2 Timothy 4:7
7 I have fought [agonizomai] a good [kalos] fight, [agon] I have
finished [teleo] my course, [dromos] I have kept [tereo] the
faith: [pistis] KJV-Interlinear
7 I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; NASB
Failure in the
spiritual life comes because most people do not know what is expected of them. And that is because they do not bother to
learn what is expected of them. And that
is because they believe that they already know what is expected of them. Thus failure.
And failure results in
great disappointment because the rewards and blessings that could have been,
just fade away because the person was just too arrogant, or lazy, or
indifferent, and did not want to change their ways. After all, study is … well, boring and not
doing.
Fought, finished, kept,
are three verbs that indicate completed actions. Actions defined by the Bible,
not you.
Fought indicates the
struggle. Finished indicates
obedience. Kept indicates unwavering perseverance.
Paul, once he became a
believer, dedicated himself to learning first, then teaching second and living
the spiritual life.
He did not pretend by
making overt comments or present himself to impress others.
He did not fool himself
by believing that he could do things his own way, and that his effort would be
acceptable to God.
He did not arrogantly
believe that he did not need the scriptures, that he could or already knew what
he needed to know, in order to live an acceptable life.
Far too many folks
ignore the Bible and believe that whatever it is that they do, is sufficient,
and that God will somehow be impressed by their efforts. After all they themselves are impressed with themselves.
Far too many folks want
to sing the hymns or attend social gatherings, and believe that, that is
sufficient to advance them with God.
Far too many folks
simply ignore their spiritual obligations and that is the end of it as far as
they are concerned.
And not too many folks
realize that God has a mandate for each one of us to study and learn, which is
the bulk of our spiritual life, and after that, the application comes
next. Most folks want the application or
the deeds to precede or replace the study, which study, usually gets ignored
because they believe that it is not necessary.
Paul endured the
hardships of life in this world. Paul continued
in his studies even as he wrote most of what we now call the New Testament. Paul
maintained his faith and did not waiver or get distracted by worldly opinions
or popular views. Paul was not swayed by
peer pressures.
Paul did not let others
control the course of his life. He was
independent in his thinking.
Paul did not invent his
own values, but pursued the values that God dictates in the scriptures.
If you have not
believed in Christ, then your life will fail miserably.
If you have believed in
Christ, then you have placed upon you many expectations and obligations.
The first, of which is
to live your life in fellowship. You accomplish
this by confession of your sins to God the Father, on a regular basis.
The second, is to
engage in a daily Bible study. This
presumes that you are interested and want to learn of God, of life, of your
meaning and purpose in life.
The third, is to learn
that which you study, to have an open mind and not compromise or find excuses,
or pick and choose what you will agree or disagree with from the Bible.
The fourth, is to
understand by applying what you learn. And
that means to live an honest and honorable life. Application follows learning.
The fifth, is to
support the study of the Word, and not expect someone else to do what is
expected of you.
The sixth, is to do
this day after day, year after year, throughout your entire life. There are no holidays, no vacations, no time
off from your spiritual life.
The seventh, is the
objective, the finishing of the race, advancement to spiritual maturity.
God has waiting for you
a blessing package that exceeds your imagination. If pursuing your spiritual life is too
difficult for you, then your spiritual blessings are not worth anything to you either.
We will all face Christ
one day and on that day, we will receive that which we qualify for. You can either face Christ with honor because
you endured, you finished, you maintained your faith, or you can face Christ
with embarrassment because you did not see the value in the gift that He has
waiting for you.
In either case, you are
the only one who will be to blame if you decide against pursuing your spiritual
life in accordance with Gods rules. You
are the fool if you think you have a better way.
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