CHOSEN TO BE A SOLDIER

2 Tim. 2:3-5

Morning Meditation 4/17/16

“Thou 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 soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”

The word “chosen” (stratologeo) is translated by “who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” Berry’s literal translation has it, “who enrolled him as a soldier.” The ideal in translating is to have a word in the language in which you are translating that is the exact equivalent to the word that is being translated. But that is not possible in a lot of cases. In this case there is no exact equivalent. It takes a whole series of words to set forth the meaning of this one word. It is made up of two words the first of which is “stratia” which means “an army, band of soldiers.” The other word is “lego” and means “to say, to speak, to call by name. So our KJV translators say, “who hath chosen him to be a soldier” and Berry says, “who enrolled him as a soldier” and Earl White’s EXPLANATION is “who has called us by name to be a soldier, one of a band of which, he is selecting for His army.”

We are chosen to be soldiers. We are in a battle. And every Christian is serving somewhere in God’s army. Some are on the front lines and some are serving in other positions but all are in the fight. If you are not in the fight, you may need to question your understanding of the nature of Christianity.

The words in verse four, “Thou therefore endure hardness” (kakopatheo) means “the suffering of evil, i.e., trouble, distress, afflicted.” This word is made up of two words the first of which is “kakos” and means “of a bad nature, troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive.” The other word is “pathos” which means “a feeling which the mind suffers..” It is an aorist active imperative verb. The aorist tense can gather the whole of the sufferings of the soldier up into one picture like a snap shot or it can refer to a particular event. The active voice is the voice of volition which means that the soldier is not made to do this. He does it by choice. We can turn and run in the battle or we can stand and fight. The imperative mood means that it is a command and speaks of urgency. That we take our place in the battle and fight like good soldiers is urgent. God uses us to determine the outcome of the battle.

The words “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” describe something that we need to keep in mind. It is not our battle or warfare. It is his. We are his soldiers. We are a part of the army he has gathered. We are fighting the kind of battle that he has enlisted us for. It is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). The enemies are not our personal enemies but his.

The words “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life” describe commitment and singleness of purpose. The word “warreth” (strateuomai) means “to make a military expedition, to lead soldiers to war or to battle, (spoken of a commander).” It is a present tense which means “no man who keeps on going out on military expeditions.” It is not talking about taking off from work for a single fight. It is talking about a full time soldier. The word “entangeleth” (empleko) is made up of two words. The preposition “in” (en) is joined to “pleko” which means “to plait, braid, weave together.” The words “the affairs of this life” are the fabric into which the soldier’s life is not to be “in” and “to be woven together with.” The word “affairs” (pragmateia) means “the prosecution of any affair.” The idea is that a soldier is to be completely committed to his calling as a soldier and never completely committed to the things of this world.

Now how can a Christian work on a job and make a living in this world without being woven into the very garment of the affairs of this life? Well, first of all we know that what Paul is telling Timothy here does not contradict what he has said in other places. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Second, this means that though we work in this world and function in the world of that which is under the control of Satan, we are not “woven into it.” It is the same as Jesus said when he told his disciples in John 15:19: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

The words “that he may please him” is the motivation of the Christian soldier. The word “please” (Aresko) means “to accommodate oneself to the opinion’s desires and interests of others.” Jesus should ever be in our minds as we engage the enemy. It is a matter of pleasing him. What do we have to do to please him?”

First, like Enoch we must walk by faith. Hebrews 11:5-6 says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith is our obedient response to what God says. Faith does not come up with it own ideas to believe. Faith believes God’s ideas and his ideas are revealed in his Word. Remember the definition of the word “please.” It is an accommodation of oneself to the opinions and desires and interests of Jesus.

Then we must not draw back because of the pain that obedience to him causes. Hebrews 10:38 says, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” He is not talking here in Hebrews about drawing back to perdition (see verse 39), he is speaking of drawing back in the walk of faith. Drawing back displeases God. Demas drew back (2 Tim. 4:10). This displeased God. John Mark drew back and this displeased God (Acts 15:37-38).

I am afraid too many Christians think that God has called them to be executives to sit behind a desk. That may be how you make a living but God has called us to be a “good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Last of all Paul tells Timothy: verse 5 says, “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.” The word “lawfully” (nomimos) means “lawfully, agreeable to the law, properly.”This simply means that Christ made the rules of Spiritual warfare in his kingdom. We must operate within the law. We are not to use Peter’s knife to cut off the ears of the opponents of Christ. We are not to call fire down out of heaven on the cities that reject Christ Jesus said in Luke 9:54-55: “And when his disciple’s James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”

The crown at the Judgment Seat of Christ will be awarded to the soldiers who “strive lawfully.”

May the Lord bless you.

In Christ

Bro. White