Holding Forth the Faith with a Clear Conscience
By Paul M. Sadler
"Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck" (I Tim. 1:19).The Civil War was a dark chapter in the history of America. Thankfully, we have lived to see the abolition of slavery with its various forms of cruelty. But few realize that the underlying issue of the conflict was states' rights, which has never fully been resolved to this day.
Several years ago, our family visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Needless to say, it was a memorable experience. The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the defining moments of the Civil War. As we stood on Cemetery Ridge, it wasn't difficult to envision the battle that took place there on July 3, 1863. General Lee's strategy was to attack the Union Army head-on and split it into two parts. It was called "Pickett's Charge." The idea, of course, was to divide and conquer.
Envision for a moment over 12,000 Confederate soldiers, with guns in hand, yelling at the top of their lungs, charging toward you. The initial wave of soldiers covered an area nearly one mile wide. It would be enough to make a strong man tremble. As we know, the North was triumphant that fateful day, but scores of good men lost their lives in the cause. Lieutenant General John B. Gordon of the South stated after the war that he believed, "It was the providence of God that the North won for had the South been victorious, the nation would have been fragmented."
THE IMAGES OF CONFLICTPerhaps the most touching moment of the visit came when we visited the National Cemetery where President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. There were 15,000 present the day he spoke these memorable words:
Brethren, we too, are engaged in a great conflict - a conflict between good and evil, between righteousness and unrighteousness. The heavenly ground upon which we stand has been hallowed by the precious blood of Christ. Furthermore, it is consecrated by the sacrifices of those courageous soldiers of the Cross, both living and dead, "far above our poor power to add or detract." Therefore, when the battle grows intense, let us not draw back as some have done. I personally believe this was the intent of Paul's words to Timothy, "Holding faith, and a good conscience." In other words, stand fast, don't be discouraged, never give up the fight, always do what's morally right!
"This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck" (I Tim. 1:18,19).The use of the term "son" by the apostle is a clear indication of his affection for Timothy. Although Timothy's heart had been cultivated by his mother and grandmother, it was Paul who led him to Christ and nurtured him in the faith. We might have ten thousand instructors, but we normally only have one spiritual father who will naturally care for our spiritual welfare. This was the case with Paul and Timothy. Paul had become a spiritual father to this young man.
As we examine the record, we learn that the battle was so intense at Ephesus that Timothy had apparently become discouraged. Probably every child of God at one time or another has suffered from discouragement. This is another one of those things that fall under the category of: it's not a matter of "if," but "when."
You can be certain that any time we're discouraged we've taken our eyes off of the Lord. We begin to dwell on the circumstances around us. Since that's enough to depress anyone, we try to deal with things in our own way. It usually goes something like this, "Step aside, I'm taking charge!" Of course, the harder we try to control things, the more complicated they become until we come to the end of ourselves. Then the lamentation is heard throughout the realm, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen!"
