Being A Righteous Soldier 3/3
Thank you for joining us for week 3 of the “Being a Righteous Soldier” series. In our first week we talked about what it means to be a Christian, comparing it to enlisting in the Armed Forces. Last week we discussed the various weapons and tools God gives Christians. This week we are going to talk about our duties as a Christian soldier. We will discuss how we take the weapons God gives us to fight back evil, and serve our God.
2 Timothy 2: 1 - 6, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” Paul begins chapter 2 telling us to be strengthen by the grace in Christ Jesus. If you have been following along with us for the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed a theme. Jesus is at the very center of everything we are, he saved us from our sins, gives us eternal life, establishes a relationship, and gives us the strength to live in this fallen world. To finish our series we will break 2 Timothy down into three focus areas; Un-entangled from Civilian Pursuits, Running the Race, and Planting and Reaping a Harvest, to demonstrate the responsibilities of a Christian.
UN-ENTANGLED FROM CIVILIAN PURSUITS
Verse 1 of this above passage begins with Grace. Grace is divine intervention from God, reaching down to give us what we do not deserve. Scripture is clear, it is by grace, a grace that we do not deserve, given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus, that saves us. Ephesians 2:8 - 10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God gives us Grace, he reworks us making us a new creation to serve his purpose. Like a Soldier when we enlist in the military we no longer live on our own schedule, but we go where the military tells us. Being a member of Gods military, we are even more restrictive, we get no liberty, no passes on the weekend, no days off. Instead we live day-in and day-out, as a new creation of Christ, we stand as witness and representative. Paul tells us as a soldier we share in the sufferings of our General and King Jesus, we do not tie ourselves up in the affairs the world.
A soldier is a representative of his society and community, and as a result he stands outside of it. As a military member you are instructed leave the whims of civilian life behind. We are no longer part of civilian society, we chose to give up our own personal freedoms, and now we fight for the freedom of all civilians. We fight so that no matter someones beliefs, they will have the freedom to live. This freedom is often paid in blood, and any person who has been in the military long enough has seen the red cost of freedom. In Christianity This red cost, this blood payment, is not paid by the soldiers, because it has already been paid by the General, Jesus Christ. When we become a Christian, we no longer live for ourselves, we no longer pursue the goals and dreams we had before becoming Christians. We live and serve Christ, following his plan and submitting to his will. We are called to separate ourselves from the world, and live righteous lives. James 4: 4-8 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” To be friends to this world, is the same as being entangled in civilian pursuits.
We do not belong to this world, we belong to God. We are instructed to leave worldliness behind and live pure lives. This is the first of our duties, we are instructed to leave our sin behind and be filled with the word of Christ. Colossians :3: 5-17 “ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” I don’t believe I could explain the being “un-entangled from civilian pursuits” any better than here in Colossians. God does not want us to dwell in worldly matters, he doesn’t wants us wrapped up in the worlds sin, But instead he wants us distinctively separated and belonging to himself. We must make a daily effort using the weapons he has equipped us with to fight against evil, and fight towards becoming perfection, as He is perfect.
RUNNING THE RACE
Another analogy Paul uses is the comparison of Christianity to athletics. I am not sure if Paul competed in athletic events, but he was more than likely at some point a fan of watching the public sporting events that became popular in the Roman society. In Verse 5 of the above passage in 2 Timothy, he compares Christianity to an athlete. The instruction he gives is that to be crowned you must follow the rules, running the race, or finishing the game, while remaining in the confines of the rules. Some of you might be thinking what rules? Well I would argue that this passage has very little to do with the rules, but instead has a lot to do with the crown awarded.
The Crown mentioned is the salvation promised to us, and the rules are living in faith, believing in Christ, receiving his forgiveness, and trusting in His protection, when our race is over and we die. Paul tells us in, 2 Timothy 4:7-8 “7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” Paul went from being a murderer, and general of genocide to being forgive and saved by Jesus Christ. From the moment he accepted Jesus, his faith blossomed and continued to grow. Paul did not fall back into rebellion, he regularly fought to keep himself from the sin of this world, growing his faith in Christ. The Crown of Righteousness waits for us, but the journey to get there is difficult, filled with traps, trials and hardships along the way. Evil will attempt to turn our hearts from God, and convince us to find a shortcut to the finish line and leave the race. But, we will be sad to discover at the end, that there is not shortcut or easier path to the crown of righteousness. Jesus does not hand out participation trophies. He awards the crown to only those who race, compete and stay on the track. James tells us to be strong, and not to be wavered by such trials, James 1:12 “12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Remember from two weeks ago the devotion on becoming a Christian, when I said that being a Christian was not a simple prayer and then done? Being a Christian is a life changing event. You literally must completely change your life, change your priorities, change your master. We no longer serve our own selfish interest, but submit to serving God. We no longer pursue our sinful habits, we now strive to leave our sinful nature behind and become more righteous and perfect every day. The race we are running will not be easy, but the reward is eternal.
PLANTING AND REAPING A HARVEST
Paul goes on to compare Christians to farmers. Paul tells us that the farmer should receive the first share of his crop. What does farming and crops have to do with Christianity? Im glad you asked. Throughout scripture different elements of God, Christianity, and Gods teachings are described as a fruit bearing plant or crop. Farms, orchards, and vineyards where every where during the time Paul wrote 2 Timothy. Nothing like today where you may have to drive for hours to find a farm, or could go your whole life without ever meeting a farmer. Throughout scripture the people of this time in history had a deep understanding and affiliation to farmers and the harvest.
So, how can we has Christians be like a farmer? Jesus, as he is preparing to ascend into heaven gives us what we call the Great Commission, Matthew 28: 16-20 “16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” As a Christian Soldier, God has charged us with going out, spreading his gospel and raising up disciples to follow Christ. The Gospel is the seeds we plant and the disciples that we raise to follow Jesus are the harvest. God is the farmer, and we are his planters.
We must run the race to the end if we want to win a reward, as a soldier we are not done until we die in the field of battle or our contract ends, and a farmers work is not complete until his harvest is reaped. In all of these the same message speaks to me, the fact that, as a Christian we must constantly be living for Christ, awaiting the day we get to see him face to face. Galatians 6:9-10 “ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” The farmer never stops working towards his harvest, and we should never stop doing what is right and good. Christianity is about a life dedicated to something larger than yourself. Dedicated to the God over all creation.
Every day we must tend to the harvest we plant, If we plant nothing we will reap nothing. If we plant weeds we will harvest weeds, but if we plant the Gospel, we will harvest souls and the crown of righteousness will wait for us. We must run the race to the end, no one wins any honors for quitting a race halfway. We must run the race to then end, staying within the confinements of the track. We must run until we cross the finish line, and only then can we receive our crown of righteousness. Everyday is a new day to fight the good fight, we must keep ourselves from sin. It is our responsibility to share the gospel, hoping and praying to bring Jesus’s salvation to others in the darkness. This might sound overwhelming, or you may think that you are not good enough, strong enough, brave enough to live out your duties as a Christian soldier. If that’s you, its ok, God loves to shine through our weaknesses, and if you let him, he will take your weakness and use them beyond your imagination. 2 Corinthians 12:9 - 10 “ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Below are some reflections questions. I encourage you to write these out in a journal and periodically check back on them. I usually do this every few years. I am amazed by how much I’ve grown and changed, and it's incredible to see how God has worked in me, and answered my prayers. Feel free to share your answers with us, or ask us any questions in the comment section.
Are you a Christian, and find yourself falling back into old habits, old sins?
What distractions do you have in your life that prevent you from serving God whole heartedly?
What can you, in your life today, give up that would allow you more time to seek Jesus?
Do you have a team of fellow believers, that help you? Do they encourage you? Pray with and for you?
Are you involved in a church?
What hesitations or thoughts keep you from committing yourself 100% to Jesus?
What are your weaknesses, hesitations?Do you pray for God to use them?
Thanks for joining us for another devotion, and the third and final of this series. We really hope you have enjoyed this series on being a Christian soldier. If you have any suggestions, or would like to know more about another topic, please reach out to us. If you are seeking prayer, need a bible or would like more information on Triple Hares and our services, please reach out to us.
Kyle Statham
Commentaires