The Good Soldier
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The passage we have before us serves as an important reminder: We are in a war, like it or not. Pacificism is not an option for the Christian. You can quote Gandhi all you want, but it won’t erase that reality that this world is a battlefield, and we are all soldiers in the fight. We are Christian soldiers, and Paul urges Timothy in this passage (as I would urge all of us) to make every effort to be a good soldier.
Charles Spurgeon describes the concept of the Christian soldier in this manner:
Spurgeon
Spurgeon
For what is a soldier? A soldier is a practical man, a man who has work to do, and hard, stern work. He may sometimes when he is at his ease wear the fineries of war, but when he comes to real warfare he cares little enough for them. Truly to serve God, really to exhibit Christian graces, fully to achieve a life work for Christ, actually to win souls—this is to bear fruit worthy of a Christian. A soldier is a man of deeds and not of words. He has to contend and fight. In wartime his life knows little of luxurious ease. In the dead of night, perhaps, the trumpet sounds to boot and saddle, just at the time when he is most weary, and he must go to the attack just when he would best prefer to take his rest in sleep. The Christian is a soldier in an enemy’s country, always needing to stand on his watchtower, constantly to be contending, though not with flesh and blood, with far worse foes—namely, with spiritual wickedness in high places.
Main Text
Main Text
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer.
In this epistle, Paul writes to Timothy as a passing of the baton of sorts. As John MacArthur explains:
In this letter, Paul, aware the end was near, passed the non-apostolic mantle of ministry to Timothy (cf. 2:2) and exhorted him to continue faithful in his duties (1:6), hold on to sound doctrine (1:13, 14), avoid error (2:15–18), accept persecution for the gospel (2:3, 4; 3:10–12), put his confidence in the Scripture, and preach it relentlessly (3:15–4:5).
Quite the pair of shoes to fill. Quite the set of marching orders. The exhortations Timothy received from Paul are exhortations for us as well. To be good soldiers of Christ Jesus, obedience, courage, and all-in devotion are requisite. One must follow Christ even as the war intensifies, even as the enemy continues to viciously attack without relenting. One must not surrender, for the cause is Christ and the victory is assured.
Obedience & Courage
Obedience & Courage
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
The modifier ‘good’ in front of the word ‘soldier’ implies the existence of different qualities of soldiers. In order to be distinguished as a ‘good’ soldier, I believe two characteristics (and I don’t intend this to be an exhaustive description of a good soldier) must be present: obedience and courage. A good soldier must obey his commanding officer’s commands (disobedience soldiers are not good soldiers) and possess the courage necessary to face danger in its various forms (cowardly soldiers aren’t good soldiers). For the Christian soldier, no less is true.
First, obedience. There are blogposts and devotional books and podcasts out there about claiming the promises of God from the Bible, but they usually miss the ones about suffering and persecution. Obviously, people aren’t keen on perusing the internet or searching Amazon for reading/listening material that will smack them in the face with a truth so hard as this one is. I want to hear about the ‘abundant life’ (John 10:10) or God’s special plans for my life (Jeremiah 29:11). Often the verses used for this purpose are misquoted or out of context. This is not to say that God exclusively has gloom and doom in store for His followers, but we miss much if we fail to acknowledge that:
In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The soldier’s life, the ins and outs of his daily existence, it’s all centered around obedience to his commanding officer. And many times obedience requires the soldier to put himself in harm’s way, to jump into suffering with both feet. As good soldiers, we desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. We desire to obey Him, even if it means taking up our crosses daily to follow Him.
There was a heresy that crept into the church in its early days known as ‘antinomianism’. In addition to being a mouthful to say, the word literally means ‘against law’, and those who held to this teaching remarkably denied the necessity of obedience to God in the Christian life (as strange as it may sound to some ears). These antinomians swung on the pendulum way too far in their attempt to denounce the heresy of legalism, which downplays if not outright destroys the role grace plays in salvation. As admirable as their intentions to avoid legalism might have been, it’s falling into one ditch because you’re trying your hardest to not fall into another ditch. The result is the same: error and false teaching.
RC Sproul noted a modern-day equivalent to this ancient false teaching:
“Easy Believism is a modern form of the ancience heresy of antinomianism. It asserts that once a person makes a decision for Christ or prays to receive Jesus as Savior, it is not necessary to embrace Him as Lord. There are no requirements of law that bind the Christian.”
And Spurgeon, in his eloquent, wordsmith Spurgeony way:
I have known, in my short time, certain churches, in the paroxysms of delirium, meeting houses crowded, aisles filled, preachers stamping and thundering, hearers intoxicated with excitement, and persons converted by wholesale—even children converted by hundreds—they said thousands. Well, and a month or two after, where were the congregations? where were the converts? Echo has answered, “Where, where?” Why, the converts were worse sinners than they were before; or mere professors, puffed up into a superficial religion, from which they soon fell into a hopeless coldness, which has rendered it difficult ever to stir them again.
Do not be deceived: Following Christ is more than repeating a prayer and coming to church occasionally on a Sunday (bonus points if you come to midweek). It’s more than looking in your Bible for those ‘promise verses’ you found on that blogpost to highlight when you’re feeling blue. Following Christ is a wholesale commitment to serve Him. Imagine this situation: A man enlists in the military and decides upon arriving at boot camp that he was not going to follow any of drill sergeant’s orders. All the training is a bit too rigorous for his liking. He just wants to do what he wants to do. But this is exactly fits the so-called Christian who refuses to live in obedience to Christ; even worse is the man who thinks his disobedience is somehow virtuous. After all, legalism is bad. The Bible is not a rulebook. We can’t earn salvation. While these things are true, it is not an excuse to live in perpetual disobedience to the commands of God. Repeat: Grace is no excuse to sin. Paul would give the misguided soul an earful:
What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.
A soldier’s commanding officer ought to be respected. Sometimes, if he is a good commanding officer, he is admired by those under his command. Either way, the soldier obeys the commands he is given. He may not like it. His heart may be in rebellion while his body goes through the motions of obedience. But a good soldier obeys. Beyond mere respect, beyond even admiration, Jesus our Commanding Officer is loved above all others by His soldiers. How much more, then, should He be obeyed?
“If you love me, you will keep my commands.
Again, John writes:
For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,
Interesting that love for God is defined by obedience. It’s not about a feeling we feel when singing one of those slow and powerful worship songs. Or posting praying hands emojis when a friend mentions something about God. Or saying Merry Christmas to the cashier who insists on wishing you a ‘happy holidays’. Again, it’s about that commitment to follow Jesus and keep His commands.
And His commands are not a burden precisely because of our love for Him. Sometimes obedience means enduring persecution. The good soldier is willing to go to the frontlines for love of his Commanding Officer. The good Christian soldier is willing to risk even death for the sake of Christ. And, amazingly, this is not burdensome. It does, however, require courage. The good soldier is courageous. How can I be courageous enough to face the persecution that is promised to come my way at some point? Everybody loves reciting Joshua 1:9 at this point:
Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Notice that for Joshua, having strength and courage is a command. Eschewing fear and discourage is likewise an order. How is Joshua to accomplish the task set before him? Recall the mission: Joshua was to lead God’s chosen people, after 40 years of builtup anticipation, into the promised land. This isn’t like renting a U-Haul and moving into your dream home, unless your dream house is currently being occupied by vicious enemies who are going to fight you for it. So, Joshua, scared yet? Well, stop worrying and start repeating to yourself, “Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous.” “I think I can. I think I can.” That’s how you get strong and courageous, right? Not quite. Back up a couple of verses:
Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Joshua could be a strong and courageous soldier because he knew he would have success so long he stayed in God’s word. So long as he meditated on it day and night. So long as he observed the things written therein. Success being assured, Joshua could be confident. He could bravely forge ahead into battle and triumph in the strength of the LORD. Considering this example, how can we live in obedience to Christ when persecution comes at us, when the wolves are on the hunt, when the mob closes in with their pitchforks and torches? Is it by reciting like a mantra Joshua 1:9 and other ‘promise verses’? By taping inspirational cat posters (‘Believe’, ‘Hang in There’) on my bedroom wall and looking inside myself to find that hidden strength and courage the posters tell me I have (because everybody has the ability to unlock that inner superhero)? Is it by believing hard enough in myself? Nope. The source of our courage is a supernatural Book that likens itself to a sword:
For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.
The most impressive and destructive weapons mankind has conceived of and constructed are but Nerf guns to the nuke that is the word of God. Joshua had foes a-plenty to fight. The men of his army must have had swords and spears and shields and arrows for days. But did God tell Joshua that his success in battle depended on how mighty a warrior Joshua was, on how big his army was (ask Gideon if that matters), or on how skilled a military leader he was? No, Joshua’s greatest weapon was the word of God. His success was determined by how closely he situated himself to the word of God. In the same way, the success of our mission here on earth is dependent on the way we interact with the word of God. We have at our disposal the very same weapon Joshua used to conquer the Canaanites. From it we learn obedience, and from it we can derive the courage we need to be good soldiers, have success, and prosper in the things God commands us to do.
No Entanglements
No Entanglements
2 Timothy 2:4 (CSB)
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life...
The good soldier has unobstructed, laser-like focus on the tasks set before him by his commanding officer. Likewise, the Christian must be of a singular mindset as he lives out the Christian life. There’s no dipping your toe into Christianity to test the waters; it’s an all-in cannonball splash into living water. In the parable of the sower, Jesus desribes how some of the seeds sown fell among thorns and were subsequently choked out by those thorns as they sprouted and attempted to grow upward. He explains the meaning of this portion of the parable in this way:
Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Certainly the world is full of distractions. Shiny objects and squirrels are everywhere, drawing the eyes and hearts of people as they march through this life. Two things mentioned in the parable are noted as being especially distracting: worries and wealth. Even worse would be worries about wealth, I would imagine. Who doesn’t have worries, concerns, uncertainties, even fears? Call them what you like, but the only purpose they serve is to make you not pay full attention to the things of God. When our trust is in God and our hearts are genuinely seeking after His kingdom, worries and wealth need not concern us.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
The first priority for the Christian is a pursuit of the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In context, the worries on the minds of His listeners are food and clothing, which are not trivial things. These are basic needs, things each of us needs to account for when we do our budgets. These concerns are legitimate; however, we must recognize that God takes care of those needs for those who seek Him. This is one of those ‘promises from God in the Bible’ that is either neglected entirely by those blog writers or else cut down to size. Yes, God will provide, but there’s something for you to do. Of course, God gives us our daily bread, but we should be busy about His business. Therefore, we should not let even concerns over things as important as food and clothing interfere our pursuit of God’s kingdom.
The writer of Hebrews also has similar instruction for us in this regard:
Hebrews 12:1 (CSB)
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us...
The verse indicates that sin and other ‘hindrances’ (such as worries, preoccupations, fears, etc.) can ensnare us and prevent us from fixing our eyes on the Author and Perfecter of our faith. It makes our ears deaf to the instructions of our Commanding Officer. It makes us unsure of our orders and thus less effective as a soldier. Obedience wavers and courage flounders.
These entanglements can warp a soldier’s sense of duty and can also go as far as to confuse even how a person perceives his own identity. It is easy perhaps to entangle oneself in other identities. Some have indeed substituted being a soldier of Christ for other roles, causes, or responsibilities. The pro-life cause, which is indeed an important battle in our day, is not Christianity. If I am pro-life but have no basis for my activitism in this cause in the word of God (that murder is wrong because God said ‘Thou shall not murder’), I have become a soldier for a cause but not necessarily a soldier for Christ. Political conservatism is not Christianity either. Provoking the ire of the left-leaning for my political views and being consequently ridiculed on social media for it (persecution!) is not the same thing as suffering as a Christian. That is not to say that it is wrong to hold certain political views so long as those views are in line with the word of God. However, we should not become soldiers for conservatism. If we are going to suffer persecution, let it be for identifying with Christ:
But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.
The Commanding Officer
The Commanding Officer
2 Timothy 2:4 (CSB)
...he seeks to please the commanding officer.
We all want that ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’. As soldiers, we all have an eager desire to obey the commands we are given and avoid becoming entangled in those civilian affairs, all out of love for our Jesus. The good soldier wants to please his Commanding Officer, who has equipped and trained His men and women for battle. The good soldier is a good soldier only because of the goodness of his Commanding Officer.
Let us consider what sort of Commanding Officer we have in Jesus. He gives us commands, yet what he places on us is no harsh burden to bear:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
He demands of us strength and courage as we endure hardship and suffering and persecution, yet He generously gives strength and courage to the weak, as Paul himself experienced:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
He requires us to abandon all for His sake, yet promises much more in return for such service, as He tells Peter when Peter points out all he gave up to follow Jesus:
Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.
Earlier in this account, the rich young ruler who had accosted Jesus thought following Jesus would be a fun thing to do on the weekends, a welcome diversion from his riches and ruling, I suppose. He was not prepared for the commitment it would entail, and so he leaves quite disappointed that things didn’t pan out the way he had hoped. And it is not the same for many people even today? Are there not many rich young rulers sitting in churches every Sunday? When this Christianity thing gets slightly uncomfortable, when it starts to require a little bit too much from them, when following means more than tapping on a button on a social media app, those rich young rulers tend to bail: They jump on their camels and try to squeeze through needle eyes while complaining about those strict requirements: “Can you believe it? He said I, the rich young ruler, had to stop being rich.”
But Jesus wants to strip you of your identity and give you a new one. Rich young ruler, remove your finery and clothe yourself with a robe of righteousness. Jesus wants you to be a good soldier for Christ and follow Him into battle.
Again I ask: What sort of a Commanding Officer have we in Christ?
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
We have a Commanding Officer who is able to fully sympathize with us. He became as one of us and displayed in His life what it means to be a good soldier. He did the basic training as He fasted and prayed 40 days in the wilderness. He engaged the enemy as he drove demons from people and destroyed the works of the devil, as John notes in 1 John 3:
The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.
He was the perfect example courage, service, love, and obedience. Recall His impassioned prayer in the garden prior to His arrest. Jesus knows He is about to go to the cross, where He would bear the sins of the world upon Himself. What was set before Him was no simple task, and His sorrow and anguish multiplied by the moment. Yet despite all of this, He submitted Himself completely to the will of the Father, as He declares:
Luke 22:42 (CSB)
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
He put the mission above even His own well-being, and His sole desire was to do the will of the Father:
Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
Jesus despised the shame of the cross and endured its suffering for the sake of the joy placed before Him. And mission accomplished! ‘Tetelasai! (It is finished!)’ was the cry of triumph on the cross, where the sinless Son of God completed His mission by defeating the enemy and winning the victory over sin and death. This mission of His was also a rescue mission, as Paul indicates in Colossians 2:
And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.
The paradox of the cross continues to baffle the foes of Christ. A bloody and beaten Man is the Victor. A scene of darkness and despair is light and hope for the one who believes. From death comes eternal life. The One who had perished is alive forevermore. The Man treated as a criminal sits as King of Kings on the throne of Heaven.
Not only that, but His return to this earth is promised. The Commanding Officer will lead His army in one final battle in which the enemy is to be soundly defeated:
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Woe to him who opposes the Rider on the white horse!
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we honor those who bravely serve to protect our country and our freedoms, let us also remember the warfare we as Christians are engaged in. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, however, but against forces we can’t see. But we see the strategy of the enemy at work in this world, and we observe the effects of his tactics. We see the attacks from the enemy on the church, on marriage, on family, even on our children. And as the enemy lobs missiles in our direction or fiery darts or whatever the weapon of choice is, or threatens imprisonment or annihilation, let us stand ready to take on those attacks. Let us, like Joshua, devote ourselves to meditating on the word of God day and night. Let us not depart to the right or to the left of the commands given to us. Let us be strong and courageous in the face of opposition, all the while looking to our Commanding Officer to lead us to victory. Yes, our victory is indeed assured. The Rider on the white horse and the soldiers that ride behind Him into the battle are guaranteed to win the war.
The purpose of my message was to encourage us all to view our Christian lives from this perspective. To be obedient. To have courage. To focus on the mission. To look to Jesus for victory.
I conclude with the words from ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’, a 19th-century hymn:
1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!
2 At the sign of triumph
Satan's host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!
3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity.
4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro' countless ages
men and angels sing.