Soldier of Christ

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—

for he cannot deny himself.

In 2 Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy, who is a young pastor. Paul has been mentoring Timothy on how to teach God's gospel. In chapter 2, Paul tells Timothy he must be like a soldier, farmer, and an athlete. Paul's teaching applies to all of us in our faith not only young leaders like Timothy. We are to suffer like a soldier, work hard like a farmer, and train like an athlete.

God is using his people to build an army to spread the good news of His grace. For us to be his army, we must be his soldiers. And like soldiers we will endure some of the most traumatic casualties of the war we are in. Like a soldier comes home from a battle with new wounds, we will return from spiritual warfare with missing limbs. There should be signs that we have just been through war. Our hearts might be broken for those we lost. God has called us to suffer in order for the gospel to be proclaimed.

Like an athlete doesn't get his gold unless he has trained vigorously and competes according to the rules, we must train our minds with the word of Christ so that we will be prepared for the battle. Like an Olympic athlete changes their entire life to train for their sport, we are to alter our lives from how we want to live to train for what God has for us. We must be prepared for anything and everything. And we are to be like the farmer that works so hard to raise his crops. We must be willing to work so hard so we can see the harvest of the Lord. It is our job to plant the seed in men and through prayer water it, and then God will cause them to grow. 

Paul tells Timothy there is lots to prepare for in order to live in Christ, but he reminds him that he can do all of this because of Jesus Christ, who died for the gospel that Paul preaches. Because Jesus died and now lives in us, we can do all of these things. The way Paul ends this section is beautiful and poetic. "If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

Don't Waste Time with Dumb Fights

Titus 3:9-11

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

In Titus 3:9-11, Paul is writing to Titus, his brother in Christ. Throughout the letter Paul is preparing for teaching God's people. In the first chapter, Paul lays out the qualifications of church elders. In chapter two, He tells Titus to be sure he is teaching true sound doctrine. And in the third and final chapter, Paul is telling Titus to be prepared for the good work of the Lord. He wants to emphasize to Titus that it wasn't the good works of man that will spread salvation, but it is the grace of God that will proclaim the gospel. 

Paul goes on in verse 9 telling Titus to not get involved in meaningless arguments over trite issues. These quarrels are serving no purpose. People may come into the church with the intent to destroy the church body. They will do saw by riling up meaningless fights between the people of the church. If the church is not strong in their faith, this will probably destroy them. So we must be sure that the leaders of our churches are teaching what is right and true. We must know what our doctrine says about what we believe in order for us to stand strong in our faith. If we our not grounded in sound doctrine, we will be easily swayed to believe anything else.

If any church members stir up these pointless debates with the intention of killing the church, must be dealt with. Paul's instruction to Titus is warn them, but after having done so one or two times, to cut them off and have nothing to do with them. You have done all you can do and it is now time to allow God to throw the hammer down on them and break their heart. We must know that a person who is this corrupt is warped and in sin, they have condemned themselves if they are unwilling to repent.

Don't Be a Judgey Judger

Romans 14:1-12

English Standard Version (ESV)

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2  One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4  Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

In Romans 14 Paul is commanding us to not pass judgement upon one another because we are not righteous judges. In the first verses, he says that in dealing with someone of weak faith, it is important to welcome them and not argue with them for the sake of arguing. By weak in faith, Paul can be referring to new Christians or perhaps believers whose faith had been under attack. We must not pass judgement on those that we feel are below us. Verse 3 tells us that we are all the same and welcomed by God. So we are all believers and no one is better than his brother.

Who are we to pass judgement on the servant of another master? We are nobodies. We are all servants under the same master. We all serve the same God. The Lord is the only just judge. Because of the fact that we serve the Master, in everything we do, we must do in honor and thanksgiving to God. We cannot live in selfishness to ourselves. We live and die for Christ.

And we will all stand before the same Judgement before the throne of God. Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." Paul is telling us that in the end, we all bow to Him and be judged ourselves. We all will have to give an account to God for all the times when our faith is weak. 

We Are Young and Have Lots to Learn

1 Timothy 5:17-22

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”¹⁹ Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁰ As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. ²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. ²²  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

1 Timothy 5:17-22 deal with churches having their leaders abusing their authorities and needing to be rebuked. Paul begins by speaking to Timothy about how the elders who lead the church need to be cared for in compensation for their teachings. Even though much of the time, Paul would work in order to not be a financial burden to the churches he visited. But he also says it is important for the church to show their support and love for their teachers by providing basic needs for them. Paul quotes what Jesus said in Luke 10:7, "...for the laborer deserves his wages." Our elders work hard in teaching us the word of God and they deserve to be taken care of.

In verse 20, Paul says that in order for the church to hold to what the bible says, they must be able to discipline church members and church leaders who are in sin. Falling into temptation and sinning is different that continually and knowingly sinning against what we know God has said. And the church needs to handle these two different kinds of sin differently. You do not want the foundation of the church leaders to be in question due to a leader living in continual sin. We also don't want the church to be condoning such sin. We must properly handle the situation. 

So it is important for the leadership of the church to be held accountable for their actions and also to be cared for in times of need. Paul tries to make it clear that the qualification for elders need to meet. He instructed Timothy to not elect these leaders hastily but with much consideration and testing. Paul stressed these principles to Timothy so hard because Timothy was a very young church leader. As a young leader, it was difficult for Timothy to stand up against sin and remain pure. Being young leaders in today's society and culture, it is of equal importance to understand what Paul was teaching to Timothy.

One Gospel

Galatians 1:6-10

English Standard Version (ESV)

No Other Gospel

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[a] of Christ.

In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he tells them to not be swayed by any kind of false gospel. Paul says that he is astonished that the people are turning Christ who saved them by grace to false gospels. He is disgusted at the mere thought of that happening. But this happens to us just like it did back then. When we allow our worship to be pulled away from the glory of God, we are being baited to a different gospel. But this was happening a lot in the Galatian church, there were men coming in and preaching a false gospel. Paul is amazed that this happening and the people are being swayed. 

Paul is deeply concerned about the people. He must be thinking, "How can be so blind? The sheep are being led to the slaughter!" He loved them so much; his heart just broke for them as they let themselves be led to sin. Paul tells the people that even if an angel appeared before you and presented you a gospel not of Christ, then it is false and work of the devil. We must know when to question what is being preached to us. 

He asks, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?" If a false gospel is being preached, then that preacher is looking only for the approval of man. Christ will find glory in a gospel that glorifies Him. Anyone who strives to please man cannot be a servant of Christ.

Let Him Who is Not Willing to Work Starve Then

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

English Standard Version (ESV)

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command:If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, butbusybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^[a]
13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵  Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul warns us about those who have become idle. These people were doing nothing to benefit their families or anyone, they were just plain lazy. Since we, as Christians, have received the gospel it is our responsibility to live accordingly to the gospel. We must make sure we don't become sluggish and fall to idleness. Paul even tells that if anyone among us is walking in idleness, we are to separate ourselves from them. 

Paul was traveling with Timothy and Silvanus, and he wanted the church of the Thessalonians to understand that while they were with them they were just living lavishly. They did not eat any meal without paying for it, but instead they worked hard day and night so they would not be a burden. They wanted to be good examples of how the people should act with each other. 

He goes on to say in verse 10, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." There were men among them who were living in idleness, they would not do their own work but they would continuously meddle in the work of others. Paul calls says they are not busy, but they are busybodies. He encourages us to do their work quietly, without complaint, and earn their own living. 

So we cannot grow weary when we are the ones that are working diligently and quietly. We must remember that our reward is in heaven and not on this earth. We must not become hateful towards our brothers who are in idleness. We should cut them off and pray for them, but we should not consider them an enemy, but we should do so in a way to love our brother.

Bearing Burdens

Galatians 6:1-5

English Standard Version (ESV)

Bear One Another's Burdens

6 Brothers,^[a] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ²  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ³ For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.⁴ But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. ⁵ For each will have to bear his own load.

Galatians 6 is such a refreshing piece of scripture to read. In it Paul tells us that if our brother is caught in transgressions, we are to lift them up. We are to help one another bear our burdens. But we shouldn't bear with each other so we can raise ourselves up over them. When we do this in self-gratification, we are deceiving ourselves to think we are honoring God. We don't help others for a good public image. We are there for people out of love and because Christ first loved us. We are commanded in Leviticus 19:18, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So as we would seek help in our seasons of hardship, we need to be there for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our hearts must be adjusted when caring for each other's burdens, if our hearts are working out of selfishness, we aren't showing true God-inspired love.

Paul also tells us of the hardships one must bear on their own. In verse 3 he says  to let each one test his own work, and then he will know he could overcome it without his neighbor's help. Because although we are to bear each other's burdens, it is still up to the individual's responsibility to overcome the burden. So we can only help so much, but the overall outcome is based on the one we are helping.