The Good Soldier-2(2025)

The GOOD SOLDIER-II—2Timothy 2:4(:1-4)

Attention:

Twila Paris’—‘What Did He Die For’...

*Last week we read the first part regarding the WW-II soldier...*

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...

****************************

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 blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”—Tertullian(~200AD-early Church father).

In verses :1-4 we find that:

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?

Last week we found that:

The good soldier of Christ lives & dies by the rules of...

1. STRENGTH(:1)

2. The TEAM(:2)

3. ENDURANCE(:3)

TODAY, we’ll find that:

4—The good soldier of Christ ALSO lives & dies by the rule of...

ENGAGEMENT(:4a)

Explanation:(:4a)Total Involvement/Focus/Immersion

:4a—“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life,...”

The active “soldier’s” contact with civilian life is tangible, but distant &/or secondary.

Admirably, the “soldier’s” very life is lived to win & protect the freedoms of civilian life for others.

Therefore, by virtue of the fact that soldiers are enlisted, they cannot live by the same privileges civilians!

The good soldier does not “entangle” him/herself “with the affairs of” civilian “life.” True soldiers,...good soldiers,...are instead fully focused on their engagement in “warfare.”

Being involved in civilian life is a HINDRANCE to the commitment of the soldier’s calling to a military focus that is both defensive & offensive!

Any useful military system is ‘somewhat’ autonomous, in that it has its own support systems, regulations, & court system.

A soldier is considered ‘military’ until the point of the military’s ‘officially sanctioned’ release of said soldier.

•The soldier may experience an ‘off duty’ status, by & within the declarations of military authority. YET, in that context, though they may walk among civilians, soldiers are never considered civilian. They are still under military authority. Soldiers under military authority can be called out at any moment for immediate service.

•GOOD soldiers are all-in!

1)NEGATIVELY, If a soldier gets caught up(“entangles”) in civilian pursuits, it is due to gross personal negligence of their military duty! Such choices are the “soldier’s” own, & they will answer to the highest military authorities!

2)POSITIVELY, The “good soldier” never seeks civilian pursuits, because the military is their career. He/She is thus clearly focused & committed. The “good soldier” finds everything necessary for life, within the confines of the military(work, food, shelter, family, brotherhood, friends, etc.).

—WORDS—

“Engaged in warfare/Warreth/Serving as a soldier”—strateuomai—Present Middle Participle - Nominative Sing. Masc.—1)To make a military expedition, To lead soldiers to war or to battle; 2)To do military duty, be on active service; 3)To fight. Strong—middle voice from the base of stratia[camp-likeness, i.e. an army, i.e. figuratively--The angels, the celestial luminaries]; To serve in a military campaign; figuratively--To execute the apostolate(with its arduous duties & functions), to contend with carnal inclinations. Used 7X.

“Entangles/Entagleth/Gets involved”—emplekw—Perfect Passive Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To inweave; 1) of a thing--To entangle, involve in. Strong—To entwine, i.e. figuratively--Involve with. Used 2X--2Tim. 2:4; 2Pet. 2:20.?From—en—1) In, by, with etc.. Strong—a primary preposition denoting (fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).—&—plekw—To twine or braid; a primary word.

“Affairs”—pragmateia—Noun Dative Plural Fem.—1) Prosecution of any affair—1a) Business, occupation. Strong—A transaction, i.e. negotiation. Used 1X--2Tim. 2:4. English = ‘pragmatic’.?From—pragmateuomai—To busy oneself with, i.e. To trade. From--pragma—A deed; by implication--An affair; by extension--An object(material).

“Life”—biov—Noun Genitive Sing. Masc.—1) Life—1a) Life extensively—1a1) The period or course of life, 1b) That by which life is sustained, resources, wealth, goods. biov denotes the period, means, manner, of existence. Hence biov is more naturally used of animal, & zwh of men; zoology, biography. NT usage exalts zwh & tends to debase biov. Strong—Life, i.e. literally--The present state of existence; by implication--The means of livelihood; a primary word. Used 11X.