Good
Soldiers of Christ
We are living in the perilous times Paul wrote about
in 2 Timothy 3. Paul predicted a time of great danger,
compromise, and catastrophic breakdown of moral character.
We see it all around us in the world today. It is the evidence
that God’s enemies are taking over the world in unprecedented
fashion. God’s people are a very important part of
what must happen at this time of history, “in the
last days.” There is only one place that God’s
enemies will be driven out, and that place is the church.
As those enemies are being driven out, His people will
become a true light to the nations and the witness of the
kingdom that is coming when Christ returns.
Paul told Timothy, “Consider what I say, and may
the Lord give you understanding in all things,”
so that as “good soldiers” of Christ they could
know how to defeat His enemies. Have you ever considered,
if Yahshua won the victory over the world, the flesh, and
the devil, why does the Bible say that He must remain in
heaven until all His enemies are made a footstool under
His feet?
We believe that if you are a sincere Christian and you
genuinely consider what Paul says in verses 2-6 you will
begin to understand this seeming contradiction in the Scriptures.
In other words, if He defeated the devil, why then must
He remain in heaven until all His enemies are made a footstool
under His feet? And who’s going to make them a footstool
since He is in heaven? It seems as though it has to be
His followers who do it, doesn’t it?
So if we are to put all His enemies under His feet before
He can return, then we need to find out how to be good
soldiers so that we can conquer them. In fact, how could
anything please Him more than this? Let’s consider
what Paul is saying and maybe we can understand a very
essential thing: the difference between the life of a good
soldier and the life of a civilian. We must apply the “litmus
test” of verses 2-6 to our lives in order to know
where we stand.
The “litmus test” of 2 Timothy 2:2-7 establishes
whether or not a believer is a true soldier of Christ.
The criterion is whether or not “one engaged in warfare
entangles himself in the affairs of this life.” Paul
said in verse 4 that no one engaged in waging war for his
commander-in-chief will get involved in the affairs of
civilian life, that is, if he truly wants to please the
one who enlisted him. Civilian life is what a person does
every day if he is not enlisted in the military. The life
of a soldier is what he does every day in preparing to
go to war to defeat a deadly enemy. The sign that an enemy
is defeated is when the victor puts the head of his enemy
under his feet. This is the goal of a good soldier in God’s
army. Can you imagine a soldier trying to wage war and
work in the civilian world to support himself at the same
time?
We can see what constitutes civilian life by reading Matthew
6:31-32: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What
shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles
[civilians] seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things.” A civilian is one who seeks
his own food, clothing, and shelter. This is the civilian
life of the nations of the world. This is how the world
lives.
A good soldier has one purpose — to please the one who
enlisted him. A person enlists in God’s army because
he wants to serve Him and carry out His will. In order
to be in God’s army one must obey the gospel — the
terms of enlistment. He hates his life in this world that
is still ruled by Satan and wants to see his rule come
to an end. Every soldier in boot camp gets to know his
leader by learning to obey him in every command he gives.
You bring with you to boot camp only what is surrendered
to the cause you’re enlisting for, as Luke 14:26-33
makes clear. Soldiers of Christ don’t get involved
in anything of the world, for it would distract them and
sap their strength away from fighting the enemies of God
that they have been enlisted to defeat and put under their
Commander’s feet.
All believers are commanded not to love the world or
the things in the world, because if anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. You see, if a
person loves the world or the things in the world (which
will be evidenced by involvement in the world’s affairs),
he is not obeying the commands of his Commander-in-Chief.
And if he isn’t obeying His commands, he doesn’t
love Him, and therefore the Commander can’t reveal
Himself to him to give him understanding in all things.
He can’t teach him how to use His weapons of warfare
(Ephesians 6).
The gospel can only be understood in the context of being
a soldier fully engaged in fighting the enemies of his
Master and Savior. This takes a total, all-out effort—
a full participation with everything we have, all our time
and energy, as well as all our possessions. The enemies
of God are all the ways that spirits attach themselves
to our desires, the desires of our flesh. The “fruit” or
outcome is obvious. It is recorded in Galatians 5:19-21.
This fruit is called “the works of the flesh.” We
were saved for “good works” spoken of in Ephesians
2:10 which we can only do if we are obedient to the Spirit
of the One who enlisted us. He has a battle plan that assures
victory over the enemy. His banner is love and He has
gone before us as our example. He overcame all His enemies
and sat down on the throne of His Father. We must do the
same now as good soldiers in order to bring this wicked
age to an end.
If He truly is the one who enlisted us, then we want to
walk as He did and follow His example, loving one another
as He loved us. This is the path of victory under the banner
of love in God’s army. If we love something more,
then we should go and do it as Deuteronomy 20 says, but
then let’s not say we know Him and are His followers.
For He is engaged in winning the war and He is the supreme
Commander-in-Chief and is not interested in civilian affairs.
He made it clear that the world is passing away and all
its fleshly desires, but the one who does His will will
live forever. If we say we’re His soldiers and
that He enlisted us, then we must follow His commands,
learn His battle plan and execute it with all diligence.
If
you take a look at what’s being preached every
Sunday in your church, you’ll probably find out that
the Bible is being taught from the context of civilian
life in the world, applying the words of the Bible to living
like the Gentiles. Remember that according to what Paul
said in 2 Timothy 2:2-7 among many witnesses that “if
anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless
he competes according to the rules” (verse 5). Interpreting
the Bible in terms of civilian life is not competing by
the rules. It’s like an athlete winning a race only
to be disqualified because he used illegal drugs in training.
We
have to live for the cause He came for, lived for, and
died for. He said in John 18:37, “For this cause
I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world,
that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is
of the truth hears My voice.” The truth in 2 Timothy
2:2-7 reveals the nature of the life of His true followers
— absolute devotion. The truth has a sting to it that exposes
whether we have failed the litmus test of His word and
lack revelation of the kingdom, of what we’re supposed
to be building on earth.
The comprehensive gospel is a litmus test with well-defined
criteria. If you can understand these criteria then you
can see why we in the Twelve Tribes communities live the
way we do. Seeking first the kingdom as Matthew 6:33 commands
us to do means that we employ all that we have in serving
others. No one lives for himself, to make his own living
and live in his own house with his own job. No, those with
understanding are living totally for others, and all their
needs are being met by their brothers and sisters. Living
this way is how we can serve Him where He is and therefore
be honored by our Father in heaven, as our Master said
in John 12:26.
Living this way is what will drive out all His enemies
that have darkened this world for 6,000 years. Following
the standard of love by obeying the One who enlisted us
is what exposes all these dark enemies of God to the light
of His life and causes them to flee. This light gives
illumination and hope as a beacon to all mankind and a
harbinger proclaiming that the end of this age is near.
So, let us all who are sincere join together under this
banner and fight with all our might, for we have His great
promises and His great victory to assure us.
2 Timothy 2:7
Hebrews 10:12-13
Revelation 12:9-11
A litmus test is a test in which a single
factor is decisive in proving the presence or absence of
something.
1 John 2:15
John 14:21
Song of Solomon 2:4
Revelation 3:21
1 John 2:17
1 John 2:4,6
John 1:4
Luke 1:77-79
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