Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)

by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

The pop culture in the United States today likes to copy phrases from the Bible and use them in contexts that often mean the exact opposite of the context in which they were written.

One of the most popular ones, by far, is the phrase “The truth will set you free.”

But since this phrase is from the Bible, it is important to examine it and understand what “truth” and “free” means, because otherwise you can use this phrase to promote whatever ideology you want by simply using one’s own interpretation of “truth” and “free.”

When you read this phrase in the Bible, however, you will see that it was written in a very specific, and limited, context.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

So to truly understand what this phrase meant when it was recorded in the New Testament source documents that make up the New Testament section of the Bible, we need to understand who spoke it, Jesus Christ, and who he was speaking to, the Jews who believed in him.

It is also part of what is called a “conditional statement”, marked by the English word “if”, which applies a condition that has to be met before this statement can be true.

And that conditional statement is “If you hold to my teaching.”

So to everyone who does NOT hold to the teachings of Jesus, the statement “the truth will set you free” does not apply.

And since this statement was spoken to a very specific audience, the “Jews who believed in Jesus“, it does not apply to Jews who do not.

For the Jews who did not believe in Jesus, this is what Jesus told them:

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:44-47)

In this discourse, which you can read in full in John Chapter 8, Jesus clearly taught that he is the source of truth and only speaks truth, and that the Devil (Satan) is the source of lies, and only speaks lies.

When we evaluate what is “true” today, in most cases (but not all) the information we evaluate falls somewhere in between 100% truth, and 100% lies. I have created an image to illustrate this:

In many of these cases where statements and phrases that are written in the Bible are being used out of context where they would no longer be true, it is very easy to determine if they are true in context by simply finding those statements in the Bible, and then reading the context in which they were written.

When one starts reading and studying the Bible, the oldest collection of writings in antiquity that has ever been collected and published in one book, which is worth reading by EVERYONE, whether you believe what it teaches or not, one will soon discover that much of what is taught in 21st Century America about “Christianity” is mostly false, and not true.

And that is because in the English language, just about everything written about what the Bible teaches, specifically the New Testament portion of the Bible, has been written since the “Reformation” period of history in Europe starting in the 17th and 18th centuries.

To read literature about what the Bible teaches before that time, one would need to learn to read and understand Latin.

And almost everything written about the Bible in English since the Reformation period has started with the presupposition and belief that the New Testament portion of the Bible teaches one how to be a “good Christian.”

Their biases started with the belief that all of the believers in the New Testament became Christians. The scholars and religious leaders during the Reformation period in Europe inherited this bias from the Catholic Church, which teaches that Peter was a Christian and the first Pope, and that there is “Apostolic” succession.

But this is not taught in the Bible. It is a doctrine/belief of the Catholic Church.

So what does the Bible teach about Christianity?

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

The Bible doesn’t teach anything at all about Christianity.

As I have previously written, the Christian Religion was defined and adopted in the 4th Century by the Roman State, under the Emperor Constantine. The Romans were mostly a polytheistic culture believing in most of the named Greek “gods”, until they made Christianity the official State Religion, and converted all of their Greek, “pagan” gods and holidays, into “Christian” ones.

I deal with this more in depth in this article:

Fact Check: “Christianity” and the Christian Religion is NOT Found in the Bible – The Person Jesus Christ Is

What the New Testament writers referred to, instead of the misconception and false belief that they were referring to a new religion called “Christianity,” is what they referred to as “The Faith.”

“Faith” is a noun, and the verb form is “to believe“. Those who have “faith” are sometimes referred to as “believers,” and sometimes the adjective form is used to describe them as “faithful.”

Of course, one cannot understand what is “The Faith” unless one understands what it is that is the object of “faith.”

Christians today, and most of the writers during the Reformation period, just assumed that this faith was the Christian religion.

But instead of me telling you what this “faith” is, I am just going to first quote the passages in the New Testament that use this term “the faith”, and let you decide what you think it means, if, in fact, it is NOT referring to the Christian religion.

Try to read all of these verses (it will only take a few minutes), and if you have the time, look them up and read the entire context in which they were written.

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:16)

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. (Acts 13:6-8)

They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.

“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (Acts 14:21-22)

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. (Romans 4:11-16)

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:11-14)

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.

This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. (Philippians 1:27-28)

They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. (1 Timothy 3:9)

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. (1 Timothy 4:6)

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10)

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. (2 Timothy 3:8)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. (Hebrews 4:14)

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. (Jude 1:3)

As you can see, the New Testament writers referred to “The Faith” quite frequently, and I did not even quote all the verses that contain this phrase.

Almost all the teachers, commentators, etc. since the Reformation believe that “the Faith” here is the “Christian faith.”

But the word “Christianity” is not found anywhere in these verses, nor anywhere in the Bible at all.

The word “Christian” only appears 3 times in the New Testament, all of them negative, and is never used by the believers themselves to refer to each other. (See the article linked to above: Fact Check: “Christianity” and the Christian Religion is NOT Found in the Bible – The Person Jesus Christ Is.)

It was primarily a negative term used to refer to those believers who were of non-Jewish decent.

All of the original New Testament believers were Jews, and yet most English commentaries and teachings on the Bible continually refer to them as “Christians”.

Albert Barnes, for example, was a Biblical scholar who wrote a commentary on the Bible from 1847-1885.

On the verse I quoted above from Acts 6:7:

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith

it is very clear that these disciples were Jews, and a large number of them even Jewish priests.

Yet this is what he wrote on this verse in his commentary about “the faith“:

The word “faith” here is evidently put for the “Christian religion.”

This is clearly showing his bias, as the actual text does not support his belief at all.

But even though this was the popular teaching of his day, and even more popular today, this interpretation was controversial among Biblical scholars according to Dr. Marvin R. Vincent, who wrote “Word Studies in the New Testament“:

Opinions differ greatly as to whether this is to be taken as meaning faith in Jesus Christ, or faith considered as Christian doctrine – the Gospel; the faith in the ecclesiastical sense.

Of course the Christian Religion has always been a huge financial institution wielding great power, especially political power, from the days of the Roman Emperor Constantine, through today.

Anyone who earns their living from Christianity, including “pastors”, teachers, writers, publishers, etc., has to please their Christian customers who purchase their products, such as commentaries, because they earn their living from that revenue.

But for those of us who do not earn our living from Christianity, and are free to study the Bible without the pressure to please our Christian customers, we can examine the textual evidence for ourselves, and come to our own conclusions.

So my dear 21st Century English readers, what do you think? What is “The faith“?

Whatever it is, there is only one.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

All religions today are false religions, and infected with demonic teachings. Look at that graph I created above with pure truth on one end, and pure lies on the other.

The most dangerous lie of all, is the one that is 99% true, but 1% a lie.

And while most religions don’t come anywhere near to being 99% true today, all of them contain some truth, which is what makes them so dangerous.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)

When you stand on the pure Truth today, who is a person and not a doctrine, you will be among a very tiny minority who belong to The Faith, and are following The Way, and you will be vigorously attacked by those in religion.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.

Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured.

Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:10-13)

Related:

Should You Read the Ancient Bible? Is The Bible Accurate or Corrupted?