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Our Good Fight
March 25, 2023

David, King of Israel, is a very well-known person in the Bible, who had it not been for the actions of his predecessor, King Saul, might never have been known to us. It was what Saul neglected to do that led to God’s abandoning of him. Saul came to power at a time when Israel wanted a human king like all of the other nations, and as God worked it out, God arranged for Saul to visit Samuel, and had told Samuel that Saul would be the king and at the beginning it seemed like there would be much good done through King Saul. Somewhere along the way in the journey of time, Saul lost focus of God and ignored what God had told him to do, preferring his own thoughts as ruler instead. Because of that, God took the kingdom away from Saul because what God was looking for in the King of Israel, was a man after His own heart.

1 Samuel 13:13-14
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.

The time God allowed Saul to remain on the throne was long, four decades. Think back what you were doing four decades ago if you were even alive four decades ago. That’s the length of time that Saul was on the throne, but it only took Saul a few years to forget about God and choose his own wisdom over the commands of God. Because of that, God chose David who was a man after His own heart to be the King. While God recognized that distinction immediately, the rule of man caused that decades long lag before David was fully recognized as King of Israel, once Saul and his sons were no longer alive.

Acts 13:17-23
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

So, we consider Saul who was rejected by God because Saul rejected the commandments of God choosing instead his own wisdom and compare Saul to David, a man after God’s own heart. And yet David, a man after God’s own heart was not without sin. David’s sin was so egregious that it was recorded for people of all ages to read. David had his affair with Bathsheba resulting in a pregnancy, and in a cover-up that would rival modern political scandals, arranged so that the husband of Bathsheba would be brought home from battle so that it would appear the baby was his, and when Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband was too honorable to have this privilege when his brothers in arms were away fighting, David then arranged for Uriah to be placed in the fiercest of fighting in essence signing his death warrant.

2 Samuel 11:6-17
And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house. And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

God punished David for what he had done. Unlike Saul who rejected the commandments of God, even though David had egregiously sinned, David was still a man after God’s own heart, and the throne remained with David though the child that was born as a result of the infidelity died, even though David prayed and fasted for a different outcome.

2 Samuel 12:7-20
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

David, King of Israel, was a man who sinned, who was also a man after God’s own heart, through whom the lineage of Jesus Christ would come. Saul, King of Israel, was also a man who sinned, and as it turned out was not a man after God’s own heart having rejected the commandments of God following his own wisdom. As Christians, those Old Testament histories are there for more than just a historical account. While the history is there for our learning and understanding, we cannot overlook the instruction from Paul to Timothy, that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

What is it about the differences between King Saul and King David, and what can we take from those differences as we focus on our calling seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness? Both Saul and David were warrior kings. They fought directly and indirectly in battle and were not afraid to get their hands dirty to get the job done. Today we are called to the spiritual fight of our life. The only option we want is to win. We do not want to lose this spiritual fight. Towards the end of his life in the same letter to Timothy we just read from, Paul explained that his life as a Christian, as a person who had been called and chosen, and who had remained faithful, was a fight, and that because the fight was continued to the end, a crown of righteousness was laid for Paul.

2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

When Paul used the words that he had fought the good fight, he wasn’t talking about anything else aside from the spiritual fight he fought. Paul wasn’t a gladiator fighting for his life, nor was he a soldier. There was not wrestling entertainment leagues that enthralled the masses like there are today. Paul was only a tentmaker. He sewed together large pieces of the fabric used to make tents during his day and assembled together all of the accessories needed for the tent.

Acts 18:1-4
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome: and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

When Paul fought the good fight, it was a spiritual fight where he focused first on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteous, and because Paul spoke to people not yet part of the church, he spent time reasoning with non-believing Jews and gentiles. Like David, Paul did what God commanded, even though Paul had the vast majority of his formal religious training prior to his conversion on the road to Damascus. Prior to that time, he persecuted the church and after that time Paul became the most prolific writer of letters that are now part of the New Testament.

In Romans, Paul explains part of the fight we all have. Prior to the death of Jesus, there was only the law of God that would surely lead to the death of any person. After the death of Jesus, the law of God wasn’t done away with, but the penalty of sin that results in death doesn’t apply to us through the forgiveness of sin we have through Jesus Christ.

Serving in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter does not mean we are called to be super Jews. We respect our Jewish friends and have no need to try and be better than they are in their faith. We are called to bring forth the fruit of the spirit unto God, so beyond just obeying the law and doing what is commanded, we are also to produce, to grow, to bear fruit of the spirit. Paul then raised an interesting concept about the law and sin. Because the law had been linked to sin, some saw the law as being of sin, instead of defining what was sin. To this day, there are too many Christians who see the law of God as dark and evil and something to be avoided, when what Paul shows is that the law of God defines what is sin.

If the law is holy and the commandment holy, and Saul’s distinction with David was that Saul did not keep the commandment, what God told him to do, what should we be doing as Christians today? Paul then in the next few verses says the law is spiritual, but we the people who are accountable to the law with the saving grace of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are carnal sold under sin. Paul wrote that as an apostle after his conversion, that he found himself doing what he did not want to do and did not do what he needed to do. Paul concluded that within his human body there was not anything of spiritual value, and nor could he solely through his human body do anything that could be considered righteous. Paul concluded that the human body is a vessel of sin, and that it is our body that is a host to sin.

Paul observed that within him even when his intent was good, evil was present with him, and that should remind us of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from the Garden of Eden. Paul acknowledged the fight that was within him, a fight between the physical and a fight between the spiritual, and concluded that it is Jesus Christ who delivers us from our body of death so that through our mind we can serve the law of God.

Romans 7:1-25
Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

So what does fighting the good fight mean? Do we focus on only those matters that are spiritual not regarding those matters that are physical? Paul tells us in first Corinthians we cannot ignore anything that can have an impact on us. Even though the Holy Spirit interfaces with our mind because our mind at the present time is dependent on our physical bodies, our bodies and what is physical cannot be disregarded. In the letter, Paul uses sexual sins as an example, but any type of sin applies to us, because our bodies also serve as the temple for the Holy Spirit. We have to glorify God in our body and in our mind.

1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Our physical bodies present situations that can result in sin. We are not alone in situations. Other people, through genetics, through the circumstances of life, through societal influence also have the same situations in their bodies as we do. No person is so unique that they are the only person facing situations that can lead to sin, and because all people are born with reproductive organs, there is a lot of sin related to sex. In a later chapter in the same letter to the Corinthians Paul reminded the church that because of sexual sins, twenty-three thousand people died in the wilderness and that unlike those early Israelites, God provides for us a way of escape.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

If we wanted to summarize what Paul was saying, Paul was saying all people, including those who are among the called, chosen, and faithful are born with a proclivity to sin. He reminded us that through Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness of sin and that in our physical bodies there is nothing good, and that what is good is in our mind through the Holy Spirit, and that within us is this never-ending fight for what is good as our body favors what is sin when our mind favors was is righteous. Being in a fight clues us in on one big concept, that we do not surrender, nor do we give in. We have all been born with a proclivity to sin, and while our bodies desperately want to hold on to sin, it is through our minds and the Holy Spirit we reject what is sin instead seeking the righteousness that is found through God and Jesus Christ.

What happens though when a person imbued with the Holy Spirit sees themselves as having already spiritually arrived where their body is no longer an issue? Whether they see themselves as without sin, or they see sin in their life without any attempt to reject sin and correct their actions, these types of people are no longer fighting the good fight. With what we just read from Paul is the warning that we should take heed lest we fall. In recording a vision that he had regarding different churches, John explained the same concept using different words. John wrote about seven churches, including the church of the Laodiceans who saw themselves as rich and increased with goods having need of nothing while not realizing they were wretched, poor, blind, and naked. The Laodiceans are not people who see themselves as physically wealthy without any physical need when they are really in a bad place, being poor, blind, and naked. I haven’t met spiritually minded people who think they are wearing clothes when in fact they are not, and I don’t think you have either. What is being described of the Laodiceans are people who no longer see the need to spiritually fight, to fight the good fight, because in their mind they have already arrived spiritually, when in fact they are so far removed from the destination.

Revelation 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

It is a fundamental error to see the forgiveness of sin we have been given through Jesus Christ and use that to not reject sin and continue sinning, or to focus solely on that which is physical. We have been called to grow fruit of the Holy Spirit and need to focus our efforts on loving our neighbor as ourselves. We must be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the works of the flesh. Every evil thing that we know results from the works of the flesh. Instead we are to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, and self-control, and we are to pursue these.

Galatians 5:13-26
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

As the called, chosen, and faithful, we recognize we live in this world, a world that stands opposed to God. That opposition to God cannot become who we are. We must remain humble to receive forgiveness of sin. We must continuously resist Satan and Satan will flee from us as we draw near to God. We cannot allow ourselves to believe that if given the opportunity by us that Satan will remain away from us. Satan seeks opportunities to destroy each of us and we fight that by purposely staying close to God as we fight the good fight.

James 4:1-10
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

In teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus showed we have the need to ask God to deliver us from evil and to keep us away from temptation while also showing that the key to our forgiveness when we fall short is how forgiving we are of other people.

Matthew 6:9-15
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The temptations that we face today and how we handle these is linked to the promise of eternal life. We must endure temptation. We must endure to the end, and that means we never give up on the fight, just like Paul did not give up on his fight.

James 1:12-18
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Fighting the good fight that we must fight shows our commitment to our salvation and the Kingdom of God, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ that we in the end will win, because it is through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sin.

1 John 5:1-4
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Instead of being like this world, the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, from a mind focused on the physical and sin, to a mind focused on the spiritual and righteousness. There are none among the called, chosen, and faithful who have any reason to be boastful, because none of us of and by ourselves can give ourselves eternal life. Eternal life is a gift of God and because we have that before us through faith we need to soberly consider what Jesus endured during the crucifixion so that we can have eternal life. That sober realization that the gift of eternal life comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and not anything we have done, should remind us we shouldn’t be thinking highly of ourselves, and that we should strive to overcome evil with good. Verse

Romans 12:1-21
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We overcome evil with good as we, like Paul, fight the good fight, remembering that the first two kings of Israel were both warrior kings, but it was David who was a man after God’s own heart after it became clear to God that Saul was rejecting the commands of God preferring to follow his own wisdom. We can never be like Saul who didn’t see a need to do what God required of him for any reason, nor can we be like the Laodiceans who saw themselves as rich and increased with goods having need of nothing. We must fight the good fight like Paul, and as we do, we will see that sin and righteousness are in conflict in our bodies with sin favoring the physical body and righteousness being fed by the Holy Spirit through our mind, and we will fight the good fight, a fight that we will win through faith as we develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit knowing that we have forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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