Get in the Fight

February 24, 2024

Saturday

So many times I have been asked to read the following scripture at a funeral:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;” (2 Timothy 4:7, NASB 2020)

So, I read it without saying anything. These people are grieving and they certainly don't need a criticism from me about the life of the one whom they have lost. But inside, I am thinking, "When did this person enter the fight?" 

They had very little evidence that they walked with the Lord. They attended church sporadically, their speech did not reflect one who walked with the Lord, they were frequently disagreeable and they were totally illiterate on the Bible. (Of course, this doesn't mean that they hadn't become a deacon.) Saying these words may comfort those who are grieving but they tell nothing about the one who died. The person didn't fight, didn't finish and didn't keep.

The next verse defines what needs to be strived for:

   “in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8, NASB 2020) 

Those who have loved His appearing will be awarded the crown of righteousness. This doesn't come to those who simply agreed that Jesus was the Son of God. Acknowledging a fact does not reflect a life of obedience. I will agree that Putin the the President of Russia but that neither makes me a Russian, nor does it reflect any obedience to him. Those who have said that Jesus is Lord with their mouths but never showed it in obedience have proven that they did not consider Him Lord. They had no fight to fight, no course to run and no faith to keep. 

I can do nothing for those who have died. You can't either. But you can enter the race. You can do more than say that Jesus is Lord. You can act upon Him being your Lord. 

That means that you will not take the easy route. You will fight when you don't want to. You will run when you are tired. You will keep that faith when it would be much easier to renounce it.

And for what? The eternal rewards that come with the crown of righteousness.

I hope that your family can genuinely have 2 Timothy 4:7-8 read at your funeral. They can have it read because it is your testimony.

This week's sermon: https://prentis.podbean.com/e/prayer-for-a-nation/