January 22, 2002

STRIVING

We believe that at the heart of the gospel is God's grace. No one can deserve his favor, even the best of us. "There is no one who is righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). Our hope of salvation is in God's unmerited favor. All our valiant attempts to fight against evil and to do good works leave us still far short. We cannot work our way one inch closer to salvation.

Then why are we so often exhorted in the New Testament to "strive"? That's a word we don't use often in our regular conversations, but we can still feel its intensity. You can hardly say the word without acting it out: gritting your teeth, clenching your fist, thrusting your shoulders forward. It speaks of great effort, sweat and perseverance. (I'm getting tired just writing this.)

If we look at the Greek word that is most often translated "strive" in English versions, we will feel the intensity even more. It is agonizomai, based on the root agon. Of course, we have a word in English derived from this—"agony." Striving is agony. Look at the faces of American soldiers struggling up a hill in Iwo Jima to plant a U.S. flag. Or look at the posture of the Oakland Raider defenders in the final moments of last week's loss in the snow of Boston. Striving is agony.

That doesn't sound like grace. Why does God save us by his free grace and then still tell us to strive?

There are two particular ways the word agonizomai, is used that will help us understand:

(1) Striving together in intercessory prayer –There are two passages where Paul uses the word of our prayer. Both of them speak specifically about prayers on behalf of others, rather than our own requests to God. When we come to God for our own needs, we come in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer, saying as children, "Our Father . . . ." There needs to be no striving there.

But we are called upon to strive in prayer for one another:

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, to ‘strive, agonize' with me in prayer to God on my behalf." (Romans 15:30)

"Epaphras . . . is always wrestling (‘striving,' ‘agonizing') in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills." (Colossians 4:12)

Notice that the striving prayers go in both directions, the people for the leaders (Romans 15:30) and the leaders for the people (Colossians 4:12). We have a critical role in each other's lives and ministries through prayer. It may involve striving, even agony, but it is a glorious part of our partnership in the gospel.

(2) Striving for the advance of the faith – In his letter to the Colossians, Paul passionately discusses his special calling to bring the message of salvation, which he refers to as "the mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory," to the Gentile world. He ends with this personal testimony:

For this I toil, ‘striving,' ‘agonizing' with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me." (Colossians 1:29)

This gives us an important bit of understanding—our striving is done not simply in our own effort, but with a power from above. Our agonizing for the spread of the gospel unleashes God's infinite energy. Otherwise, "our striving would be losing" (a line from Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). Paul also uses this word in a phrase that might be familiar to you. He repeats the idea in both letters to Timothy:
      "Fight the good fight of the faith . . . ." (1 Timothy 6:12)
      "I have fought the good fight,
      I have finished the race,
      I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)
There's no way to reflect this in English, but in each of these passages the words agon, agonizoma are used twice. Each time you read "fight" the Greek has the "striving" root.

It's clear from the context that by "keeping the faith" Paul does not mean that he successfully warded off doubts and ended his life still a believer. The faith he kept was not his personal faith, but The Faith he was commissioned to defend and advance. Ever since his conversion he had been involved in constant striving, at times bordering on agony, to expand God's Kingdom into as many communities and families as possible. He encourages Timothy to live the same life of striving.

So, we can see that there is a place for striving in the Christian's life. It has nothing to do with pleasing God and earning his salvation. It has everything to do with extending his gospel and his influence as far as possible, through intercessory prayer in the lives of others, through committed ministry in bringing his light to a dark world.

Strive on!

–Pastor George Van Alstine