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."