Fight the Good Fight of Faith (1 Tim. 6:11-16)

Outline: Fight the Good Fight of Faith (1 Tim. 6:11-16): 

1. The command to fight (vv.11-12)
2. The motivation to fight (vv.13-16)

Summary:  God has called us into a fight, a life-long fight of faith.  By God's grace we have been called through the gospel and the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, we must take hold of the eternal life that first took hold of us.  We made a public confession of our faith and now we are called to continue in our confession by fighting the fight of faith.  Like a boxing match, the fight of faith will include strategies of both defense ("flee") and offense ("pursue").  We are commanded to engage in such a fight.  And our motivation for heeding the command comes from the fact that the fight takes place in the presence of God the Father and God the Son.  Both God's intimate presence with us and Jesus' example of making and continuing in His confession are meant to motivate us to fight hard until the bell rings at Jesus' return.   

Main Point: We must persevere in the faith by engaging in a disciplined fight to trust God and keep His word until Jesus returns.

Discussion Questions:

• How should Jesus' good confession made before Pontius Pilate (v.13; cf. John 18:28-19:16) motivate us to continue and persevere in our good confession (v.12)?
• The fight of faith is like a boxing match that includes the need for both defense ("flee") and offense ("pursue").  From v.12 and your own experience, how might a christian "fly like a butterfly" and "sting like a bee" in his fight of faith?
• How should the majestic description of God in this passage (esp. vv.15-16) motivate us to engage in a disciplined fight to trust God and keep his word?
• How long must we engage in the fight of faith? 

Application Questions:

• Do I live like I understand that the normal Christian life is a fight to trust God and keep His word until Jesus' returns?  In other words, do I expect my life to be a fight?
• How am I currently fighting the good fight? What situations in my life are calling for greater defense and what situations are calling for greater offense?

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for calling us though the gospel and the powerful working of the Holy Spirit
• Praise Jesus for making and persevering in His good confession even in the face of the cross
• Praise God for His intimate presence with us as we fight to persevere in the faith
• Ask God to help us discipline ourselves to "fly like a butterfly" as we flee sin and temptation
• Ask God to help us discipline ourselves to "sting like a bee" as we pursue righteousness 
• Ask God to encourage and empower someone you know who is struggling in the fight of faith 

I Am a Sojourner and an Exile (1 Pet. 2:11-12)

Outline: In 1 Peter 2:11-12

1. God's Pilgrims abstain from the passions of the flesh
2. God's Pilgrims indulge in a life of good works

Summary: This week we held the gospel "diamond" up to the light, turned it, and gazed at its beauty from 1 Peter 2:11-12.  Here Peter again draws on the Old Testament and applies it to the blood-bought, Jesus-trusting, new covenant people of God.  To be God's holy people, set apart and marked out from the unbelieving world makes us sojourners and exiles, a pilgrim people who live in a place that is not their home.  And, as pilgrims, Christ-followers are called to abstain from the things that will do harm to their souls and to indulge in a life of good works.  This holy abstinence and indulgence is motivated by a desire for unbelievers to come to know Jesus Christ.

Main Point: We are God's pilgrim people called win the lost by living holy lives.

Discussion Questions:

• What is a sojourner?
• What does Peter mean by the phrase "the passions of the flesh"?
• Why is it so important to abstain from rather than indulge in the passions of the flesh?
• Why is it so important to fight sin at the desire level?
• What is the relationship between  "abstaining from the passions of the flesh might cause an unbeliever to scratch their heads but indulging in good works."

Application Questions:

• How does it make you feel to know that you are God's pilgrim?
• What passions of the flesh am I most tempted to indulge in and what efforts and I making to abstain?
• How much does the salvation of unbelievers in my life serve to motivate my own efforts to grow in holiness?

Prayer Points:

• Confess to God ways you have been indulging instead of abstaining from the sinful cravings
• Praise God for sending Jesus, the ultimate Pilgrim, who would abstain where we indulged and indulge where we abstained so that he could die for our sins and bring us to God (1 Peter 2:23; 3:18)
• Ask God to help you to live a holy, set apart lifestyle so that unbelievers might see your good works and come to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Sincere Praying (Matt. 6:5-8)

Outline: Matthew 6:5-8

1. Sincere praying is fueled by pure motives  (vv.5-6)
2. Sincere praying is marked by child-like trust (vv.7-8)

Summary: Just when we've been freshly inspired to radically obey God's word and display God's character (ch.5), Jesus hits us with a sobering warning in Matt. 6:1: "Beware of doing the right things from the wrong motives!"  Jesus warns us that God will not reward an obedient act if that act was fueled by wrong motives.  Motives matter to God--big time!  In His second illustration of this warning, Jesus teaches us that sincere praying comes from pure motives and a deep trust in our heavenly Father's care for us.  Our praying should be fueled not by a craving to be seen and praised by others, but by a desire to be seen and rewarded by God.  Our praying should be marked not by the empty and mindless repetitions of a pagan, but by the assurance and confidence of a well-loved child of God.

Discussion Questions:

• Review: what is the relationship between ch.5 and the warning given in 6:1? 
• What is it about the activity described in v.5 that is hypocritical?
• Is it possible to be unsaved and still have a passion for prayer? Explain.
• What reward does a hypocrite receive?
• Why is God's special presence in the prayer closet and not on the street corner?
• What does it mean to have pure motives?  What motives should fuel our prayer lives?
• What difference is there between how Gentiles pray and how God's children pray? (vv.7-8)
• What rewards can be expected by those who pray out of pure motives and deep trust? 

Application Questions:

• How much do my motives matter to God?
• What motives have been fueling my prayer life as of late? What should be fueling me?
• What habits of empty, mindless prayer have I formed?  What are some remedies?
• What would it look like to pray like a pure-motived, active-minded child of God?

Prayer Points:

• Confess to God any impure motives or distrust that have hindered your prayers as of late.
• Praise Jesus for shedding his blood to wash away all your bad motives and distrust.
• Praise God for adopting you so that you can relate to Him in prayer as a well-loved child.  
• Ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your prayer life by purifying your motives and increasing your trust in your heavenly Father's care for you. 

Sincere Giving (Matt. 6:1-4)

Outline: Matthew 6:1-4

1. Jesus' general warning (v.1)
2. Giving from impure motives  (v.2)
3. Giving from pure motives  (vv.3-4)

Summary: With unique authority, Jesus has resurrected the original intent of God's word from under the rubble of false teaching (vv.16-48), showing us that we display God's character when we radically obey the original intent of God's word (5:9, 45, 48).  But just when we are freshly inspired to radically obey God's word and display God's character.  Just when we are ready to shine.  Jesus hits us with a sobering warning: "Beware of doing the right things from the wrong motives!" People often separate the quality of the act from the quality of the motive, but God does not.  Jesus warns us that God will not reward an obedient act if that act was fueled by wrong motives.   It’s one thing to do the right thing; it’s another thing to do the right thing for the right reason.  Motives matter to God--big time!  To illustrate His warning, Jesus gives three common examples of acts of righteousness that can be done out of impure motives: giving, praying, and fasting.  Here we consider Jesus' first example--giving.  Our giving should be fueled not by a craving to be seen and praised by others, but by a desire to be seen and rewarded by God.  Heavenly rewards are for those who desire the Father's gaze more than people's praise.  

Discussion Questions:

• How would you paraphrase the general warning given in v.1?
• How does v.1 build a bridge between chapters 5 and 6?
• What is hypocrisy?  What is it about the activity described in v.2 that is hypocritical?
• What reward does a hypocrite receive?
• What does it mean to not let "your left hand know what your right hand is doing"?
• What are some strategies for giving discreetly and secretly? 
• What dangers may come from focusing solely on these strategies?
• What does it mean to have pure motives?  What fuel should drive our acts of obedience?
• Reflect on this statement: "Rewards will be received or revoked depending on the sincerity of the motives fueling the work."

Application Questions:

• What motives have been fueling my obedience as of late? What should be fueling me?
• When I get irritated or bitter due to being unappreciated, what might be amiss in my heart?
• How often am I aware of my motives and not just my actions?
• How much do my motives matter to God?

Prayer Points:

• Confess to God any impure motives that have tainted your good works.
• Praise Jesus for shedding his blood to wash away your bad works and your bad motives 
• Praise Jesus for dying on the cross so that His good works and His pure motives would be credited to your account.
• Ask God to purify your motives and help you do the right things for the right reasons.
• Beg the Holy Spirit give you the desire to attract God's gaze more than people's praise.  

Jesus' Teaching on Lust (Matt. 5:27-30)

Outline: Matthew 5:27-30

1. Understand it (vv.27-28)
2. Obey it (vv.29-30)

Summary: Since Jesus came to fulfill the OT, we can and should excel in our obedience to the OT in such a way that exceeds the surface "obedience" of the scribes and pharisees (5:20). Jesus gives a second example of the type of heart-obedience he desires by explaining and applying the law "You shall not commit adultery."  The scribes and pharisees taught people that purity was achieved by merely avoiding adultery, but Jesus brings us back to the heart of this law, teaching us that true purity will not just avoid the physical act of adultery but also the internal condition of lust that produces it. Jesus teaches that an adulterous heart is just as damning as an adulterous act.  Therefore, to avoid adultery we must deal with the heart issue of lust by ruthlessly removing stumbling blocks from our lives (vv.29-30).

Discussion Questions:

• What misunderstanding of "you shall not commit adultery" is Jesus correcting in vv.27-28? 
• What is the proper understanding of this law and how should this shape our view of the Law?
• What is the relationship between adultery and lust? 
• When does a natural sexual desire turn into lust?
• "A adulterous heart is just as damning as an adulterous act." How can this be?
• How does Jesus teach us to deal with the heart issue of lust vv.28-29?
• How should we understand and apply the strong and intense language of vv.29-30?
• What does it mean to be sexually pure in marriage? In singleness?
• How would you confront this lie: "my lust only effects me"?
• The heart is the high ground of the soul.  If we win the heart, we win the war. What are some strategies for fighting lust that will help us win the high ground of the heart?

Application Questions:

• Do I tend to focus on surface obedience or heart obedience when it comes to sexual purity?
• What objects am I beholding (eyes), activities am I participating in (hand), or places am I going (feet) that tend to cause me to stumble into lust?
• How might I deal severely with these stumbling blocks and thus win the battle for the heart?
• What factors most shape and influence my sexual desires? 
• What would it look like for love, not lust, to shape my relationships with others? 
• What strategies might be wise to add to my "battle plan" for pursuing sexual purity? 

Prayer Points:

• Confess any lust you have in your heart and sinful actions that have stemmed from those lusts.
• Praise God for sending Jesus to live a pure life so that He could purify you with his blood
• Praise God that the deepest stains from your sexual history are cleansed by the blood of Jesus 
• Ask God to help you to, by the Spirit, fight the sin of lust and win the high ground of the heart.
• Ask God to give you wise strategies to fight lust and a heart to help others fight lust.