Learning to Live by Faith

I have been writing about running the Christian race. I mentioned recently that G. Campbell Morgan uses the phrase “Flee, Follow, Fight” in his sermon “The Fight of Faith.” Here is a link to the full sermon: G. Campbell Morgan The Fight of Faith oChristian.com. Here are my notes on this sermon:

Morgan begins his sermon by saying, “We are accustomed to speak of the Christian life under different figures. Sometimes it is described as a pilgrimage in which, staff in hand and equipped for long and continuous marches, the pilgrim sets his face toward the country where he fain would be. Sometimes it is described as a voyage over seas in which today the blue of the sky is mirrored, and which tomorrow are swept by storm. Sometimes it is described as a race, to run in which the competitor must strip himself, lay aside every weight and set his face toward the goal, perpetually forgetting the things behind. In all these figures of the Christian life there is the suggestion of effort and of difficulty. I know there are those who speak of this Christian life as though it were easy, soft, weak. As a matter of fact, it is indeed, as the text suggests, a fight, fierce and terrible ofttimes, a constant warfare from beginning to end. It is a fight which requires all a man’s grit and force if he hopes to win. It is in that way I desire to represent it to you, my brothers, to whom principally I speak this evening.

      The words of the text constitute a part of the final advice of the aged Paul to his young friend and fellow minister, Timothy.”

These are the verses Morgan is preaching about.

11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 KJV

The King James Version uses the word “follow.” The NIV uses the word “pursue.”

11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 NIV

So you can think of it as following after Jesus…or pursuing Him…pursuing righteousness. We are following the leadership of the Good Shepherd. I think it also helps to think of the word pursue. We are running after Him, pressing on, pursuing Him.

Morgan says, “The text is really a part of a threefold injunction which may be expressed by the three words which indicate it, “Flee,” “Follow,” “Fight.” The first of these three words indicates what Timothy’s attitude should be toward the evils which the apostle had been rebuking. The second affirms the true ambition of his ministry; the third indicates at once the strenuousness of his life, and by its connection with the latter part of the text, “lay hold on the life eternal,” indicates the strength in which he will be able to fight his fight as he follows after righteousness and flees evil things.”

So, Morgan is saying that 1) Timothy’s attitude towards the evils Paul had been rebuking should be to flee from those evils. 2) The true ambition of Timothy’s ministry was to follow after righteousness. 3) Timothy’s life will be a strenuous battle against evil and he will fight by laying hold of eternal life.

In my post Notes on Sermon by G. Campbell Morgan “Christian Citizenship 1: No Abiding City” – Learning to Live by Faith, I wrote about how Morgan says that “faith is not merely intellectual apprehension and conviction of truth; and shows that faith is the assent (approval, or agreement) of the will, and the yielding of the life, to the claim of the truth of which the mind is convinced.” He also said that, “belief in its profoundest sense is not conviction merely, but conduct proceeding out of conviction, and harmonizing with the conviction.” What Morgan is saying is that saving faith is not just intellectual apprehension and conviction of the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, it involves a yielding of our lives to Him. We not only recognize the truth that Jesus is King, we yield our lives to Him as King. We serve Him as our King. We turn away from evil, and follow after righteousness, or pursue righteousness. After we have a sense of conviction that His laws are righteous, we will try to obey them. And righteous conduct will proceed out of us, and harmonize with our conviction. So we will flee evil, follow after righteousness, and fight the fight of faith.  

What is the fight? A spiritual battle against spiritual forces. The battle between good and evil.

Morgan says, “Every man who has yielded himself to the King is called upon to fight the battles of the King in his own life and wherever he may be.”  He asks, “What, then, is the fight to which men are called who follow Jesus Christ?” He explains that the battle you are fighting in is the battle between good and evil. He gives examples of ways to think about the forces of good and evil. First, he talks about them as a gathering force and a scattering force. And then he talks about them in terms of good having its inspiration from faith and evil having its inspiration from fear.

A Gathering Force and a Scattering Force

Morgan says that there are 2 forces at work in the world:

1) A gathering force – which gathers to the center and

2) A scattering force – which drives from the center.

– “The gathering force brings a man within his own personality into consistent life, and then brings man to man, heals the breaches and the wounds, and makes for a society which is pure, noble, self-sacrificing.”

– “The scattering force breaks a man up within his own personality, and drives men apart, severing man from man, brother from brother, the wide world over.”

In Matthew 12:30 Jesus says, “30Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” The Berean Study Bible says the phrase “He who is not with me is against me” shows the “impossibility of neutrality in spiritual matters.” These words emphasize the “necessity of a clear allegiance to Jesus.” In the next part of this sermon, Morgan is going to be talking about 2 paths. He says you must make a clear choice to turn away from the paths of evil…flee from them, and pursue the paths of righteousness. In Joshua 24:15 (KJV), Joshua says to the Israelites, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” We must choose which of the 2 paths we will follow. We must choose to serve Christ as our King. In Matthew 12:30 when Jesus says, “He who does not gather with Me scatters,” the Berean Study Bible says this is a reference to sheep herding. The work of the Lord was to gather in the lost sheep. The work of Satan was to attack and scatter the flock of the Lord. I think this is what Morgan is referencing when he talks about a gathering force (a good force) and a scattering force (an evil force). And that’s what he means when he’s saying that the gathering force brings harmony, unity, wholeness, and healing within the man’s own life (“brings a man within his own personality into consistent life”) and within his community (“and then brings man to man, heals the breaches and the wounds, and makes for a society which is pure, noble, self-sacrificing”). That’s the way God works in people’s lives – He brings harmony, peace, and healing. The scattering force brings chaos, confusion, and harm within a man’s own life (“breaks a man up within his own personality”) and within his community and the world (“and drives men apart, severing man from man, brother from brother, the wide world over”). The Lord brings healing and unity. Satan brings division and discord. If you choose to serve the Lord, you will be participating in His work of gathering in the sheep.

Faith and Fear

Morgan says, “The force of right and the force of evil are in array against each other.” He says that there is a perpetual battle in the world between good and evil. He has already explained good and evil as being a gathering force and a scattering force. Here, he expresses it by saying that the battle is between fear and faith. He says that “at the center of all evil as its inspiration is fear, at the center of all right as its inspiration is faith. If you take the Bible and trace your way through from beginning to end you will find these two principles are forever revealed as in opposition. You find men attempting to combine on the basis of fear, fear of each other, of some ultimate evil; and also men combining on the basis of faith in the unseen and eternal. Faith and fear are in perpetual opposition. All that which drives men to evil courses, and all that which divides man from man is based upon fear. All selfishness expressing itself in harm to other men grows out of the heart’s fear. All self-sacrifice expressing itself in helpfulness to other men grows out of the heart’s strong, firm courage and faith. In the world these two forces stand opposed. Every man is ranged on one side or the other. Every man’s life is either a part of the force which scatters, or a part of the force which gathers. Every man’s effort in every day of his life is a contribution toward the victory of evil at some point, or else it is a contribution toward the victory of good.”

Morgan explains that behind all expenditure of human effort, there is an infinite hunger and craving after God. “The difference between faith and fear is the difference between attempting to satisfy this deep craving and hunger in the right and true way and in the wrong way. The wrong way is the way of evil. The right way is the way of good.” Remember how we talked about that need for God in my notes on MacLaren’s commentary on Isaiah 55 where we worked with the imagery of the fountain that satisfies our thirst? Morgan is saying here that the right way to satisfy that craving is to follow after God…to go to the fountain. The wrong way is to try to satisfy that craving for God by following after the things of the world.

Morgan says that “these two forces are opposed even in a man’s own life. A young man facing life sees before him some goal to which he desires to come; some ambition inspires him, prompts him, drives him. This in itself is not wrong. It is as it should be.”  He says the question is, “How are you going to gain your goal? By what way are you traveling toward your mountain height? How do you propose to translate your castle in the air into a solid piece of work squarely set on the earth? That is the question of importance.” He says there are 2 ways the man must choose between: 1) the suggestion that he should take short cuts devoid of principle toward the goal he desires to reach and 2) the suggestion is that he shall find the one highway of stern duty and true principle and tread it at all costs. The battle begins in his heart between the allurements and enticements of the short and easy method – as it appears to be – of evil; and the long, stern, and arduous method – as it appears to be – of good. Morgan says, “In this great city at this hour the two forces are at work. The battle is set in array. Whoever may lead the hosts on the side of evil, the fact remains that through this city there are forces of evil waiting to lure men into ways of evil on the basis of fear, and other forces drawing men into the paths of righteousness on the basis of faith.”

So there are the paths of evil and the paths of righteousness. This makes me think of the hymn “The Two Paths” by Fanny Crosby – Learning to Live by Faith. It says that the first path leads to Jesus, the soul’s dearest friend. The other ends in ruin and darkness. The first path has waymarks. The other has no guide. The first path has trials and crosses that must be endured, but you will be strong with Jesus there to help you. And there is a crown waiting for you at the end of that pathway.

Morgan says, “Whether it be in a profession or in business, here or there, the deepest thing in all your life story will be the contribution you make toward this great battle between evil and good, fear and faith.” He says you are fighting this battle continually. “You are fighting the battle in every hour and every moment of your life, as your life’s force is being exerted on the side of good or of evil, according to whether the underlying inspiration is that of fear, which attempts to save self, or faith, which attempts to glorify God. That is why the apostle charges Timothy to ‘fight the good fight of the faith’.”

I wanted to share with you the Berean Study Bible’s notes on this passage. It says, “Fight the good fight of the faith.
This phrase emphasizes the Christian life as a spiritual battle. The imagery of fighting suggests perseverance and struggle against spiritual adversaries, echoing Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 6:12, where he describes the battle against spiritual forces. The “good fight” implies a noble and worthy struggle, aligning with the values and teachings of Christ. The use of “faith” indicates that this is not a physical battle but one of maintaining and defending the Christian doctrine and personal belief in Jesus Christ. Historically, the early church faced persecution and false teachings, making this exhortation particularly relevant. The metaphor of a fight also connects to athletic imagery used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, where he speaks of running a race to win an imperishable crown.” 1 Timothy 6:12 Berean Study Bible Biblehub.com

Who is the leader of the forces of faith? Jesus Christ Himself.

Morgan says, “In the letter to the Hebrews the writer describes the heroes and heroines of faith through the ages. At last, passing from the eleventh chapter into the twelfth, you read these words which describe the One who is “The Author”–and now allow me to offer you a more literal and immediate translation of the Greek word–“the File-leader of faith.” Hebrews 11 describes the heroes and heroines of the faith. Then Hebrews 12 begins with these verses:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

3Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)

The King James Version says “author and finisher of our faith” in verse 2 where the NIV says “founder and perfector of our faith.” And Morgan is saying that “author” means “file-leader.” A file-leader is the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him (www.thefreedictionary.com). Morgan says, “The writer of this letter to the Hebrews puts Jesus Christ at the very forefront of the army that fights the good fight of the faith. Although in point of time and in appearance in human life He came long after the men already mentioned, Abraham, Moses, David, and the rest, yet Jesus Christ is the File-leader, the one moving first.”

So take time to envision that. There are 2 pathways: the path of evil and the path of righteousness. The army of the faithful is marching on the path of righteousness. And at the front is Jesus, the file-leader, covering, protecting, and leading those marching behind Him.

Morgan says, “The whole life story of Jesus, on the human side, is the life story of One who lived by faith. He saw the ultimate victory. He believed in the triumph of righteousness. He wrought with God along the mysterious way of human life and by victory gained over all temptation, and testimony borne in His own age, and at last by the infinite revelation and mystery of His passion, fought ‘the good fight of the faith.’ He it is who leads the armies of the faithful.”

What is the 1^st step in the fight of faith? Enlisting in Christ’s Army. Crown Christ as your King.

Morgan says, “If a man is to fight this fight of the faith where is he to begin? He must begin with definite and personal submission to the great Leader of the army of the faithful. Every soldier in this fight must be enlisted of his own will and must yield his will to the will of the Commander. ‘He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.’ The personal application of that is that if a man would gather he must be with the Christ, and that if he is not with the Christ he is therefore scattering. You cannot ‘fight the good fight of the faith’ until you have crowned the Christ. The first thing, then, in Christian warfare is enlistment under the leadership of the One who stands in front of us, the File-leader of faithful souls.”

What is the equipment for the fight? Laying hold on life eternal.

Morgan says, “Then follows a statement of the all-inclusive equipment for the fight. The charge of the apostle here is not that a man shall fight to lay hold on eternal life, but that a man shall lay hold on life eternal in order to fight.” He says it is a common mistake in interpreting this passage to postpone the possession of eternal life to the ages beyond. But eternal life is something for today. The moment we are saved, we have eternal life. And we are to “take hold on this principle of life and in its power fight the fight of the faith.”

Morgan says eternal life can be expressed as “age-abiding life,” or the “life of the ages.” He says, “Eternal life is not a condition to which a man comes after death. Eternal life is that mystic and wonderful life which is in all the ages, past, present, and to come. It is the infinite force at the back of everything.” He says, eternal life is “the life which defies change, the life which abides when all its varied expressions pass away.”

Here is the Berean Study Bible note on this verse: “Take hold of the eternal life. This phrase calls for an active and intentional grasp of the promise of eternal life, which is a central tenet of Christian belief. The concept of eternal life is not just a future promise but a present reality that begins with faith in Jesus Christ, as seen in John 17:3. The imperative “take hold” suggests urgency and determination, reflecting the need for believers to live in a way that reflects their eternal destiny. This aligns with the teachings of Jesus in John 10:28, where He assures believers of eternal life and security in Him. The historical context of the early church, with its emphasis on the hope of resurrection and eternal life, underscores the importance of this exhortation.”

How do you find eternal life? By faith in Jesus.

In John 17:3, Jesus says, “This is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him whom Thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.” And how do you do this? How do you know the only true God and Jesus, whom He has sent? By receiving Christ…by believing in Him. Morgan explains that John 1:11-13 says, “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them which believe on his name: which were born”— there is the beginning of eternal life in the soul – “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” When a man sees Jesus Christ and obeys Him, yields to Him, in that moment he has taken hold on eternal life. He has put his own life in all its meaning into immediate connection with the life which abides, the life of the ages, and in that strength he is called on to go forth to this warfare.

What is to be the soldier’s spirit? Perfect confidence, caution, perseverance resulting in victory, and hardness/resilience.

1. Perfect confidence: Morgan says, “First of all, the man who fights after having crowned Christ fights in perfect confidence because he knows His leader and is convinced of the ultimate issue.” He says, “We have seen Christ (by faith) and to have seen Him is to be perfectly assured that He must win. It is impossible once to have looked into the face of the Son of God, to have seen Him in all the radiant beauty of His purity, the matchless majesty of His victory over sin, and believe that at last He can be defeated. If I am in the fight against evil in my own life and in the fight against evil in the world as a soldier of Jesus Christ, I fight in perfect confidence.”

2. Caution: Morgan says, “The man who fights under the direction of Jesus Christ fights not only in confidence but in cautiousness. The great word of one of the Old Testament writers is forever true in his experience, ‘Happy is the man that feareth alway.’ (Proverbs 28:14) There is a foolhardiness which names itself courage, but is not courage……If a man plays with fire he will be burned, notwithstanding his relationship to Jesus Christ. If a man attempts to try his courage by putting himself into a place of temptation he will fall, notwithstanding the fact that he has crowned Christ in his life by some act of submission in the past. The soldier who is to fight the good fight of faith is to ‘flee’ from all evil…There are places to which no man can go who is to fight this fight. The place of peculiar peril is to be avoided. The good soldier of Jesus Christ is the man who fears, and fears always. Not confidence merely, but caution also.”

3. Perseverance: Morgan says, “The good soldier of Jesus Christ is one, moreover, who understands that there must be conflict unto victory. That the victory is possible he believes. Then if it be possible, however stern, however strenuous, however terrible the conflict, he is to press right through until the end…There must be perseverance.”

4. Hardness/Resilience: Morgan says, “The soldier of Jesus Christ is not only a man having confidence and caution, and determined perseverance which issues in victory. He is a man who will endure hardness and so himself become hard, in that sense of the word hard. Hardness is a quality which comes only through enduring hardness. By hardness we mean not that hardness against which we are warned in the New Testament, the hardness of conscience and heart, but the toughness which enables a man to ‘stand… to withstand… and having done all, to stand.’ …It is by fighting on until the victory is won by strong endeavor that man gains the hardness which makes him at last a valiant and victorious soldier of Jesus Christ. All these things are necessary if we are to ‘fight the good fight of the faith’.”

You could also think of hardness in terms of resilience. Morgan is saying that by enduring hardness, you develop a hardness that enables you to endure further trials more easily. I think that is similar to developing resilience. It might help to think of it this way because, as he is saying, he is not talking about developing a hardness of heart, which dulls your responsiveness to God. The type of hardness/resilience he is talking about will enable you to continue on in serving the Lord with joy.

Where is the fight to be fought? First, in secret, in your own heart. Then, in the world around you.

Morgan says, “You will never be able to fight the good fight of the faith in [the city you live in] until you have fought it, and are fighting it, in your own heart and life…There are so many men who desire to have something to do in the general moral uplifting of society who have never yet enlisted to fight against evil in their own hearts and lives. The first battle is the battle within, against wrong in the heart and life. Yet remember, as I have already said, this battle also, first and fundamental, can be fought only under the leadership of Christ.” We must remember that the Christian life is a battle against sin. We must be actively working to mortify/subdue sin in our own hearts. And Jesus will lead us in that fight. Morgan says, “Crown Him. Follow Him. Fight under Him. The severest battles of a man’s life are fought out in secret and in his own individual soul. Temptation to evil in its varied forms comes far more subtly to a man when he is alone than when he is with others.” Then Morgan makes a statement with a lot of imagery in it that we can use. He says, “I begin my fight inside; in the secret recesses of my inner life, in the hall of the imagination, in the chamber of the affections, there the fight must first be fought. ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city’.” Take time to envision that…a cleansing light or cleansing water flowing into the secret recesses of your heart…the hall of your imagination…the chamber of your affections. Feel a weight being lifted off of you as Jesus cleanses your heart from sin. Remember how Hebrews 12:2 says, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” so that we can run faster in the Christian race? Having the secret recesses of your heart cleansed from sin is a part of that process. See what Jesus shows you. See what He brings to your mind as you spend time with Him. See if He shows you any sins, or weights, that could be laid aside. Feel that healing feeling as His light flows through your heart more easily after it has been cleansed.  

Morgan says, “The fiercest battles of the individual life, the longest, the most strenuous, are the battles fought in absolute loneliness.” He uses the life of Jesus as an example. He says, “May I, with all reverence, illustrate what I am thinking from the life story of Jesus? Do not forget that in the will and economy and purpose of God He lived longer in private than in public. Think you there was no significance in that? Three years of public life, and, reckoning from twelve years of age, when He was a boy coming up to the Hebrew confirmation, eighteen years in quietness, hidden away. Where do you suppose, so far as the manhood of Jesus is concerned, the fiercest battles were fought, in the presence of the crowd or in Nazareth? I tell you, in Nazareth. There were battles to be fought in the presence of the crowd.”

Morgan says that it can be easy “to do right when you are in the midst of people who applaud you.” The hardest fight is when you are alone. He says, “When the comrades in the Christian war are not with me, when the soldiers who would oppose me and make me fight are away and I am alone, then the fiercest fight of my life is fought.” But it is very important to win the battle against sin in your own heart. He says, “Unless a man wins there he will never win anywhere.”

How shall we win in our own hearts? By laying hold on eternal life.

This Son of God who is the Leader of the hosts laid down His life in the light and the darkness of the cross – and let no man tell me there is no mystery in the cross. In that infinite hour of His agony He made it possible for me to lay hold on life, and if a man will lay hold on life by crowning Him, he can fight alone and win, he can fight with his comrades in arms and win, and he can fight against opposition and win. The first battle is ever in loneliness. That is the thought I desire more than any other to impress on you.”

What is to be the final issue of this fight to which we are called? The triumph of right in our own lives and in the world.

How are you fighting? Morgan says, “Take the week that is gone. You have spent so much of thought, so much of energy. On which side has it all been exerted? Have you helped, by thinking and speaking and working, the victory of evil? Did you think and speak and work last week so that God Almighty got some help out of you toward the ultimate victory?

      I call you in the name of the great Leader of faithful souls to fight the good fight of the faith, and I say to you tonight, you can fight that fight only as you lay hold on eternal life. I say to you finally, eternal life is yours here and now if you are His. It may come silently, gently, so much so that you hardly know the moment of its coming. When you take your life and hand it over to the great Captain of Salvation, you lay hold on eternal life, and in the power of that life you may begin your fight and win in secret and in public, in your own life and in every endeavor for the Kingdom of God.

      Godliness is indeed great gain.”

So, there is a lot of imagery we can use from this sermon. Envision the 2 paths before you, which one will you take? Envision the army of the faithful marching on the path of righteousness behind their leader – Jesus. Your first step in the fight of faith…where you begin…is by crowning Jesus as your King and enlisting in His army. See yourself joining that army of the faithful in the Christian race and taking a step onto the path of righteousness. Remember “Flee, Follow, Fight.” Flee from the path of evil, follow Jesus, and fight the fight of faith. Jesus will begin by leading you in fighting the battle against sin in your own heart. Envision that cleansing light purifying your heart and feel the healing that it brings. I wrote in my post Notes on Sermon by G. Campbell Morgan “Christian Citizenship 1: No Abiding City” – Learning to Live by Faith about how Morgan said that those who are born again “find their life centered no longer in self but in God, and are conscious of the passion for holiness without which no man can see the Lord, and feel within them the thrill and throb and driving of this great eternal life.” So lay hold on the eternal life you possess from the moment you are saved. Feel the thrill and throb of this eternal life and let it be your driving force as you run the Christian race in the way of righteousness. The hymn “The Two Paths” is very helpful to use when you are meditating about the Christian race. See yourself carrying your cross, enduring trials, and receiving comfort from Jesus as you press on towards heaven where the crown of victory is waiting for you!