βThou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldierβ (II Tim. 2:3,4).
In the soldier it is courage and self-discipline that are important. It has been well said that the measure of a good soldier is not how much he can βgive,β but how much he can βtake,β how much he can endure β how much it takes to make him give up.
It is a sad fact that many of Godβs people simply do not want to be soldiers. They are sure that the battle for the truth can be won by βlove.β They decline to obey Godβs specific order to βfight the good fight of the faithβ (I Tim.6:12). Some even find fault with those who do stand as soldiers for Christ and wield the Sword of the Spirit in defense of the truth.
But if God does not wish us to be soldiers in the fight of the faith, why did He command us to be such in the first place, and why, in Ephesians 6:10-20, does He urge us to βbe strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,β instructing us to βPut on the whole armour of God,β naming each piece separately, so that not one might be missing? Why does He bid us to βtake the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Godβ?
Does He mean that we should put our sword in the scabbard and go on dress parade, to show what fine soldiers we are? No! We are to wield the Sword of the Spirit, βstanding against the wiles of the devilβ, and to keep standing until, βhaving done all,β we are still found βstanding.β
Four times in this passage the word βstandβ is used, and God has provided a complete armour so that we may be enabled to stand.
But there is more. A βgood soldier,β says the Apostle, is careful not to βentangle himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldierβ (II Tim. 2:4).
What a lesson! Should not we, who have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, be βgood soldiersβ for His sake, single-minded, and disentangled from the affairs of this life? source
