Memorial Day is tomorrow, and this morning I’m going to be sharing from a message I’ve entitled “Lessons from a Soldier.” So, let me get started by sharing a brief history of Memorial Day. “In 1868, General John A. Logan, then president of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that May 30th would be a day to ‘decorate with flowers the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.’ After World War I, the day was set aside to honor all of the American wars, and the custom was extended to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian.”(1)
On Memorial Day we pay our respects to all who are dear to us. Some of us will honor fallen soldiers. Others will remember soldiers who survived war, or who completed their term in the military to go on and live long and productive lives, and in old age have now gone home to be with the Lord. At Memorial Day we also honor our men and women who are presently active in the military. Others will remember non-military loved ones, and close family members and friends who have passed away.
Though we seek to remember and honor both military and civilians on Memorial Day, I want to take some time this morning to consider those in the military. The reasons why, is because we have much to learn from our military men and women who have surrendered their lives to fight for our country’s freedom; things that can be applied to our walk with the Lord and the Christian fight. So, I want to encourage you to listen closely as I share five insights from the Scripture; ones which relate to the character of our military men and women; and our first passage will be Psalm 18:31-35:
Called and Equipped to Fight (Psalm 18:31-35)
31 For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places. 34 He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.
In these verses, David said that he had been equipped by God to fight. In verse 33, we read, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” This verse can also be translated that God had “armed him with valor” and had given “integrity” to his life.(2) The Lord had also “given him a firm and careful stance in secure spots – literally like the feet of a doe. He has taught him how to do battle, given him the protection of divine deliverance, made him firm with His own right hand, and [He] has made the king great . . . Thus, trained and made able, the king experienced notable victories, which he proceeds to describe”(3) in the verses which immediately follow.
Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, “The images in these verses reveal God developing a great warrior, a compassionate leader, and a godly man . . . Because David trusted God, God enabled him to run, leap, fight and defeat the enemy. He could run through a troop, scale a wall, or leap like a deer up the mountains. This is not a glorification of war, for God trained him to fight His battles and protect Israel so they could accomplish His purposes on earth. David did not invade other countries just to add territory to his kingdom.”(4)
Insight #1 is this: Our military men and women realize they have been called and equipped to fight. And in the Christian walk, we too have been called and equipped to fight spiritual battles. We read in Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” – and if we continue reading the passage, we are told of the specific pieces of the armor that we must take up and wear. Let’s now turn to our next passage, which is Matthew 10:34-38:
Fighting is Necessary for Freedom (Matthew 10:34-38)
34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
A. T. Robertson says that this passage describes a “hurling of the sword where peace was expected.” He states that “Christ does bring peace” but not in the form “of compromise with evil, but of conquest over wrong, over Satan – the triumph of the cross. Meanwhile, there will be inevitable division in families, in communities, in states. It is not namby-pamby sentimentalism that Christ preaches, not peace at any price. The cross is Christ’s answer to the devil’s offer of compromise in world dominion. For Christ the kingdom of God is virile righteousness, not mere emotionalism.”(5)
Charles Spurgeon, known as the Prince of Preachers, had this to say about Matthew 10:34-38: “Peace will be the ultimate issue of our Lord’s coming; but, at the [start], the Lord Jesus sends a sword among men . . . Truth provokes opposition, purity excites enmity, and righteousness arouses all the forces of wrong . . . We are to expect this, and not to be put about by it when it occurs . . . We are to press on in confessing the Lord Jesus, come what may of it. Even if our house becomes a den of lions to us, we must stand up for our Lord. The peace-at-any-price people have no portion in this kingdom.”(6)
Insight #2 is this: Our military men and women realize that fighting is absolutely necessary to obtain freedom. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression that “freedom isn’t free.” This is so true, for it comes at high price, and it comes through conflict and battle. The same thing is true in bringing about spiritual freedom. People will fight us to keep their vices and worldly pleasures; even the members of our own family. Yet, we must put on “the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17), sharing the message of salvation in Christ; and we must take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:12) that brings about conviction, and is “piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . . and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Our next passage, or verse, is 1 Timothy 6:12:
Fighting Can Also Be Good (1 Timothy 6:12)
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
“The verb [fight] means ‘keep on fighting!’ It is a word from which we get our English word ‘agonize,’ and it applies both to athletes and to soldiers. It described a person straining and giving his best to win the prize or win the battle.”(7) Insight #3 is this: Our military men and women realize that fighting is not only necessary, but good. It is good because of that for which we fight. Soldiers fight for the freedom of others! And Christians fight for people’s spiritual freedom! In Galatians, Paul reminded those who have been set free from sin, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).
Commentator William Barclay says, “The solider is conditioned to sacrifice. It most often happens that a soldier’s duty is not so much to attack the enemy as it is to put his body a living wall between the enemy and those whom he loves. His task is self-sacrifice for those whom he defends.” He continues to tell us, “The essential condition of the soldier’s life is a willingness to lay down his life for his friend.”(8) Let us not forget what our Lord said in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” As Christian soldiers, we too must be willing to lay down our life, in order to save our friends from becoming spiritual casualties or prisoners of war.
The “U.S. Armed Forces Code of Conduct” is an ethics guide and a United States Department of Defense directive consisting of six articles charged to members of the United States Armed Forces; and I want to share some excerpts. One part of this code states, “I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist. If I am captured . . . I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape.”(9) As Christians, we too must never surrender our brothers to the enemy; and we must make every effort to help them escape the depths of hell. This means that we must be ready to fight the good fight of faith; the one which leads to eternal life in Christ. Let’s now turn to our next passage, which is 2 Timothy 2:3-4:
A Good Soldier Is Committed (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Allow me to share two observations about these verses by commentator William Barclay. First, he says, “The soldier’s service must be a concentrated service. Once a man has enlisted on a campaign he can no longer entangle and involve himself in the ordinary daily business of life and living. He must concentrate on his service as a soldier . . . [Likewise], a Christian must concentrate on his Christianity. That does not mean that he must engage on no worldly task or business. He must still live in this world, and he must still make a living; but it does mean that he must use whatever task he is engaged upon to live out and to demonstrate his [faith in Christ].”(10)
Secondly, he says, “The solider is conditioned to obedience. The early training of a soldier is designed to make him instinctively and unquestioningly obey the word of command . . . There is a sense in which it is true, that it is no part of the soldier’s duty ‘to know the reason why’ . . . The decisions, he must leave to the commander who sees the whole field of battle. The first Christian duty is obedience to the voice of God, and acceptance even of that which he cannot understand.”(11)
There is a good example of obedience, in Matthew chapter 8, verse 9, in what the Roman Centurion said to Jesus. He replied, “For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” It was the Centurion’s recognition of Christ’s authority, and his faith in the spiritual chain of command, that led him to seeing his paralyzed servant healed.
Insight #4 is this: Our military men and women realize that a good soldier must be one hundred percent committed in order to win; in order to see victory! And likewise, a believer must be careful not to backslide and fall away in the faith, or become distracted by worldly pursuits, if he or she ever hopes to please the Father. Another part of the “U.S. Armed Forces Code of Conduct” states, “I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.”(12) If believers could be that dedicated to their Commander, then the Christian army would be unstoppable! Let’s now turn to our final passage, which is 2 Timothy 4:7-8:
A Soldier Is Faithful unto Death (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
In reference to these verses, commentator William Barclay says, “The soldier is conditioned to loyalty. When the Roman soldier joined the army, he took the sacramentum, the oath of loyalty to his Emperor . . . The supreme soldier’s virtue is that he is faithful unto death. The Christian too must be loyal to Jesus Christ, through all the chances and the changes of life, down even to the gates of death.”(13)
Insight #5 is this: Our military men and women understand that once a soldier, always a soldier unto death – semper fi. Semper Fi is the motto of every Marine; short for Semper Fidelis, which is Latin for “Always Faithful.” Another part of the “U.S. Armed Forces Code of Conduct” states, “I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense. I will never surrender of my own free will . . . I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.”(14)
In verse 8, Paul said, “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” “The word for ‘crown’ is stephanos – the victor’s crown.”(15) This was the laurel wreath of the victorious athlete; but Paul expected something more glorious, which was “the crown of righteousness.” We must serve as a Christian soldier who is unafraid to give our life for the sake of the kingdom if we wish to obtain the crown of righteousness. We read in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Time of Reflection
Each of the insights I have shared this morning demonstrate the deep character found in our military men and women; and should serve as an inspiration to grow strong in our Christian character and in our willingness to fight for the souls of men. So many of us will attend church and sing, “Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war; with the cross of Jesus going on before,” and yet we cower before the world; and thus, we flee before our enemy, the devil. Freedom isn’t free; therefore, the church needs to get over its aversion to war, and join in the spiritual fight!
In addressing pastors who have watered down their messages to appease the crowd, evangelist Mario Murillo says, “God help you ministers who weakened millions of Christians off the battlefield at America’s darkest hour . . . You could have fielded an army, but chose instead to send the sheep home grinning under the glow of false hope and undetected apathy . . . The good news is that God is looking for a few good men and women. He can take a nation back with a handful of sold out, rightly fitted soldiers. [It’s] time to sing ‘there’s an army rising up,’ not with wispy emotion, but life and death conviction.”(16)
“The following graffiti poem was written on a wall in New York City: ‘God and the soldier doth all men adore in time of war and not before; when the war is over and all things righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.’ Believe it or not, this poem was written on January 30, 1770, and was signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot . . . Memorial Day is one way that our nation insures that not one of its service members or their families is slighted, and that God is never forgotten . . . This Memorial Day, let us make the time to honor those heroic Americans who laid down their lives for their friends.”(17) And let us never forget our Savior who laid down His life on the cross to pay the price for our sins, so that we might find spiritual freedom and have spiritual life.
NOTES
(1) David Whitten, “Every Sunday is a Memorial Day,” Sermon Central: www.sermoncentral.com (Accessed May 2003).
(2) John I Durham, “Psalms,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol 4 (Nashville, TN: Broadman, 1971), p. 205.
(3) Ibid., p. 205.
(4) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete Old Testament in One Volume,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 895.
(5) A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1930), pp. 83-84.
(6) Charles Spurgeon, “Spurgeon’s Commentary on Matthew,” Power BibleCD (Bronson, MI: Online Publishing, Inc., 2007).
(7) Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989), p. 236.
(8) William Barclay, “The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon,” The Daily Bible Study (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1960), p. 184.
(9) The Airman’s Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman, 2012), p. 1154.
(10) Barclay, p. 183.
(11) Ibid., p. 183.
(12) The Airman’s Bible, p. 1154.
(13) Barclay, p. 184.
(14) The Airman’s Bible, p. 1154.
(15) Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2, p. 255.
(16) Mario Murillo, “How We Lost So Much Ground to the Enemy,” Living Proof: https://mariomurillo.org/2018/03/how-we-lost-so-much-ground-to-the-enemy/ (Accessed May 25, 2021).
(17) Art Pace, “Remembering Our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day,” American Bible Society News: https://news.americanbible.org/blog/entry/corporate-blog/remembering-our-fallen-heroes-on-memorial-day (Accessed May 10, 2021).
