A Faith That Fights Bravely to the End

Introduction

This Sunday, September 14, 2025, Pastor Wataru Sugawara continued his study of Paul's first letter to Timothy at Kobe Christ Eikou Church. He has now spent three months on the first chapter, and he owns it: when a landscape is beautiful, you don't just get back on the bus and move on to the next one. You come back, you look again, you engrave the image in yourself.

The Bible works the same way. You can read it straight through the way you swallow a meal without chewing, but you won't receive the spiritual nourishment it contains. You have to chew the words one by one. This week, Wataru Sugawara pauses on 1 Timothy 1:18-20, a short but dense passage about spiritual warfare, a good conscience, a faith that holds firm to the end, and a concrete case: two men who were shipwrecked.

If you're going through a season where your faith is shaking, where someone around you is testing you, or if you're wondering how to hold on for the long haul, this message is for you.

Outline of the teaching

1. The pastoral epistles: an elder passing on to a younger man

1 Timothy is one of three letters known as "pastoral": 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Paul writes them to two young disciples he trained. Timothy is only 33 at this point, very young to carry the responsibility of a church. Paul, the elder who has lived through much, passes on what he knows, methodically, like a mentor to his spiritual son.

Wataru Sugawara insists: this is "first semester" level in Bible school. You should know that these three letters are called the pastoral epistles. Not to show off, but because it's the basics. Alongside them are also the prison epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon), written by Paul from prison, under persecution, to instruct the churches.

2. Chewing the Word instead of swallowing it whole

"You can't swallow a whole steak," the preacher says. "You have to chew it." The Word of God works the same way. Jesus said it himself: "I am the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). Every word of Scripture is a bite to be savored slowly.

Reading quickly is good, you should do that too. But if that's all you do, you risk swallowing it whole and ending up with an upset stomach, without having drawn nourishment from the text. Wataru Sugawara experiences this himself: he has been circling chapter 1 for three months, and every time he goes through it he discovers something more: "Oh, right, I hadn't seen that." It's meditation that makes the Word nourishing for your faith.

3. Fight the good fight (1 Timothy 1:18)

Paul writes to Timothy: "This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience."

There is a spiritual battle in the life of the Christian. This isn't a poetic image, it's a reality. And Paul reminds Timothy that he doesn't enter this battle unarmed: the prophecies he received about him are part of it. They are his point of support.

4. Personal prophecy: to encourage, confirm, strengthen

In the time of the apostles, personal prophecy was common. Timothy received a prophecy at the moment the elders laid hands on him, and Paul also reminds him of prophecies he personally gave him (Paul returns to this twice in the letter).

Wataru Sugawara clarifies the purpose of prophecy: it is meant to encourage your faith, to confirm it, to strengthen it, to give you a fresh vision. It is not there to control you or to dominate someone. When prophecy is misunderstood, it divides and sows disorder, which is what happened in the Corinthian church, where Paul says twice: "Earnestly desire to prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14). But when it's taught well, it strengthens the church. At Kobe Christ Eikou, the congregation has practiced prophecy for more than twenty years without ever experiencing trouble, thanks to this solid teaching.

5. Holding on to faith AND a good conscience

Paul links two things that cannot be separated: faith and a good conscience. You cannot move forward with one without the other. If you give up a good conscience, your faith eventually shipwrecks. That's what happened to two men Paul names: Hymenaeus and Alexander. They rejected a good conscience, their faith was shipwrecked, and Paul handed them over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme.

6. "Handed over to Satan": a prayer that isn't yours to pray

Be careful, the preacher says: "handing someone over to Satan" is an expression at a very high spiritual level. Paul could do it; you and I probably aren't at that level. So how do you pray when someone around you tests you, refuses to change despite your prayers, or attacks you without reason?

The right prayer, at our level, is this: "Lord, I entrust this person to you. Take care of them." Not judging them. Not cursing them. Not asking for their condemnation. Simply placing them in God's hands and letting him do his work. "I can't do anything more with this person, I entrust them to you, take care of them." Wataru Sugawara insists: this is the fairest and safest prayer.

Key takeaways

• The pastoral epistles (1-2 Timothy, Titus) are the disciple's basic training: Paul passes on to his juniors what an elder must know in order to hold firm.
• Don't just read quickly: chew the Word, pause on every word, let it nourish you deeply.
• Spiritual warfare is real. You don't enter it alone: the words God has given you are your point of support.
• Prophecy serves to encourage, confirm, and strengthen. It is never meant to control or dominate.
• Holding faith without a good conscience leads to shipwreck. The two go together.
• Facing a difficult person, don't sink to the level of judgment. Simply entrust them to God.

Personal application

• What passage of the Bible could you pause on this week, not to read quickly, but to chew slowly, a few verses at a time?
• What "battle" are you going through right now? What words from God can you pull out to lean on?
• Have you ever received a prophetic word that encouraged you? How can you revisit it today to strengthen your faith?
• Is there an area where your faith is holding but your conscience is lukewarm? What needs to be made clear before God?
• Is there someone around you that you're still trying to "manage" yourself? Can you entrust them to God with this prayer: "Lord, I entrust them to you, take care of them"?

Scriptures cited

• 1 Timothy 1:18-20 · "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience"
• John 6:41 · "I am the bread that came down from heaven"
• 1 Corinthians 14:1 · "Earnestly desire to prophesy"
• 2 Timothy and Titus · the other pastoral epistles

FAQ

Why are 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus called the "pastoral epistles"?

Because Paul writes them to two young pastors he trained (Timothy and Titus), to pass on to them how to lead a church, how to teach, how to hold firm over the long haul. These are the letters of an elder to his juniors in ministry.

Is personal prophecy still valid today?

Yes, according to the teaching of this message. It serves to encourage your faith, confirm it, and give you vision. But it needs to be well governed: misused, it can be used to control people. Well taught, it strengthens the church without dividing it.

What should I do when someone resists me despite my prayers?

Don't sink to the level of judgment or cursing. The right prayer, at your level, is simple: "Lord, I entrust this person to you, take care of them." You place the situation in his hands, and you let him act in his own way.