Good Soldier

A good soldier is faithful, brave, and obedient to their commanding officer. These are some of the characteristics of a good Christian found in 2 Timothy 2:1-7.

Download the Good Soldier mp3

2 Timothy 2:1-7

Sometimes in the scripture, a believer in Christ is referred to as a soldier
That is the case in our passage of the day
It acknowledges that every disciple faces a spiritual battle every day
That we are enlisted to fight on behalf of the King of kings
And that, as in every war, hardship will come

Paul is speaking to Timothy in this passage
Timothy is someone the Apostle Paul has referred to as his “son in the faith”
And Paul has given Timothy much advice on having a successful ministry for Christ
That continues in 2 Timothy 2:1-7
Which is our text for the theme “Good Soldier”

A mindset is described in this passage that may sound foreign to us
It is the mindset of someone who faces battle
We may not wake up in the morning anticipating a day of war
But the Bible describes our lives in a way that leads us to believe we should

Consider for instance 1 Peter 2:11…

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

Or Ephesians 6:11-12…

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

It’s a daily battle
Not just against the lusts that come from our sinful flesh
But also against the influence of this world
And the enemy of our souls, Satan

There is more in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5…

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

As foreign as it may sound to our ears
Christians should begin every day on a war-footing
Prepared for battle
Equipped with the tools God has provided to win

That’s where we find ourselves in 2 Timothy
But it takes a couple of verses to get there…

2 Timothy 2:1

1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

We see it in verse 1
We are strong, not in ourselves, but in the grace of Christ
It should always be noted that He provides the equipment
He provides the strength
He provides the ability
And He does it by grace
This free gift, which we do not deserve

And though we all have different assignments in the battle
We must all press forward in Him
Timothy had the assignment of a pastor/teacher…

2 Timothy 2:2

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.

All of His disciples face battle
They will need to be equipped
And be prepared to equip others, which they must do consistently
That’s why Timothy was to commit sound doctrine to them
To teach God’s word to faithful men
Who would then go about teaching too
Making a people ready for battle

Every Christian is a teacher
As the Great Commission indicates
So, the command has relevance
But it is particularly for those who are in Timothy’s position
And for the local church
As we make this a priority

So, what will come when we are faithful in this way
I think the scripture is pretty clear – difficulty
Such is the life of a faithful minister
A faithful soldier
That is why Paul says…

2 Timothy 2:3-4

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.

Hardness is bound to come
While this says “endure hardness”
Another translation says “share in suffering”
We’re talking about the same thing – difficulty
And this is always expected of war
War is hard
Physical war and spiritual war

How can we then endure?
As a good soldier
You can probably think of some characteristics of a good soldier
They are faithful
Brave
Obedient to their commanding officer

Verse 4 says they will not entangle themselves with the affairs of this life
Such is the intensity of battle, that it won’t do to be distracted
We must go forth and win
We cannot be committed in our minds to other tasks
Hand to hand combat is before us
Our eyes must stay fixed on the task at hand
Lest we fall

We have a commander
Who is worthy of our service
Worthy of any hardship
And even death
And we must please Him
For He has chosen us to be a soldier

There are a few more details…

2 Timothy 2:5

5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules
We have to know the enemy
The battlefield
The rules of war
The nature of the battle
The implements of warfare
God, thankfully, tells us what they are in His word

It is impossible to be victorious without His instruction
From the Bible
For we must be good soldiers

2 Timothy 2:6

6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

These two verses can be rephrased this way…

“It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

I wonder if we approach our walk as a disciple in this way?
On a war-footing?
As an athlete striving for mastery
Striving for the prize?
Or as a farmer working to obtain those firstfruits of the harvest

What will this mean in serving Christ?
How can it make us a good soldier?
We need understanding
And we find it here – in God’s word