Pastor Nelson Bonilla: 9-28-25 “Fight The Good Fighy”  

1 Timothy 6:6-19
Fight the Good Fight

Paul begins his First letter to Timothy reminding him the reason why he left him in Ephesus, “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 1 Timothy 1:3-7.

During Timothy and Paul’s days Ephesus, -the church where Timothy was pastor- was a major center of trade and commerce due to its strategic location near the Aegean Sea. It was renowned for its grand architecture, including the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city was a melting pot of cultures and religions, with a strong emphasis on the worship of Artemis, the goddess of fertility and hunting. Ephesus was a busy city, just like any big city in our own times, and as in our time success was measured by possessions, status, and pleasure. Ephesus is in modern-day Turkey and until now after thousands of years we still can see its beauty. 

When the Apostle Paul left Timothy, he did it with the purpose “to command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer.” Now, in his First letter Paul was guiding a young pastor in a culture full of wealth, idols, and temptation.

In verse 5, Paul warns Timothy about people “who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain… I believe these people, Paul is talking about were doing with Christianity the same others did with the pagan gods. The Silversmith in Ephesus -for instance- made a lot of money selling the status of Artemis. We know it because in chapter 19 of Acts there is a riot against Paul, “A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.” 
Paul gives the young pastor Timothy a radically different perspective from the silversmith who did a great business with their faith. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” And then, in verses 11–12, Paul gives him a personal charge: “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” 

The Church in Ephesus led by Timothy was facing two perspectives of how to live her faith: one practice by the false teachers described in verse 9, “Those who want to get rich and fall into temptation and traps and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction… And the reason Paul believes they will plunge into ruins and destruction is, “for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”

 And the other perspective is given by Paul to Timothy and asked to teach others too, “godliness with contentment… is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Paul’s words echo the teaching of Jesus Himself. Jesus, in Matthew 7:13-14, spoke of two roads, two perspectives, one broad, one narrow. Paul describes the same reality in 1 Timothy 6:6–10. Both remind us that essentially, there are only two ways of life: one leading to destruction, the other leading to life. The pursuit of riches is a trap that leads to ruin, says Paul; The broad road, easy and popular, leads to destruction, says Jesus.

I do not know if Paul thought about the possibility of Timothy falling into temptation of wanting to get rich and walk on the broad road, easy and popular but that leads to destruction, as Jesus said. But just in case I think, he gave Timothy a personal advice, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith.”

According to Christian history Timothy fought the good fight. Eusebius and later writers recorded that Timothy became the bishop of Ephesus and served there for many years and was martyred around the year 97 AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Nerva or possibly Domitian.
 
What then is to fight, the good fight Paul is asking Timothy fight? The fight begins when we understand that the Christian journey, our personal journey is not passive — it is a battle. It is a battle to keep our faith. We fight against doubt, temptation, and discouragement. But it is a good fight — because Christ has already secured the victory. And here’s something beautiful: at the end of his life, Paul himself looked back and said in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Paul is saying, “I didn’t give up. I didn’t let go of Christ. Through prison, through persecution, through hardship, Paul kept the faith.”

Brothers and sisters, that is our fight too; our fight is to keep our faith; our fight is against discouragement that tells us to give up. Our fight is to keep listening and recognizing the voice of our shepherd in the midst of all the voices claiming our attention. Our fight is to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness by clinging to prayer when life is hard, holding fast to Scripture when culture mocks our faith, or choosing generosity over greed.
The danger Paul warned us about is the call of our culture constantly tells us: “You are what you own.” New gadgets, bigger homes, more comfort. To fight the good fight means practicing contentment and generosity. It means saying, “My worth is not in what I own but in who I belong to — Jesus Christ.”

In Paul’s day, false teachers spread lies for profit. In our day, false teaching is everywhere, on TV, social media, even under the label of “spirituality.” The fight of faith means anchoring ourselves in God’s Word, not in passing trends or opinions. Jesus said the narrow road leads to life that road is guided by His truth.

Let us keep fighting the good fight reading the scripture daily. Testing every message, every voice we hear against the gospel and as long as we can, let us teach others the ways of Christ.  

So then, brothers and sisters, in a world that runs after riches and walks the broad road of destruction, we are called to be different. We are called to flee from sin, to pursue the character of Christ, and to fight the good fight of faith. The battle is not to gain wealth or status, but to keep our faith. And if we remain faithful, then one day we too will be able to say with Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” That is the true victory, that is the narrow road, and that is the life that leads to eternity with Christ.