The salvation of our souls is not something to take lightly.  Yet, the majority of people in the world do this very thing.  We should not be surprised by this because the world does not know God, nor are people of the world interested in the things of God, not even the hope of heaven.  What is surprising is how many in the Lord’s church take a casual approach to salvation.  Paul admonishes us to do the opposite of this.

1 Timothy 6:12 (ESV)
¹²  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.

The words “take hold” mean “to seize.”  This should be what we all do when it comes to eternal life.  We should not take it for granted or think that it is just going to happen now that we are Christians.  Salvation is the greatest prize in life and should always be our main focus.  Paul said, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).  This must be our approach to life.

Paul was not content with what he accomplished in the past.  To him, every day was a new day, and a new opportunity to do great things for the Lord.  When he said “I press,” he wrote that with a present tense verb meaning, “I keep on pressing.”  Paul was laying hold of eternal life.

If you are a Christian, that is great.  You made the best decision of your life when you obeyed the gospel.  The second best decision you can make is to continue to pursue the salvation of your soul with all the zest and zeal you have.  Do not leave anything to chance.  Do not think that your mere mental assent is going to take you across the finish line.  As Paul said, “ lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

When we stood before a group of God’s people and confessed our belief in Christ, it was a demonstration, not only of our faith in Jesus, but also of our desire to be saved and live eternally in heaven.  We must now press toward that goal, seizing the eternal life that is offered to us by God’s grace.  Paul said we do this by fighting the good fight of the faith.

“The faith” is the gospel of Christ, the means by which we were called into the fellowship of God.  The Bible tells us to walk worthy of this calling.

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
¹  I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

This is how we fight the good fight of the faith—by walking in a worthy manner, a descriptive way of referring to daily living before God.  The gospel has a built-in moral standard referred to by John as “walking in the light” (1 John 1:5-7).  To walk in the light is to do our best to abstain from willful sin.  After writing about walking in the light, John said, “…I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). 

Are you taking the salvation of your soul seriously? Have you taken hold of eternal life by walking worthy of the gospel of Christ?  If so, do not let go.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.