Introduction: The apostle Paul speaking to Timothy, tells him to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Paul made much mention regarding the things of a soldier. Often, he compared himself and other Christians to a soldier.
Philippians 2:25- “Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Ephaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.”
Philemon 1-2- “Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house”.
A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ Must:
Endures Hardness– vs 3 “Thou therefore endure hardness”. To endure means to remain, to abide, to suffer without yielding. A good soldier stands with the other soldiers and suffers the hardships of this world with them. The Christian life is not always going to be easy.II Corinthians 11:21-28 Paul knew about being a soldier of Jesus Christ. He endured hardness, persecutions, afflictions- nothing compared to what we’ve had to endure. Don’t complain when this Christian life gets difficult- endure hardness. If you are to endure, you cannot: be weak, give up, lay behind, give into the enemy, cannot reject our Captain- II Tim 1:8.
Engage in War– vs 4 “No man that warreth”. A good soldier that is engaged in the war knows who his enemy is. The people that are in this room right now are not your enemy. This war that we are fighting is against the devil, the flesh, and the world- those are your enemies.
- Devil- I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”.
- Flesh- Romans 7:15-25 “O wretched man that I am!”
- World- I John 2:15 “Love not the world”.
- Soldiers Epitaph- Here lies a good soldier whom all will applaud: He fought many battles as home and abroad: but the hottest engagements he ever was in Was the conquest of self in the battle of sin.
- Not Get Entangled – vs 4 “entangleth himself with”. When you become entangled, you become twisted together. A Pastor once said, “it’s like going through a spider web, you know you have been entangled.” Hebrews 12:1 “let us lay aside every weight”. We must travel light, we cannot afford to be weighted down with unnecessary burdens that will hamper our ability to serve in the war. Job, mortgages, debts, friends, will get in the way of serving God effectively as a good soldier.
Don’t get Entangled by:
- By Being Comfortable Living in pleasure
- Seeking possessions Focusing upon this life
- Making more money Covet a certain position
- Please His Commander– vs 4 “please him who hath chosen him”.
- When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are chosen by God to serve as a soldier in the Lord’s army and you must please Jesus Christ- our commander.
God is pleased when:
You Obey Him- Acts 5:40-42
You Walk in the Spirit- Romans 8:8
You Preach The Gospel- I Thessalonians 2:4
Conclusion: As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, we must Endure Hardness, Engage in War, Not get Entangled, Please his Commander.
Anchor Baptist Church 