The Fight - Part 1 (from Chapter 4 of Holiness)

In this chapter of Holiness, J. C. Ryle adresses warfare, spiritual warfare. Christians are continually at odds with Satan and the World, and will be until Christ's second coming. That is why we must be very attentive to what the Bible has to say about fighting the good fight.

Ryle says that sadly, many are unaware of this spiritual warfare, this epic struggle in which all those who truly follow Christ are contenders. "Talk to them about it," Ryle states, "and they are ready to set you down as a madman, an enthusiast, or a fool. And yet it is as real and true as any war the world has ever seen. It has its hand-to-hand conflicts and its wounds. It has its watches and fatigues. It has its sieges and assaults. It has its victories and defeats. Above all, it has consequences which are awful, tremendous, and most peculiar. In earthly warfare the consequences to nations are often temporary and remediable. In spiritual warfare it is very different. Of that warfare, the consequences, when the fight is over, are unchangeable and eternal.

"It is of this warfare that St. Paul spoke to Timothy when he wrote those burning words, 'Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold on eternal life.' ... the Christian is a 'man of war'. If we would be holy we must fight."


(1) "True Christianity is a fight." Ryle makes the point here that one who is true follower of Christ will be warring with the flesh. We must mind carefully the word true. A 'Christian' who does not acknowledge this wafare of which St. Paul speaks, has no 'fight' about him or his religion, and doesn't struggle with sin is not within the confines of what the Bible says Christianity is. Satan won't attack the worldling. He attacks the man who has donned the Armor of God, the man who walks in the footsteps of his Saviour and Lord.

Another thing Ryle adresses is "with whom is the Christian soldier to fight?". Not with other Christians! There may be disagreements between us as Brothers in Christ, but that doesn't mean we must be in perpetual contention and bitterness towards one another.

Well then, who are Christians to battle against?

(a) We must "fight against the flesh." As Ryle and the Scriptures make plain, even as Christians we carry that seed of sin in our hearts, a plague we can never escape in this world. We must always be on our guard, struggling against the temptations and sins of our Old Nature. See Mark 14:38; 1 Cor. 9:27; Rom. 7: 23-24; Gal. 5:24; Col. 3:5.

(b) We must "fight the world." Ryle says, "The subtle influence of that mighty enemy must be daily resisted, and without a daily battle can never be overcome. The love of the world's good things - the fear of the world's laughter or blame - the secret desire to keep in with the world - the secret wish to do as others in the world do, and not to run into extremeties - all these are spiritual foes which beset the Christian continually on his way to heaven, and must be conquered."

How true is that! Satan uses the attractions and temptations of the world to lure Followers of the Lord off the Narrow Way. As a result, in the present day we have many so called 'Christians' living in ways which are not much different from the pagans around them. They blend in, instead of standing apart; they go with the flow, instead of going against it; they surrendur their souls for worldly pleasures and amusements instead of setting their eye solely on the Heavenly Kingdom. This is the sad state of many, and unless the Lord reveals to them their blindness and folly in pursuing earthly things, they will have the same judgment meted out to them as will the pagans. See James 4:4; 1 John 2:15, 5:4; Gal. 6:14; Rom. 12:2.

(c) We must "fight the devil." Satan is the ancient and dark enemy of mankind, and if we want to be saved, a daily fight must be put up to contend with him. Ryle states, "...sometimes by one kind of tactics and sometimes by another, he (the devil) is always carrying on a campaign against our souls... this mighty adversary must be daily resisted if we wish to be saved. But 'this kind goeth not out' but by watching and praying, and fighting, and puttng on the whole Armor of God. The strong man armed will never be kept out of our hearts without a daily battle." See Job 1:7; 1 Pet. 5:8; John 8:44; Luke 22:31; Matt. 17:21; Eph. 6:11.

Ryle reminds us of "the maxim of the wisest general that ever lived in England - 'In time of war it is the worst mistake to underrate your enemy, and try to make a little war.' This Christian warfare is no light matter. There is a continual battle waging between the powers of darkness and of light, and if we do not fight, we lose. There are a myriad of passages in God's Word which tell us what we must do in this war - 1 Tim. 1:18-19, 6:12; 2 Tim. 2:3; Eph. 6:11-13; Luke 13:24, 22:36; John 6:27; Matt. 10:34; 1 Cor. 16:13 - and in all of them the message is clear: Christianity is full of battles, and epic struggles which we must wage against the flesh, the world, and the devil. To follow Christ is to bear a sword.

Ryle also reminds us that there is no such thing as neutrality in the great War. The Bible says clearly that he who is not with Christ is against Him - no in between stuff, no inactivity. You are either for the Lord or against Him. Period.

Ryle says that everyone must fight. In the earthly wars we wage, young children, aged men, or those infirm may be exempted from service. Not so in this fight. "No rank, or class, or age can plead exemption, or escape battle. Ministers and people, preachers and hearers, old and young, high and low, rich and poor, gentle and simple, kings and subjects, landlords and tenants, learned and unlearned - all alike must carry arms and go to war. All have by nature a heart full of pride, unbelief, sloth, worldliness, and sin. All are living in a world beset by snares, traps, and pitfalls for the soul. All have near them a busy, restless, malicius devil. All, from the queen in her palace to the pauper in the workhouse, all must fight, if they would be saved."

Lastly, Ryle tells us that there is no rest from this battle in this life. "On weekdays as well as Sundays - in private as well as in public - at home by the family fireside as well as abroad - in little things like management of tongue and temper, as well as in great ones like the government of kingdoms - the Christian warfare must unceasingly go on. The foe we have to do with keeps no holidays, never slumbers, and never sleeps. So long as we have breath in our bodies, we must keep on our armor, and remember we are on an enemy's ground. 'Even on the brink of the Jordan,' said a dying saint, 'I find Satan nibbling at my heels.' We must fight till we die."

We must examine ourselves to see whether we struggle against sin. We should. And if we don't, we need to earnestly pray to God that he would empower, enable, and renew us for the struggle. Those who don't even know of the battle for the souls are in a sad state. Ryle aptly puts it when he says, "The worst chains are the ones neither felt nor seen by the prisoner."

To sum up, I will quote Ryle as he ends this first section in Chapter 4: "The child of God has two great marks about him, and of these two we have one. HE MAY BE KNOWN BY HIS INWARD WARFARE, AS WELL AS BY HIS INWARD PEACE."

Persevero,

Scribe