A SOLDIER OF CHRIST?
“No one serving as a soldier
entangles himself with the affairs of this life,
so that he might please the one enlisting* him”
2 TIMOTHY 2:4 (LITV)
Great is the need for soldiers of Christ in our land these days. The degree to which His people are free to serve Him is relative to their entanglement with the affairs of this world. The affairs of this world are many and far reaching; employment, social clubs, politics and connections and commitments of time to a myriad of other things. Men need to provide for their families but that does not include excesses or many of the things that our society considers “essentials”.
The CALL of God is calling us out of this world. We are not here to become entangled in the politics of this world. Paul and the Apostles lived in a day where literally thousands of Christians were being murdered savagely, systematically and mercilessly for entertainment! Yet not once did the Apostles mention these things in terms of political involvement for the Kingdom of God is NOT of this world. We are called by name* (see note below) OUT of this world to please and serve Him. We must order our steps rightly so we do not become encumbered by debt thereby forcing us to be servants to the financial institutions of this world.
“No one serving as a soldier entangles themselves”. This is a statement not a teaching. If we are entangled, we are not free to be soldiers of Christ. Jesus said that we cannot “serve God and Mammon”. We are to be faithful to provide for our families and others in the Body of Christ but never to the point that we are unable to fully serve our King. The Body of Christ has been exposed to the horror of a “Gospel of Prosperity”; a lie from the pit of hell itself. Worldly men teach God’s people to embrace the things of this world, love the things of this world and strive for them because God wants us to be wealthy! He has called us OUT of this World not into it.
“Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him”
1JOHN 2:15
Multitudes of Christians are caught up in politics and current events while His house is anemic and scattered. So many expend their emotions, time and money into the “saving” of America or some other country’s way of life rather than being the Light that speaks of HIS KINGDOM.
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:
if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight,
that I should not be delivered to the Jews:
but now is my kingdom not from hence”
JOHN 18:36
The Army that God has called us to is not a carnal one and does not seek by carnal means to change the spiritual condition of a nation; it will not resort to carnal weapons and anger! The weapons of His Army are Light, Goodness, Forgiveness, Mercy, Truth and Love. These are the weapons that no army on earth can contend with. Those who know of the coming Kingdom of God need not concern themselves with the strategies and politics of men. We are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be defeated for it is Eternal, Spiritual and Real. This army knows no particular race. It is free from the creeds and doctrines of men for it is founded in Him, sustained by Him and His Soldiers are obedient to His commands. They hear ONLY His Voice and they will not follow another.
The CALL is going forth in this hour. Who will answer Him from the depth of his heart “send me” (Isa. 6:8)? It is in the occupation of serving Him that men CHOOSE to be untangled from this world. Love brings men and women to choices; men love what they serve and they serve what they love.
“And that sown into the thorns is this:
the one hearing the Word,
and the anxiety of this age, and the deceit of riches,
choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful”
MATTHEW 13:22 (LITV)
Love is the only motive that will enable us to respond truthfully and rightly to the CALL.
Ω
In heaven we shall appear,
not in armour, but in robes of glory.
But here these are to be worn night and day;
we must walk, work, and sleep in them,
or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.
William Gurnall
*NOTE: στρατολογέω (4758) (stratologeo from stratos = warfare/army + lego = in this instance lego means “to be chosen”) primarily means to gather or select as a warrior or choose to be a soldier and is used here in the active verb participle form to describe the soldier’s commander calling him by name into this Army.
Brian Troxel
www.aword.info
