For Christians who do not face hostility for their faith, it can be all too easy to forget

that we are involved in a spiritual war, and the stakes are eternal. Satan wants to stop

the church from believing and spreading the gospel, and he wants believers to be lured

into all kinds of sin and deception. In this message from 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verses

11 through 21, David Platte urges us to engage in the spiritual war by fling sin, looking

to Christ, and pursuing righteousness. Because of what our mighty Savior has accomplished,

we don't fight for victory, but fight from victory. This is the Radical with David

Platte podcast. Here's David with a message titled The Church at War.

If you have a Bible and I hope you do, I'm going to invite you to open with me to 1 Timothy

chapter 6, as we prepare to finish out tonight our journey through Paul's first letter to

Timothy. We have seen Paul address Paul's teachers, the importance of prayer, instructions

regarding leaders in the church, instruction verse regarding widows and elders, instructions

to slaves and masters. He's warned us about the dangers of materialism. Then you start

thinking, so come to the end of this letter you think, all right, as Paul brings this

thing to a climax, to a conclusion, what is utmost in his mind? That he wants to communicate

to Timothy, that he wants to leave with Timothy and a church at Ephesus. What's most important

in a sense? And these are the words he writes, 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 11. But as for

you, O man of God, flee these things, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,

gentleness, fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you

were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus, who

in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession. To keep the commandment

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