Bible Passage: 2 Timothy 4:1-8
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: June 21, 2026

Bulletin – June 21, 2026

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

We must begin today with a warning.  Some of what you hear in this sermon may be jolting.  Kids, you are going to be told to do something today that you may have been told you should never do.  You are going to be told to fight!  Now, we should be clear on the fighting we should do.  You are not going to be told to fight with your brother or sister.  You are NOT going to be told to be a bully!  That’s not okay.  But there is a fight we can fight; a fight we Christians MUST fight.  It’s a fight we must Fight to the Finish!

It’s a fight Paul had fought.  Paul says in our text, I have fought the good fight. (v. 7)  It’s a “good” fight.  This isn’t a bad fight.  This isn’t a sinful fight, like pinching or hitting your little brother.  This is a good, noble, God-pleasing fight.  And it’s a hard fight!  The words Paul uses in the Greek give us our word “agony.”  Paul uses two Greek words that both have that at the root.  We could translate, “I have agonized the good agony.”

What is this “good agony”?  Did Paul engage in some weird, self-imposed penitential sorrows?  Of course not.  The “good fight,” the “noble agony” of Paul, simply put, is being a Christian in this sinful, hostile world.  There is a term for God’s people set in this world.  We are called the “Church Militant.”  Militant.  We are the “military Church.”  We are at war.  We are on the battlefield!  What does the fight look like?

For Timothy, who was the recipient of this letter, there was a very specific way he was to fight.  Timothy was a pastor.  And so in the first portion of our text Paul encourages Timothy to fight with the Word of God!  Preach the Word!  Be ready whether it is convenient or not.  Correct, rebuke, and encourage with all patience and teaching.  For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (v. 2-4)  Timothy was going to have to fight against false teaching and false teachers.  Not with his fist.  But with God’s Word!  Preach!  Correct errors and lies when you hear it!  Rebuke sin when you see it!  Give courage to God’s weary warriors when they need courage!  Keep a clear head!  This is part of the “good fight” for pastors.

What does the “good fight” look like for you?  As I thought about this text, some words from our Maundy Thursday service came to my mind.  The service begins with these words: “In the Lenten season we hear again how our Lord walked the path of suffering which led him to the cross for our salvation. We also hear our Lord’s call to intensify our struggle [our fight, our agony] against sin, death, and the devil – all that keeps us from loving God and one another. This is the struggle to which we were committed at Baptism.”  I think of the song Christian children learn:  “We’re in the Lord’s army!  Yes, Sir!  We’re in the Lord’s army!  Yes, sir!”  Grown-ups smile when the children sing this song and snap little salutes.  Cute.  But, mom and dad, your babies are in the army!  Since the day of their baptism!  Baptism involves them in the conflict!  The “good fight” has become THEIR fight!  It is yours, too.

It is the fight “against sin, death, and the devil – all that keeps us from loving God and one another.  This is the struggle to which we were committed at Baptism.”  Perhaps now is a good time for some “battlefield assessment.”  How goes the fight?  Are you fighting against sin and the devil?  Are you fighting temptation, agonizing every day to avoid sin yourself and keep away from your children? Are you drowning your flesh each day at the font?  Or, have you ceded some ground to the devil?  Has the devil invaded and taken over your social media accounts, your TV viewing habits, your computer search engine?  Fight, Christian, fight!

Even as I say those words, I realize I may be setting you up for failure.  The words of another hymn come to mind:  “With might of ours can naught be done; soon were our loss effected.”  I don’t have the strength, the intel, or the weapons to fight sin, death, and the devil.  We are up against some heavyweights!   “With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected.  BUT for us fights the Valiant One, whom God himself elected.”  For us fights the Valiant One, Jesus!  There are nations in this world that are conducting human experiments to develop what is called the “super-soldier.”  We have a Super-Soldier!  Jesus Christ took on the heavyweights sin, death, and the devil.  On Good Friday, it looked like our enemies had knocked Jesus out for good.  But on Easter Jesus knocked them out!  He rose!  The Undefeated Champ!  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul writes the motto of every fighter of the good fight:  Thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:57)  Little David was impossibly overmatched against Goliath.  But David said to him, The battle is the Lord’s!  (1 Samuel 17:47)  It was!  And the Lord gave victory to David!  So we say, The battle is the Lord’s!

Paul knew the fight was almost over for him.  The time of my departure has come.  I have finished the race.  I have kept the faith. (v. 7)  At this point Paul is a prisoner.  He knows he will be executed.  That is why he says his life is being poured out like a drink offering.  But, like a relay runner holding the baton, Paul is crossing the finish line with the cross of Jesus in his hand.  I have kept the faith.  He knows what comes next.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.  The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day. (v. 8)  Paul knows what is at the finish line.  Jesus will place the victor’s crown of righteousness on his head!  Paul will be given a champion’s prize because Jesus is the Champ!  But this crown is at the “finish” not the start.  Friends, you don’t get the crown for starting; you get the crown for finishing.  The Olympic boxer gets the gold medal at the end of the third round, not the middle of the first.  We fight to the finish!  For we know what awaits.  The same Lord gives you the same crown of righteousness he gave Paul!  So, fight the good fight!  And fight to the finish!

Amen.