Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 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.
2 Timothy 2:3-4
In the year 1776 Lt, General John Burgoyne or “Gentleman Johnny” as he was called was one of the main generals to lead the British in the fight against the continental army. A brilliant strategist, Burgoyne, arrived at Quebec in spring of 1777 with a plan that would sever New England from the rest of the colonies. Their movement had been quick. Their victory’s decisive. All seemed to to be going well. The rebels would be defeated in a relatively short time. Encouraged by the powerful advance of his men, Burgoyne became overconfident in his ability.
A gentlemen at heart and not wanting to restrain himself or his officers from the luxuries of their position, he brought along all the comforts of home. In the rear of his convoy the wives of the officers, as well as an entourage of servants followed after the main force. A convoy of thirty extra wagons packed with luxury items, wove their way slowly through the American wilderness. Thinking that most of the travel would be on the water Burgoyne had not anticipated traveling on the marshy, mosquito infested trails that his army found themselves traveling on. As a result of the shear size of his luxury laden supply train and the poorness of the roads. Burgoyne’s advance halted to a snails place
General Burgoyne a prime example of someone who had everything that he needed, he had manpower, he had ammunition, he had the power and yet chose to be entangled. And I wonder how many times we choose the same thing as believers?
A Good Soldier Must Be Resilient
If there was one thing that Paul understood well it was a Roman soldier. He was chained to several throughout his ministry. Perhaps Paul as he is writing this could envision a roman legionnaire, longing for home. longing for the comfort of his own bed, his family, the warmth and security the walls of his home would bring. The farm, the villa, the vineyard. Life for a Roman soldier was not easy. They slept on the hard ground. They endured the alpine cold, the desert heat. They had to endure savage combat. A great general once said “War is cruelty the crueler it is the the faster it is over”. As it is today so was it then. War was hard.Gut-wrenching. How easy it would be for a soldier in these conditions to lose focus on the task at hand and run, desert, go back to what was comfortable.
Paul is saying to Timothy. Endure hardness as a good solder. Don’t move from your position. Things will get challenging. It will not always be easy or comfortable to serve God. But it will always be the right thing. Stay faithful. Stay true to what you know is right.
Christian, the same call is going out to us. Its not always easy to serve God. Its not always easy to go soul winning. Is not always easy to be honest on the job. Its not always easy to stand up for what is right. Are you enduring hardness? A good solder will not be entangled in the world.
A Good Soldier Will Not Be Entangled
The second thing we seenfrom this passage that a good solder must not be entangled with the world. It says: No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life;
You see the world is actively working to entangle you. Your flesh is actively working to entrap you in sin, to entangle you what is vain. Are you yielding to it? Are you entangled? You see, a good solder will not be entangled in the world!
There are many areas where we can be entangled Galatians 5:19-21 lays them out clearly:
- Adultery: (Cheating on your spouse)
- Fornication: (Immoral behaviour outside of marriage).
- uncleanness: (Impure actions and words, this would include such things as pornography)
- lasciviousness: (Lustful and lewd behaviour)
….Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
A list like this causes us to ask some hard questions. Ask yourself: Am I entangled? Who am I when I am alone? Who am I when no one is looking? What Music am I listening to? What am I watching? What am I viewing?
Smart phones are not intrinsically wicked, but they are powerful, and just like anything that is powerful it must be handled with care. Dynamite is powerful and when used in its proper context it is very useful. Dynamite allows us to build roads into the sides of mountains. But dynamite can cause great destruction and must be controlled.
How are you using your smartphone and other devices?
- What movies are you watching? Are they clean?
- What sites are you on? What are your viewing habits?
- What kind of music are you listening to? Is it clean and right or does it bring your mind to a place it ought not be?
A Good Soldier Has A Clear Purpose
What is our purpose? Our purpose is to please our commander. It says in 2 Timothy that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
How do we please our commander? We can please him by living righteously. Specifically we can please him by live purely in what we say and what we do. We can please him by fulfilling the Great commission, that is, sharing the gospel with others in our lives and leading those who trust Christ to obey him. These are the orders of our commander. To obey him is to not please our commander! How are you doing in this?
A Good Soldier Has Great Strength
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:1
We have been given great grace! We have the power of Christ in us! We hear this all the time and sometimes we get used to it. We should not get used to it The reality is that the power of Christ is in us. We have everything we need to do what God has called us to do! We can live in victory. Christ in you the hope of glory!
Here are some clear steps to victory:
- Realize that without Christ you will sink into sin. (John 15:5)
- When tempted, take a step of faith trusting God to enable you to live the victory he has promised. (Colossians 2:6)
- Get into a habit of trusting the Lord to overcome sin.
You can have long lasting victory today in any area of your life. Will you simply trust him?
As you have read this, has God pinpointed some area in your life? Are you enduring hardness? Or are you entangled in the world? What area do you need to be made free from? What sin issue is killing the spiritual power in your life? Are you serving your commander? A good solder will not be entangled in the world! You are in one of two places. Either you are entangled in the world or you are serving your commander. Where are you? A good soldier will not be entangled in the world.
Will Esayenko is an evangelist from Alberta, Canada. He was trained at Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI. He traveled twice with Bobby Bosler as a team captain doing youth evangelistic work during his college years. It is his goal to see a new church planting movement established in Western Canada.
