Holding Faith and a Good Conscience

“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, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:18-20 ESV)

This charge is not just to Timothy. All of us who profess the name of Jesus are to be those who “wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.” All of us are to resist the devil, and flee temptation, and draw near to God in full assurance of faith. All of us are to put to death, by the Spirit, all evil, all sins, so that we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us to run by our Lord Jesus, who is the author and perfecter and finisher of our faith, a faith that comes only from God, and not from us (Hebrews 12:1-2; James 4:7-10).

And when I say that this faith comes from God and not from ourselves, I am not saying that we have no part in it. It is just that the faith to believe in Jesus originates with God, it is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, it is gifted to us by God, and it is divinely persuaded of God. So it is going to align fully with God’s will and purpose for our lives which is expressed for us in the Scriptures (OT & NT). And Jesus taught that to come after him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands (Luke 9:23-26).

The faith to believe in Jesus Christ does not originate with human flesh. Thus, we can do nothing in our own flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. This faith, therefore, is not of the will nor of the flesh of man, but it is solely of God. So he is the ONLY one to define what this faith looks like. And the faith to believe in Jesus, taught in the Scriptures, teaches us that Jesus died on that cross so that we will now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands.

[Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23]

But not only that. It teaches us that if we profess that we are in fellowship with God, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, we are liars. And if we claim that we are in relationship with God, that we know him, but while we do not make it our practice to walk in obedience to his commands, we are liars. And it teaches us that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God. Many professers of faith in Jesus will be told to depart from the Lord, instead (1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Hebrews 10:19-23; Colossians 3:5-10; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Timothy 6:11-12; John 6:44]

But not all who profess faith in Jesus Christ accept this biblical teaching on the subject of what biblical faith looks like from the perspective of God and the Scriptures. Many want to believe that they can make verbal professions of faith in the Lord Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is now secured for them when they die, but regardless of how they live. And they view God more like a genie in the sky there to do every good for them regardless of how they live.

And so they go on living in sin, and for self, and for selfish and fleshly and ungodly desires. Yet they will claim the promises and blessings of God over their lives, and they will expect God to be there for them, to grant their every request, and to meet their every need. And they will still anticipate that heaven awaits them when they die, and they will convince themselves that God will not judge them for their sins. But they blaspheme (profane, disrespect and show irreverence to) the Lord by their wicked behaviors.

And it isn’t as though many of them do not know the truth of what the Scriptures teach. Many have learned the truth from childhood on up, but have rejected the truth in favor of the lies so that they can continue in their deliberate and habitual sins. And I believe God has shown many of them multiple years of mercy in continuous calls for repentance and for changed hearts and minds, and yet they still refuse his calls, and they continue in their sins. And this will end in death, not life, if they do not change course.

So, if you are one who is still living in disobedience to the Lord, still addicted to your sins of choice, even though you have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, please read the Scriptures in their full context, for they do not promise you eternal life with God. They promise that you will NOT inherit eternal life with God unless you change course, and you truly repent of your sins, and you deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands, in practice. So please take this to heart.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Paradise Valley

Lyrics by Noah White, Music by Virgil Stamps (1935).

As I travel thru life, with its trouble and strife, 

I’ve a glorious hope to give cheer on the way; 

Soon my toils will be o’er and I’ll rest on that shore, 

Where the night has been turned into day.

As I roam the hillside, or I list to the tide, 

As I pluck the sweet flowers that grow in the dale; 

A faint picture is there of a land bright and fair, 

Where perennial flowers ne’er fail.

Tho’ your garden is rare, it is naught to compare 

With the flowers that bloom in the garden above, 

In the midst of it grows, Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose; 

‘Tis the wonderful Flower we love.

Up in paradise valley By the side of the river of life, 

Up in paradise valley, We’ll be free from all pain and all strife; 

There we’ll live in the garden, ‘Neath the shade of the evergreen tree, 

How I long for the paradise valley, Where the beauty of heaven I’ll see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcfpFmzHqos

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