A GOOD SOLDIER

2 Timothy 2:3-4

Morning Meditation 3/16/2015

"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."

The metaphor is very appropriate. Christ is our captain, and we as soldiers have a real and standing engagement with the forces of evil without and within. (Eph. 6:11-13).

The qualifications of a good soldier of Jesus Christ are revealed in the text. First--

HE MUST BE ACCEPTED

The soldier is chosen. Not everyone is fit for a soldier, bodily defects may hinder; so moral and spiritual defects hinder from being a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Our text says, "chosen him to be a soldier."

When the Lord saved Saul of Tarsus the brethren in Jerusalem did not want to accept him because of his reputation. But the Lord said in Acts 9:15-16, "But the Lord said (to ananias) unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Parenthesis mine).

God had chosen Paul for a special work. When Paul was saved, he was ready immediately to go into the battle. Those Jews that Paul had formerly associated with did not take his conversion lightly. They were definitely ready to kill him. Next--

HE MUST BE SEPARATED

"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life" was also a rule. One cannot carry the gospel, and do it effectively, if he is involved with the affairs of this life. He must separate himself and be solely the Lord's and ready at a moments notice to go into action.

A lot is said in our day about separation. And it should be. We must separate ourselves from the world if we are going to fight the good fight of faith. Some in Paul's day though he was too separated; others thought he was not separated enough.

If there is one thing clear in the New Testament it is that we are to separate ourselves from the world. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

The best policy, when it comes to separation, is to stay as far from questionable things as is possible. Next--

HE MUST BE CONSECRATED

The phrase dealing with warfare is, "that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

The words "please him" translate "aresko" and means, "to accommodate one's self to the opinions desires and interests of others." He must be disinterested in himself and focus all his interest on the Lord Jesus. That is true consecration.

It is possible to be separated and not consecrated. Separation can make one a judge in other men's matters. Consecration will not lend itself to judgment of others but to the sole satisfying work of pleasing Jesus. Next--

HE MUST BE PERSEVERING

Paul said, "endure hardness." Jesus said, "they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." There is nothing that discourages the people of God more than to have one of their own go back into the world. Paul had this happen. He said in 2 Timothy 4:10, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia."

When people quit Church today it is usually over some minor thing that will come back to haunt them in the end. How would you like to be standing before the judgment of the saved and Jesus begin to discuss publicly why you quit a church and went to another? Remember, Paul is in the crowd as well as a multitude who died a martyrs death for their perseverance.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White