊緊的握住兩樣東西：信仰和好的良心，無虧的良心。

1 •  堅守真道 . 我們首先來看這個信心或者信仰，這一個信心不是指著我對將來滿有信心，或者說我有信心事情一定會好轉，或者我有信心你會成為一個好的人，甚至是我的信心使我在患難中能夠安穩，在聖經裡每次提到信心總是有一個對象，我們對神聖潔和信實的信心，我們相信耶穌基督。在第 19 節這裡講的信心是指著一個群體的真理，如我們在猶大書第三節「要為那從前一次交托給聖徒的真道作戰」。真道一次交了給我們，那是神給教會的啟示，這是我們要抓住的。因此我們在這裡要問的問題乃是我們知不知道我們抓住的是什麼，因為如果我們不知道抓住的是什麼，不知道這個信仰的內容是什麼的話，那我們如何能夠與錯誤的教導來爭戰，我們如何能分辨什麼是對，什麼是錯的呢？

對神話語缺乏認識是信徒當中很普遍的一個現象。相信有許多的基督徒不知道什麼是十誡，或者是你能否背出 5 條誡命。我們往往也不知道在聖經哪裡去尋找這十誡，沒有太多的人能夠將主禱文背出來，要認識神乃是要熟悉在聖經有關神的教義，有關基督的教義，有關救恩的教義，有關未來事情的教義，有關教會的教義，有時候我們基督徒要追求更深的屬靈的經歷，但是往往我們卻不願意更多的去認識神，去熟悉有關神的教義。如果我們不認識這些教義的話，我們也很難去認識神，也因此並不容易培養與神更深刻更愛祂的地步，我們需要好好的讀聖經，知道在聖經裡哪些歷史的部分哪寫描寫的部分，我們要熟悉聖經裡詩的體裁、比喻，要熟悉聖經裡一些直接的教導，和一些有關未來事情的暗示或預言。

我記得在 1970 年初期，我被 薛華 的教導所吸引，我用了許多的時間去聆聽他對羅馬書的講解，一直到今天我仍然記得他如何幫助我明白羅馬書的主旨和分段，不是單單頭腦上的知識，乃是這一些的認識在那裡煽動我心中對神的愛，願意更多愛他願意更緊緊的跟隨他。不論你是誰，不論你是年輕是年長的，你能夠好好的認真的開始讀聖經裡的一本書，或是羅馬書或是希伯來書或是生命記，我們現在在網站上有許多的資源也有許多中文的 CD 幫助我們熟悉這些書卷，在教會的圖書館裡也有許多這方面的資料，當然在家庭的靈修裡，我已經講了好幾次，是可以用「教理問答」和孩子們一起的來認識聖經，一起的認識神。

要打信仰的仗要打的好，開始點是要知道要抓住這一個信心的內容，這一個真道，那神交托給我們的那一些的道理。現在我們來看第二件我們要抓住的是

2 •  一個無愧的良心 。或是一個好的良心，對保羅來說，一個無愧的良心是他服事的基礎，在新約的聖經裡好幾本書，他重複的提到那一個無愧的良心，在這一段經文裡，他說如果你不抓住一個無悔的良心，你的船就要沈了，你信仰的那一個船會破壞了。你可以有一切正確的教義，如果你沒有無悔的良心，你也不能夠打這一場好的仗。什麼是無悔的良心？在一篇的講道要處理良心這個問題是不容易的，我只是將良心的一部份盡量的來解釋一下。

良心就是在我們心裡微小的聲音告訴我們什麼是對的什麼是錯的，告訴我們要去順服神的律法神的吩咐。當你在考試的時候遇到一個你不能回答的難題，你也知道如果你稍微將你的凳子移動一下你就能看見前面同學的答案，當你正要這樣做的時候，你內心有一個小聲音「你這樣做是不對的」這就是你的良心在那裡對你說話要你順服神的命令，有時候你會聽你良心的，但是也有時候因為感到太多的壓力，一定要考的好，所以你也就忽略良心去抄別人的答案，雖然你可能得到一個好的分數，但是你內心會有不安。或者是當我們看見一個滿有毅力的人，我們腦海裡開始幻想這個人有不正當的行為，然後有一個聲音在你裡面說「要停止，不要再繼續下去」，有時候我們會聽有時候我們不聽，如果我們持續的拒絕良心的聲音，我們的新對神的律法就會慢慢的剛硬，然後造成我們信心的毀壞或者這裡說的，那一個像船一樣的破壞了。

如果我們要打一場好的仗，我們除了要把握住從前一次交給教會的真道，也要聆聽我們的良心，光是知道真理正確的教義，不是就等於我們會順服，所以這裡有一個命令，我們除了要把握住這一個真道，這一個信心，我們也要順服我們的良心來順從這一個真道這一些的教義，認識真理認識真道是一件客觀的事，要聆聽我們的良心這是一個主觀的行動，如果要打一場美好的仗，這主觀跟客觀的是分不開的。

 III •  我們要像治療師般為真道打那美好的仗

在第 20 節我們看到了另外一個比方，在這裡說「他們當中有許米乃和亞歷山大，我已經把他們交給撒但，使他們受管教不再褻瀆」，保羅講的有兩個人因為棄絕他們的良心導致他們離開了福音，導致他們的信仰像船一樣的破壞了。在任何的戰爭裡都會有傷亡的，在屬靈的戰爭裡也是一樣，這裡我們就有許米乃和亞歷山大這兩位，他們跌倒了離開了福音，保羅做什麼？保羅說「我已經把他們交給撒旦，使他們受管教不再褻瀆」，這些的字句如保羅在哥林多前書所用的一樣，把他們交給撒旦，往往意思是離開教會，如果我們用現代的觀念就是把他們的會籍除掉，這是在教會紀律裡最嚴厲的處方。因著要離開神的教會，他們也脫離了神的照顧和保護，因此也就暴露在撒旦的權勢之下。但是要注意這一個目的是什麼，當他們因著離開教會離開信徒的群體，他們會感覺到傷痛，那就希望這一個傷痛可以導致他們的悔改再一次的被挽回。表面上看來非常的嚴厲，但是仔細的看這也是神的恩典的運作，這也是教會該做的，當人犯了罪離開了福音，我們要扮演治療者的角色把他們再一次的帶回到神那裡，有時候帶回到神的過程的開始是要這個人與教會要隔離，教會的紀律從來不是要懲罰一個人，乃是要恢復一個人與神的關係和與教會的關係。

今日在教會要執行紀律實在是不容易，在我們當中如果有公開的罪的時候，當教會都還沒有談到愛和紀律，這犯罪的人可能就已經離開了教會。有時候我覺得是不是因為我們沒有個人經歷到或珍貴在群體中的愛和真理，因此離開了教會也不是一件了不起的事。因為犯罪的人不會感受到這一個教會裡的愛的群體，因此使得教會的紀律非常不容易的執行。

結論：

無論你喜歡與否，我們都是在一場的屬靈的爭戰裡，有時候這也稱為一場思想上的戰爭，是世俗的世界觀和聖經的世界觀的一場戰爭。當美國的 Focus on the family 要在今天超級足球賽裡播放廣告的時候，就被媒介稱為是個有爭論性的廣告，今天晚上要放的廣告也被一些反對的人士質問「美國觀眾是否在這個時候要看這些很認真嚴肅內容的廣告」我想大概沒有一個公司願意花 3 百萬做一個 30 秒的廣告，但卻同時不願意傳播一個很認真的信息吧！好了，我當然可以再多講，但是這裡我的重點是我們是正在一場屬靈的爭戰裡。

   不論你喜歡與否，我們是在一場屬靈戰爭，同樣的不論你喜歡與否神也給了我們一個很緊急的吩咐一個命令要去打這一場仗，並且要打的好，怎麼樣打呢？要緊緊握住真理和一個無愧的良心，我們要知道真理是什麼並且要順服他。在 16 世紀的宗教改革家們也按著這樣的模式打這一場真道的戰爭，屬靈的戰爭。德國的君王要馬丁路德收回他所寫的有關「因信稱義」的文章和書本，經過一個晚上的禱告和掙扎，第二天早上他在君王的面前說了下面這幾句有名的話語「 這是我的立場 , 我沒有其他的選擇 , 願神幫助我 , 阿門 . 」。路德按著他無愧的良心順服了神所啟示的真理 , 真道 , 打了那一場美好的仗。

Date:   02/07/10

Text:   1 Timothy 1:18-20

Title:   Fight the Good Fight

Theme: Since God has commissioned His believers, we are to fight well in the spiritual conflict.

Introduction:

  There are all kinds of battles going on. The United States is fighting against the Al-Qaeda In Iraq, the Sunnis are fighting the Shiites. In Afghanistan , the US and her allies are fighting against the Taliban. If you own a Toyota , you know the company is fighting to regain trust from its current and potential customers around the world.

  Some of us are probably thinking of today’s fight between the Saints and the Colts. We are so glad that the game won’t start at 11am, otherwise there will be another battle between the game and worship.

Well, talking about Super Bowl. Some probably will be more interested in the commercials than the game. Do you know that a 30 second commercial in Super Bowl can cost up to $3 Million? This evening Tim Tebow and his mother will appear in a commercial sponsored by Focus on the Family. There are organizations considering this as controversial and inappropriate and have asked CBS not to run this Ad. No matter how you slice it, it is a cultural battle about certain values in our society.

I am certain that some of us have found ourselves in different kinds of battles. There is the battle of the ‘bulge’ (that is, our waist line), or fighting a disease that is progressively attacking our body. Some maybe fighting just to survive in their marriage. In some families there is the ongoing battle between children’s freedom and parental supervision. We may be struggling to overcome addiction to internet pornography or games.

These are just some of the battles around us. Any kind of battle can wear us out. In our study of 1 Timothy, we saw Timothy engulfed in a battle, a spiritual battle. In this letter, Paul was urging Timothy to fight the good fight; and fight it well.

Now, let’s take a look at what this battle is all about and how Timothy is suppose to fight it.

 I •  We are to fight the good fight of faith as a soldier.

Vs. 18 is laced with military terms, “ This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.” Like a soldier, Timothy was commanded to fight and fight it well. What kind of warfare? We learn from 1Timothy 6:12, it was a battle of faith. In Timothy’s church, there were false teachers teaching false doctrines; distorting the truth. So Timothy, in this battle, was to defend the faith that was once given to the church. He was to stop the false teachers and demolish the errors. It was a fight for the Faith.

First, there is a charge, meaning an urgent command to fight. It requires immediate obedience or obligation. As a soldier, when the orders come to deployment, there is no discussion, argument or disagreement. If a unit is given 24 hours or 1 hour’s time to move out, immediate obedience is expected. Here, Timothy was given an urgent command and was to be obeyed.

Secondly, this obedience is based on a previous commission. Soldiers were commissioned before they go to the battleground. Paul mentioned that a certain event occurred in the past but no details were given. From other passages, we can conclude that the particular event include the following. There were prophecies made about Timothy’s future ministry, that he would be a powerful voice for God’s truth. There was the laying on of hands by the elders over Timothy and they prayed for him. Through this, special spiritual gifts were given to Timothy. This event had a deep impact on Timothy as if a fire was sparked within him. Because of this commission, Timothy was given the order to fight in this spiritual warfare.

At Baylor College of Medicine, at the beginning of first year, there is this ‘white coat ceremony’. The students are given their first white gown to symbolize their responsibility to care for the patients. This must be a very memorable event. One can imagine that 1 or 2 years later, when these students are discouraged by those long hours of study, they may look back to this ‘white coat ceremony’ and be motivated. This ceremony is like some kind of commissioning. Those of us in full time ministry, remember the day we were ordained, commissioned or installed into the gospel ministry. We were given the charge to shepherd God’s people with His word and Love. The elders and deacons of HCC will remember that at the beginning of each year, they were installed as leaders of this church. They were commissioned to serve God in this church.

This instruction to Timothy, is given to all the believers. God had revealed, given to His people a body of truth. This truth, Faith, has constantly been under attack. In the early church there were teachings that denied either Jesus' deity or humanity. He was not God, but just another great prophet. Or He was God but not a real human. In the Mormon religion, yes, Jesus had the divine nature, but he is not God, for he was the son of God the father and God the mother in heaven. He is our heavenly brother. Nowadays we have heard the teaching that if you live right, then God will give you all the material blessings. These teachings are wrong.

Some of us may be familiar with N.T. Wright’s writings that have become popular in recent years. He had good insight regarding practical application of the gospel message. But there is something in his writing that is rather troubling. Justification by faith is the bedrock of our Christian faith; it was the battle cry of the Reformation in the 16 th century. Yet in some of Wright’s recent writings, there appeared a new meaning for ‘justification’. Sinclair Ferguson wrote in Table Talk that Wright suggested that when one is justified by faith, it means that one is being regarded as members of His people. Justification is no longer about forgiveness and acceptance, but rather to membership in the covenant community. This is dangerous and wrong thinking. Justification by faith cannot be separated from forgiveness of sins and being considered as righteous by God. Or for those of us familiar with the theological trend in China , many seminaries are teaching and advocating Justification by love. This is wrong teaching, it distorts the truth. This is the battle of faith that we find ourselves in, and we are to fight it well. Don’t give in. How are we to fight well?

II •  We are to fight the good fight of faith as a sailor.

Vs.18 was in military terms, but in vs.19, there is a quick change of metaphor; from soldier to sailor. “.. holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,” One is to hold on to something so that the ship will not wreck. Hold on to what? The sailor is to hold tight to the rudder, so the ship can sail safely into the harbor of rest.

When I was on that 24 foot fishing boat in Lake Michigan , I was asked to steer the boat by holding onto the helm. Sometimes, a slight movement of the helm could cause the boat to turn left or right. When the water is quiet, it is quite easy to steer. But with waves, it becomes a challenge. In order for the boat to move in a certain direction or stay put at the same spot, you cannot let go of the helm, unless there is auto pilot. Now, if we are to fight the good fight of faith; we are to hold onto two things: Faith and good conscience.

  First, let’s look at Faith. Faith is not about my faith in the future, my faith that things will turn out better, my faith that you will turn out good, or even my faith to keep me calm in the midst of turmoil. In the scripture, whenever faith is used, it has a content, an object. It is our faith in God’s holiness and faithfulness. It is our faith in Jesus Christ. Here, faith means a body of truth; like what we have in Jude 3, “…… to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” It is about a body of truth, revealed from God to men. We are to guard and hold tightly onto this. The question then becomes; do we know what we are holding onto? If we don’t know, then how can we tell the truth from the false teachings?

   It is a fact among the evangelicals in this country that we don’t know God’s word well. Many of today’s Christians do not know the 10 commandments, or just 5 of them. We do not know where to find them in the Bible. Not too many of us can recite the Lord’s prayer. To know God, means that we are to be familiar with the doctrine of God, doctrine of Christ, doctrine of salvation, doctrine of eschatology (that is about future events) and the doctrine of the church. Do you know the meaning of these 5 colors: Yellow, black, red, white and green? Sometimes some Christians will say that we want to focus on deeper spiritual life and not on doctrines. Yet, without knowing the doctrines, it is hard to know God, and consequently, even harder to develop a deep and loving relationship with Him. We need to study the Bible and know the history and narratives in it. We are to know the poetry and parables; the didactic and the apocalyptic portions.

  I remember back in the early 1970’s, I was attracted to Francis Schaeffer’s teaching. I spent many hours listening to his teaching on the book of Romans. Even to this day, I still remember how he helped me to understand the themes and divisions of this book. Not just intellectual knowledge, but also stirring my heart to love God and to follow Him. No matter who you are, how young or how old you are, you can start seriously studying one book in the Bible. It could be Romans or Hebrews. We have resources on the internet and many Chinese CD’s in our own library. And of course, in your family devotions, you can use the shorter catechism or Heidelberg Catechism with your children. These are tools to help us know God more clearly.

To fight the good fight of Faith, begins with knowing and holding onto the faith, the truth, the doctrines God has entrusted to us. Now, the second thing we are to hold onto is:

Secondly, Good conscience. To Paul, a good conscience is the base of his ministry. In this passage, he wrote that without a good conscience, you will have a shipwreck. Even if you have all the right doctrines, but without a good conscience, you won’t be able to fight this battle. So, what is conscience? It is beyond the scope of this sermon to give a full treatment of conscience. I’ll just highlight one aspect of conscience.

Conscience is that still small voice telling us what is right or wrong, telling us to be obedient to God’s law. When you take that test in the classroom, you come across a question you don’t understand. You want to move the chair a little so you can see the paper in front of you. Then you feel a tug within you saying this is not right. This is your conscience speaking to you. Sometimes you listen to it and there are times you are so desperate that you went ahead and copied someone else’ answer. Even though you got a good grade on the test, you feel bad. Or when you see someone attractive and start to fantasize in your mind certain inappropriate behavior with that person. There is a voice saying, stop, don’t go there. Sometimes you listen, other times you won’t. if we keep rejecting the voice of our conscience, then we become callous towards God’s law. This will eventually shipwreck our faith in God.

If we are to fight the good fight, to uphold and protect the truth that was once given to the church, we need to listen to our conscience. Just knowing the truth, the correct doctrines, does not mean obedience. It is a command that we have to follow our conscience to obey the truth, the doctrine. Knowing the truth is an objective act. To listen to our conscience is a subjective act. If we reject our conscience, it would damage our relationship with God.

III •  We are to fight the good fight of faith as a healer.

In vs.20 we find another metaphor, “ among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” In any battles, there will be casualties. The same with spiritual warfare. There were 2 individuals, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who rejected their consciences, resulting in wandering away from the gospel. What did Paul do? He handed them over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme. It was the same words Paul used in 1 Corinthians. “To hand over to Satan” is often meant they were asked to leave the church, or simply excommunication. This is the most severe form of church discipline. They were removed from God’s care and protection and thus under the power of Satan. What is the purpose? That when they suffered from such a separation from church, they would experience pain and resulting in their repentance and restoration. It appears to be stern and harsh. Yet, in closer look, it is grace in action. This is the proper work of the church. When people sinned or left the gospel, we are to function as a healer, to restore them to God. And sometimes this bringing back process may begin with separating the person from the church. Church discipline is never meant to be a punishment, but to restore a person’s relationship with God and with the church.

It’s so much easier said than done in today’s church. When there is open sin among us, even before the church can talk about love and discipline, the person who has openly sinned would leave the church. Sometimes I wonder if it is because they may not have personally experienced or treasured the love and truth in this community. And so, leaving the church is really no big deal for them. Because they will not miss the loving community of the church. Thus this makes church discipline difficult to carry out.

Conclusion:

  Whether you like it or not, we are in a spiritual battle. Sometimes, it is called a battle of the minds. It is a battle between the secular worldview, secular culture and the biblical worldview. When Focus on the Family wants to air a commercial in today’s Super Bowl game, it is labeled by the media as controversial. This evening’s commercial is being questioned whether the American audience is ready for such serious content. I don’t think any company would spend 3 million dollars on a 30 second ad and not want to convey a serious message. Well, I can go on and on, and sure you can add to it. But what I am saying is that this is a spiritual war we are in.

  Whether we like it or not, we are in a spiritual warfare. Likewise, whether we like it or not, we are given the urgent order to fight well. How so? To hold onto Truth and a clear conscience. We need to know the truth and be obedient to it. This is how the reformers in the 16th century fought the battle of faith. Martin Luther was asked to recant his writings on Justification by faith. After praying and struggling, he appeared before the king and uttered those famous words, “ Here I stand . I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” Luther fought the good fight, he followed his conscience and obeyed God. He knew the truth and he obeyed with a good conscience.