New Life In Christ Pt. 16 Walking as a Good Soldier of Christ

Preparing for Spiritual Warfare

2 Timothy 2:1-4  Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2) And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 

Paul encourages us to be strong in the grace that we have been given through the work and person of Jesus Christ. Grace is a manifestation of God's lovingkindness for all who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Grace is also something God sends to us when we are in need. 

Paul then turned his attention to sound doctrine and inspired apostolic teaching  and gave Timothy a command to pass God's truth on to other faithful men. There was and is a great need to make sure that God’s truth is passed on accurately to each succeeding generation. 

Paul’s command to Timothy is very much like a modern mission operation where missionaries are sent out to another nation. As churches are established, they seek "national" pastors to take over these works. A "national" pastor is a citizen of the land where a missionary was sent. They know the language, customs and culture far better and when they receive proper pastoral and theological training, they are more than capable of taking over the ministry in that land. 

Timothy was given a vital and solemn responsibility by Paul and this work was a very high priority. Paul then used a military analogy to illustrate the level of energy and commitment needed by Timothy, in order to train future generations of pastors and lay leaders. 

The words "endure hardness" is the idea of enduring while suffering and is comparable to the rigorous training, drilling and conditioning of Roman soldiers. The Roman army was well respected, very organized, and efficient with logistics. It was feared by many and it promoted strong discipline, loyalty, pride and working together as a unit. These are the keys to their legendary military successes. 

The many details of ordinary military life required soldiers to frequently conduct drills, be on guard duty, or march quickly to a predetermined location. In addition, routine cleaning, repairing, and sharpening of weapons had to be done, to ensure an optimal state of readiness. Soldiers frequently practiced rapidly putting their armor on to foster a rapid response for any situation. They were required to do a lot of running to stay in top physical condition for fighting. 

Military service involves self-sacrifice, endurance, discipline, vigilance, obedience, ready co-operation with others, sympathy, enthusiasm, loyalty. You can see the clear connection with being a member of the body of Christ and the military analogy used by Paul.

Thus, Paul tells Timothy to complete each important assignment as a good soldier in the army of Jesus Christ. The word "warreth" means to initiate a military campaign against the enemy and to lead your men into battle. Paul warned that a good soldier does not become tangled up on the pursuit of pleasure, wealth, status or other things in this life. The mission given to each soldier assumes importance over all other things. 

Carry out our God given mission. 

1 Timothy 1:18  This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 

Paul also gave Timothy a "charge" which means to lay a great obligation with solemn trust that Timothy would faithfully discharge his responsibility. In this case, the "charge" Paul gave Timothy was to go to battle for the Christian faith by fighting a good, tactical war while faithfully  executing the apostolic strategy for victory. 

Give all we have to fight for the faith. 

1 Timothy 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 

Paul entrusted many spiritual tasks to Timothy. This young man was saved under the ministry of the apostle Paul and he looked on him as his own son. The word "fight" is the idea of contending for the faith with strenuous zeal in spite of many dangers and fearsome foes. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

I would like to close this post thinking about the parallels between military action and walking in the Spirit. 

Luke 9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Both require self sacrifice. Jesus told us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Him. We need to do this every day and it is connected to mortifying the members of our body so that we can serve and love Christ most of all (Romans 8:13). 

2 Peter 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.  

Both require strong discipline. Peter told us we must continue  to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. As soldiers of Christ we need to cultivate ongoing spiritual growth and progressing toward spiritual maturity. This is the idea of becoming  fully rooted and grounded in Christ, such that our faith in Him cannot be shaken. It refers to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, witnessing to others, worshiping God in Spirit and truth and walking in the Spirit. 

John 10:27-28  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

Both require following one leader. If orders come from more than one source then confusion results and the army becomes ineffective. 

In this case, our leader is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. His sheep hear His voice above all others and they will follow Christ. The word "follow" is used of a slave following his masters orders. Christ is our Master and we ought to be following His orders.  It is used of those who obey civic laws that do not come in conflict with God's law. It is used of the disciples called by Jesus, such as Matthew, who left everything and followed Him. It involves pleasing our Master, obeying our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ knowing that we will be rewarded by Him for faithful service. 

Romans 16:3-4  Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4  Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 

Both require mutual cooperation. Priscilla and Aquila were a husband and wife team who often helped Paul in his many ministry efforts. They made tents to sell when that was needed. They gave food and lodging to other saints and to Paul. They taught  the truth and helped younger Christians to mature in their faith. The gospel advances as mutual cooperation increases. 

I pray that our inner man is being strengthened by the Spirit of Christ so that  we are ready to endure hard times for His name's sake. I pray that we are willing to leave all earthly things behind in order to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that we will count it joy to make the necessary sacrifices and maintain the needed discipline in order to faithfully follow our Master, Jesus Christ.

Bob