2 Timothy 2:1-13: A Good Soldier of the Lord
Among
many images the Apostle Paul gives to describe believers, he refers to us in
scripture as soldiers of Christ Jesus. This is a vivid image to compare
followers of Christ to, for we often think of soldiers as fighters, and this is
certainly one function of a soldier. In Paul’s second letter to young Timothy,
he finds himself imprisoned under Nero’s reign, and unlike his former
confidence of being released, he does not present this hope in this particular letter.
In fact, during this imprisonment, Paul was eventually martyred for his faith
in Christ. It seems that Paul perhaps faced a concern that Timothy was in
danger of weakening spiritually, a grave concern since he trusted Timothy to
continue his ministry. Paul was Timothy’s mentor. We all have people in our
lives who have helped us in so many respects and entrust us to continue their
legacy. This was Paul to Timothy. Paul found it necessary then to encourage
Timothy and spur him on in his faith.[1] For
this reason, Paul refers to followers of Christ as soldiers or warriors if you
will. It might not seem like the harshness of military drills could encourage
someone, but the hard work eventually pays off if the soldier is willing to
stick to the plan. My dad used to work with me daily on pitching when I played
baseball, and although some days my arm felt like it was going to fall off, the
hard work paid off when it came time for the game. Being a good soldier of the
Lord requires hard work and perseverance. This is an aspect of our faith that
we often hear and discuss, but very rarely do we allow this truth to penetrate
our hearts and lives and cause us to live in such a manner. We do not like to
think of the Christian faith as something we must fight through or toil with.
We would prefer it to be happy-go-lucky, but the fact is that living an
authentic Christian faith is difficult and often requires sacrifice and
obedience in ways that we cannot comprehend and don’t make sense and in ways
that are perhaps excruciatingly difficult. In this letter to Timothy, Paul is
encouraging him to live a life as a worthy soldier of Jesus Christ. In the same
way, we are called to live as worthy soldiers of the Christ, as good soldiers
of the Lord. How does one do this? We know the commands of scripture; we know
what we are called to do; so how then do we do it? What is the foundation upon
which a good soldier must be built? Paul gives this prescription in 2 Timothy
2:1-13, and there are three imperatives that we must realize and internalize
about a good soldier of the Lord.
2
Timothy 2:1-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
A Good Soldier of Christ
Jesus
2 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[a] 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. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will
give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus
Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached
in my gospel, 9 for which I am
suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is
not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything
for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is
in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The
saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny
himself.
A Good Soldier Suffers for His Enlister (vv.
1-7)
Paul
writes this letter in the midst of suffering so it is appropriate that he
focuses largely on the suffering of a soldier of the Lord. The mark of a
Christian is not prosperity but suffering. This is contrary to the message of
many churches today. Paul says, in verse 3, to share in suffering as a good
soldier of Christ. We are to follow Christ to the ultimate suffering if
necessary. In other words, if we are not willing to lay down our lives for his
sake, we are not good soldiers. Often we associate being a soldier of the Lord
with being a witness for the Lord. The Greek word for witness means martyr. This is what the early church understood
about following Christ. It was not taken lightly. How many people in our
country would still claim to be Christians if they knew that following Christ
meant losing their lives? We might have a lot of empty pews. The acid test of
following Christ is now how well we prosper but how well we suffer, and we
suffer well in knowing that what we do is for his sake, not our own.
Paul
clarifies this though by making sure that our suffering is done for the sake of
Christ. If we suffer because of our own stupidity, that is not being a good
soldier. There is a godly way to deal with our own mistakes, but this is not
the suffering Paul is speaking of here. He is speaking of suffering on behalf
of Christ. Verse 4 tells us that a good soldier does not entangle himself in
civilian pursuits but instead aims to please the one who enlisted him. In other
words, Christ is our focus and our prize and nothing else. When our focus is
taken off Christ and placed on worldly pursuits, we entangle ourselves in
civilian pursuits. The battle is constant, and we cannot waver. What does this
mean for us on a daily basis? This means that we make every decision based on
the glory and honor of God, which may involve difficult actions. It could mean
losing a job because of a stand for Christ. It could mean ridicule from those
who do not understand the gospel. It could mean following God into something
that does not make any sense to the world. When did following God become about
making sense? When did it ever make sense in the Bible? Look at the examples we
have. Abraham, go to a land I will show you. He had no idea where that was.
Moses, lead an entire nation out of slavery against an Egyptian army. David,
kill a giant with a sling and a stone. This is not to say that something is
God’s will if it does not make sense, but these things did not make sense. We
should not write something off simply because our human logic cannot fathom it.
Being a soldier of Christ requires trusting him and following him wherever he
leads. As the scripture says, an athlete must compete according to the rules
and it is the hard-working farmer who reaps a harvest. God sets the rules, and
following him requires hard work and endurance, particularly in times of difficulty.
We are assured, in verse 7, that the Lord will give us understanding. We are
not asked to understand but to trust because the understanding itself will not
come from our own minds but instead from God. We are called to focus on and
trust our enlister, namely Jesus Christ, and we are called to suffer for his
sake. This is the mark of a good soldier.
A Good Soldier Remembers the Goal (vv. 8-10)
We
must also realize that a good soldier remembers the goal. The goal and prize in
our lives is Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 says that the purpose of our salvation
is to be conformed into the image of Christ. Heaven is not the ultimate prize.
Often we make the mistake of telling unbelievers that heaven is the goal when
the reality is that our goal is becoming like Christ, and throughout the
Christian life, we are being transformed into his image. Paul says, in 2
Corinthians 3:18, that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to
another. I refer to this as progressive sanctification. Christ is the goal, and
a good soldier remembers not only that this is the goal but remembers Christ
and who he is period. If we see Christ for who he is, we will be changed. Paul
says, in verse 8, to remember Jesus Christ. He does not say to remember what he
has done, although this is absolutely crucial as well; he says to remember
Jesus Christ. Here the Greek word for remember
is active and implies continuation. In other words, we are not only to remember
Christ but to keep on remembering him. He must be at the forefront of
everything we do in a daily basis. He should not be number one on our priority
list, but he must literally be our priority list. He must be the purpose and
foundation of our work, school, family, relationships, and even our leisure
activities. A good soldier remembers the goal; our goal is Jesus Christ. If we
do not remember Jesus Christ, we will cave under pressure when trials come.
Basing our lives on anything else such as education, financial stability,
government, retirement, etc. will ultimately fail us. Paul was suffering when
he wrote this to Timothy; yet he was encouraged and strong in his faith because
he remembered Jesus Christ. He says, in verse 10, that he endures everything
for the sake of the elect that they may obtain the salvation in Jesus Christ.
When we remember Christ, we suffer well and are, therefore, good soldiers. This
has a profound impact on the lives of those who do not yet know Christ. God
uses our suffering to bring others to him. This is why our foundation must be
Christ and Christ alone. The reformers often spoke of solus Christus or Christ alone. He alone must be our foundation. Anything
else will fail. It is not a matter of if but when. A good soldier remembers the
goal, namely Jesus Christ.
I
am not a very good golfer, but I enjoy playing at times. One thing I am certain
of is that when I swing the club, if I do not keep my eye focused on the ball,
I am very likely to miss-hit it or not hit it at all. My eye must remain fixed
on the ball and my head steady. Even though the rest of my body may move, my
head must remain directly focused on the goal. If I turn it in any direction, my
chances of striking effectively are weakened significantly. In the same manner,
if we remove our focus from the goal of Jesus Christ, we cannot be effective
soldiers for his glory. Our eyes must be fixed on him at every moment of our
lives, and we must never waver from that.
A Good Soldier Remains Faithful (vv. 11-13)
Once
our foundation is built upon Christ, we must follow through and remain
faithful. A good soldier remains faithful and does not waver when the test
comes. Paul encourages us by pointing out that death is not the end for those
in Christ, for if we die with him, we will also live with him and if we endure,
we will also reign with him. Philippians 1:21 tells us that to live is Christ
and to die is gain. This is backwards from what the world tells us. Again
following Christ does not make sense except in the economy of God, not the
world. If we are dead to this world and all its pleasures and profits, we will
forever receive and eternal blessing with Christ. If we are faithful, we will ultimately
persevere. However, if we deny Christ, he will deny us, according to verse 12. Paul
then says, in verse 13, that if we are faithless, he remains faithful. The
faithlessness spoken of here is referring to a lack of saving faith, not to
weak or struggling faith. Unbelievers will ultimately deny Christ, and “as
faithful as Jesus is to save those who believe in him, he is equally faithful
to judge those who do not. To act any other way would be inconsistent with his
holy, unchangeable nature.”[2] This is why it is crucial
for us as the church to live as good soldiers of the Lord, allowing God to work
in and through us in bringing the lost to him. Our battle is not against the
lost but for Christ to make himself known to them through us. Yes, we will face
difficulties. If we are not facing difficulties, something is wrong; all
believers are guaranteed to face trials. Yes, we will have to fight and
struggles and toil. Is it worth it though? Absolutely because it is not for us
but for a greater cause. We are living for something bigger than ourselves, and
his name is Jesus Christ whom we must remember and serve as faithful soldiers.
A good soldier remains faithful no matter how difficult the road is. Remain
faithful, and remember his glory.
My
dog is faithful to me. It could easily be seen as a very unhealthy
relationship. Yes, I love my dog very much, but her love for me is what is
amazing. In fact, I often think that God desires our hearts toward him to be
what a dog’s is toward us. My dog lives to please me. Every waking moment for
her is to make sure she knows I am loved by her. Someone else could offer her
the entire world, and she would not care because she is faithful to me. She
doesn’t care what kind of house I live in, how much money I make, or what kind
of car I drive as long as I come home to her every day and give her a little
affection. We must be faithful to God no matter what the world offers us or
does to us, no matter how difficult things get, and no matter what the cost.
Being a good soldier of the Lord requires faithfulness.
Conclusion
We
have seen three imperatives of a good soldier: 1) suffering for the glory of
God, 2) remembering the goal in Christ Jesus, and 3) remaining faithful. We
must each ask ourselves if we fit this description of a good soldier. If not,
we must ask the Lord himself to work in our hearts and lives in making us more
like him and in making us good sufferers, people who remember him and run with
steadfastness toward the prize in him, and people who remain faithful to his
cause. As the hymn says, “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold…I’d rather
be faithful to his dear cause.” When that is our heart’s cry, then and only
then will we be good soldiers of the Lord.
