2 Timothy 4:7-8 records Paul’s words towards the end of his life. He had been a “fighter” since he was a Pharisee, but it was only after his conversion that he began to fight the good fight of faith. A good fight of faith must first come from the heart, with clean hands and a mind that is filled with the knowledge of Christ, constrained by the love of God. It must be a good fight to the very end. The three verbs Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:7 were: “fought,” “finished” and “kept.” Paul kept fighting, and at the end, he held on to his faith.

In 1506, Ulrich Zwingli, became a priest in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). About 1515, Erasmus (who compiled the Greek New Testament) pointed out to Zwingli what biblical Christianity was all about. Through the reading and study of God's Word and the writings of the Church Fathers, Zwingli was convicted and converted. Between 1516 and 1522, Zwingli became a reformer, and began the good fight of faith. He taught against the wrong interpretation of Scripture in the RCC in order to bring it back to the proper biblical teaching and understanding. The many false RCC teachings that Zwingli corrected included the following: one must believe in Christ, be baptized, attend Mass, attend church, perform their many sacraments and other superstitions in order to be saved; one enters purgatory after death before one can go to heaven; one’s time in purgatory can be shortened if one’s loved ones paid for indulgences; etc, etc. Zwingli (like Martin Luther in Germany) preached that salvation is in Christ and Christ alone.

In January 1523, Zwingli wrote his 67 theses and began a major reform. One important thesis he put forth was that the Church is born of the Word of God, not of the RCC and her traditions. Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Zwingli continued with his fight of faith to the very end, i.e. till he (as chaplain of the Swiss Army) was killed in battle in 1531. Like the Apostle Paul, Zwingli preached the pure gospel of Jesus Christ and fought the good fight, but Zwingli’s fight was against the RCC in Switzerland.

2 Timothy 4:8 tells us the outcome of Paul’s good fight of faith: “…there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day…” The word “crown” implies a life of obedience and a life of suffering for Christ constrained by an unconditional, sacrificial love for Christ. The Lord Himself shall give this “crown of righteousness” to “all them also that love his appearing.” Do you also love Christ’s appearing? Will you receive that crown of righteousness?