The GOOD SOLDIER-I—2Timothy 2:1-3(:1-4)
Attention:
Twila Paris’—‘What Did He Die For’...
*Read 1st part regarding soldier.*
What Did He Die For
Twila Paris
He was twenty-one in 1944
He was hope & he was courage on a lonely shore
Sent there by a mother with love beyond her tears
Just a young American who chose to rise above his fears
And as I watch him struggle up that hill
Without a thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder...
What did he die for?
When he died for you & me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside & ask the question...
What did he die for?
When he died for me...
********************
To the darkest day in A.D. 33
Came the mercy & compassion of eternity
Sent there by a Father with love beyond His tears
Blameless One, the only Son to bear the guilt of all these years
And as I watch Him struggle up that hill
Without a thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder...
What did He die for?
When He died for you & me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside & ask the question...
What did he die for?
He died for freedom
He died for love
And all the things we do to pay Him back
Could never be enough...
What did He die for?
When He died for you & me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside & ask the question...
What did he die for?
When He died for me.
Need:
“It is foolish & wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”—Gen. George S. Patton(1940’s)
“We who are left, how shall we look again happily on the sun or feel the rain,
Without remembering how...
They who went ungrudgingly & spent their lives for us...Loved, too, the sun & rain?”—Wilfred Wilson Gibson, Lament(1916)
The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.”—Thomas Campbell, Stanzas(1808)
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."—President Thomas Jefferson(mid-late 1700’s - early 1800’s)
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”—Tertullian(~200AD-early Church father).
Tertullian attended the games where gladiators killed each other & criminals were eaten alive by beasts, merely for the enjoyment of the spectators. He also witnessed Christians being executed that same way. He was struck with the courage with which these slaves—men & even little slave girls—faced a hideous death. After investigating, Tertullian himself became a Christian, & turned to writing in defense of this despised & victimized group.
Paul encouraged Timothy to answer the personal commitment that he was to give to his calling in Christ Jesus, as a good soldier.
And so,
The level of commitment needed, for a believer to fulfill their calling in Christ, is comparable to that of a good soldier.
BUT...
What rules does a ‘good soldier’ live by?
1—The good soldier of Christ lives & dies by the rule of...
STRENGTH(:1)
:1—“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
Paul had just informed Timothy of those who had failed him personally(1:15) & of the one who had “refreshed him”, namely Onesiphorus(1:16-18).
So, Paul, in revealing the extremes of acceptance & opposition from those closest to us, calls Timothy to “be strong.” Timothy’s strength is centered in & can be found or rediscovered “in the grace” that is found “in Christ Jesus.”
BUT...
?Why is “strength” found in “grace?”...
Because: Only by God’s loving “graciousness”, is He able to receive you to Himself. He accomplishes that thru your personal faith in what He “graciously” offers—that is Christ Himself. So only by that faith is any person enabled to do what God calls you(the faithful believer) to be involved in. That kind of “strength” is found in the rightful employment of God’s “grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
AND...
?Why is such “STRENGTH” needed by the believer?.....
.....Spiritual “Strength” is needed to OVERCOME the world’s deceptive influence & pull upon each of us.
—WORDS—
“Strong”—endunamow—To be strong, endue with strength, strengthen; To receive strength, be strengthened, increase in strength.
2—The good soldier of Christ lives & dies by the rule of...
The TEAM(:2)
:2—“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Those “things” that Timothy had “heard” from Paul—as an apostle—& publicly declared before many others, Timothy is to likewise entrust to others—who themselves are capable of relaying them in their proper context(spirit, boldness, factuality, etc.).
Paul’s good news must be shared. Paul’s ‘gospel’ must be shared in a fitting manner by fitting people. The legacy of a pastor or any Christian for that matter, is to be carried forth in the fullness of God’s intent.
•The Gospel or Good News in Christ Jesus, is NOT to be carried forth in the limitations brought on thru what people’s fleshly desires or what they might ‘WANT TO’ hear!
•As my pastor in seminary used to say, “You’ve gotta get your ‘want to’ fixed!”
No one except yourself, is meant for the specific & particular purposes that God has created you for!
•BUT you must also see & apply yourself as part of God’s TEAM—His warriors, His ground forces, His naval forces, His Marines, His Air Forces, His forces of Advancement, & Defense, & Rescue!
—WORDS—
“Be Able/Competent/Qualified”—ikanov—1) Sufficient—1a) Many enough, enough, 1b) Sufficient in ability, i.e. Meet, Fit. Strong—Competent(as if coming in season), i.e. Ample(in amount) or Fit(in character).
3—The good soldier of Christ lives & dies by the rule of...
ENDURANCE(:3)
Explanation: (:3)Sufferance
:3—“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
IF Timothy is to “be strong” in God’s “grace” that is found “in Christ Jesus”(:1), & also faithfully multiply the truths of Christian faith thru faithful men who will faithfully replicate it as teachers & liv-ers of it(:2), THEN Timothy “must(Gk.-imperative) endure hardship.”
The command to commit oneself to continual “endurance” is necessary for the multiplication & furtherance of the Gospel.
It is imperative to “endure hardship” in suffering thru the ‘constraints’ of the faith, while living in the midst of a world that is largely lost to heaven!
The faithful of God’s people receive their ‘battle stripes’ as a result of the scars received in spiritual battle! Such scars—physical, emotional, mental, & spiritual—strengthen the family of God toward endurance.
The believer is a soldier “of Jesus”(‘Savior’) who is the “Christ”(‘Anointed One’...the Messiah—Promised of God for the deliverance of His people).
•NOT ONLY is every believer a “soldier”, but he/she is expected to be a certain QUALITY of “soldier.” He is expected to be a “good” “soldier.”
This statement in Scripture, that is meant for Christian entreaty, urgency, & encouragement, tells us that both possibilities— “good” & ‘bad’ soldiers—exist within the body of Christ!.....AND it tells us that the ‘BAD’ “soldier” CAN & SHOULD be overcome!
It is necessary that a believer in Christ submit him/herself to all that is bound up in willingly taking on the role of soldier(at the moment of decision regarding salvation) so that he/she will be a “good soldier.” The Christian must take his new life seriously, & never flippantly!
—WORDS—
“Must endure hardship”—kakopayew—V. Aorist Active Imperative-2nd Sing.—1) To suffer (endure) evils (hardships, troubles); 2) To be afflicted Strong—To undergo hardship:-- Be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble.
“Good”—kalov—Beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable.
“Soldier”—stratiwthv—A (common)soldier; A champion of the cause of Christ. Strong—A camper-out, i.e. A (common) warrior (literally or figuratively):-- Soldier.
Argumentation:
Mat. 13:18-23—Parable of the Soils—We cannot be like the rocky soil...receptive yet reserved... ‘Fire insurance salvation’ is no salvation at all!—We cannot be a “good” soldier while receiving the Gospel flippantly, or indifferently, or lightly, or reservedly, or ‘just in case’!...Our service to God cannot take 2nd place to anything else!
1Cor. 9:19-27—“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; & to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body & bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
Mat. 10:21-22—““Now brother will deliver up brother to death, & a father his child; & children will rise up against parents & cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
•Many of you here today, have raised, or are in the midst of raising, your children to know the Lord Jesus Christ. That requires ENDURANCE! Why?....Because there is no guarantee that being raised properly, will ensure their acceptance of Jesus as their Lord!
Js. 1:2-4—“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect & complete, lacking nothing.”
2Tim. 4:1-7—“I charge you therefore before God & the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living & the dead at His appearing & His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season & out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering & teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; & they will turn their ears away from the truth, & be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, & the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Jer. 17:7-8[Ps. 1:3]—““Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Illustration:
*No military training teaches you that there is a time to ‘give up’!....
Rather, our military personnel are taught different strategies for different situations, so that the war will be won! ENDURANCE!
USMC Sgt. Darhonda Rodela says, “The best time is when you get that Eagle, Globe & Anchor & they’re telling you ‘You’re a Marine now.”....“Its about pushing yourself that extra mile when you know you can’t go any more.” ENDURANCE
Application:
?As a Good Soldier of Christ, have YOU followed the rule of ENDURANCE?
?Are YOU a good soldier of Jesus Christ?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Read 2nd PART of Twila Paris’, ‘What Did He Die For’ highlighting Christ.
Action:
The good soldier of Christ lives & dies by the rules of...
1. STRENGTH(:1)
2. The TEAM(:2)
3. ENDURANCE(:3)
Pnt#s 1-3 Presented 05/25/2025am(Memorial Day) to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Road
Bennettsville, SC 29512
Presented 05/26/2013am(Memorial Day) to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Presented 05/29/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
