Soldiers of the King

2 Timothy 2:3-7

Immanuel – 5/24/26

          The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said, “To be a Christian is to be a warrior. The good soldier of Jesus Christ must not expect to find ease in this world: it is a battlefield.”¹

          It wasn’t bravado or machismo that compelled Spurgeon to speak these things. No. It came directly from the pages of the New Testament, most profoundly from the writings of Paul. We could hear the horns of war in 1 Timothy; they only grow louder in 2 Timothy.

          Main Point: In this war-torn world, obeying our King means single-minded focus, whole-hearted commitment, and hard work.

          Read vs 3

          This is the second time Paul calls Timothy to share in his sufferings – the first was back in 1:8, share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Paul will go on to repeat this theme three more times in this letter (2:9-10, 3:10-12, 4:5).

          Remember, Paul calls Timothy his beloved child (1:2). Paul has no son of his own, but he is Timothy’s spiritual father, and he deeply loves him. Are there any fathers or mothers in this room? How many of you would encourage your sons and daughters to suffer? What father sends his son into affliction?

Christian ones! Because suffering is a requirement of faithful service to Jesus. In the whole of Paul’s writings, he often binds together suffering and soldiering. More than that, as verse 3 clearly states, the willingness to suffer distinguishes a good soldier from an unexceptional one.

          Verse 3, put negatively, means avoidance of suffering, unwillingness to face persecution or pain, makes for a bad soldier.

          Each of us, all of Christ’s recruits, are called to unashamedly advance the gospel. Part of what it means to suffer as a good soldier is to endure opposition that will come with gospel proclamation. But suffering will come from more places than opposition, and Paul uses three analogies to help us understand: the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer.

          First, he expands the soldier analogy.

          Read vs 4

Paul expands the soldier analogy to help us understand that following King Jesus requires single-minded focus.

It’s not sinful to be concerned with civilian pursuits. We need to think about bills, familial obligations, household chores, taxes, and so on. But these can pose a threat. If such concerns grow too large the soldier cannot be devoted to his objectives.

This is precisely why Jesus says things like,

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.                                                                                                        -Luke 14:26

Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

                                                                                      -Luke 14:33

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.                                                                                -Mark 8:34

Family is good. The resources God gives us are good. Enjoying life is good. But if these become our greatest good, that is sin. And we know they have become our greatest good because for fear of losing them, we fail to obey Jesus. We become soldiers entangled in civilian pursuits.

Later on in this epistle Paul references Demas, a man formerly joined in ministry with Paul.

Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me.         -2 Timothy 4:10

          For us, Demas is an example of a once good soldier gone AWOL. For love of the world – its pleasures, securities, comforts – Demas was a deserter.

Any of us can waste our time, frittering it away on a thousand lesser things, never pressing the battle lines, never advancing a single cause of Christ. How easy to lose focus and become a Demas.

The goal of a good soldier is to please their commanding officer. Brothers and sisters, our goal is to please King Jesus. Jesus expects a single-minded focus to the objective. What is the objective? What is it we are to be single-minded about? Jesus couldn’t have been more clear.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.                                 -Matthew 28:18-20

          Though we may suffer wounds, and the path be hard, and mocking surely will come, though it cost our life, let us go and make disciples of all nations. This call is more important than your career, your possessions, yes, even your family. The King has issued his commission. Soldier, you are to be single-minded in your obedience!

          And, you are to be whole-hearted in your commitment.

          Read vs 5

          July 12 is the Boilermaker. What are the chances you could win? Am I safe to say, it’s unlikely? Nobody accidentally runs the Boilermaker well. That finish line only reveals what happened long before race day.

If an athlete is to win, they need a whole-hearted commitment, rigorously disciplining themself to win the prize. A certain collegiate runner was just talking to me about how training is a grind: running when there is no motivation, when other things would be more fun, when the weather is poor, when the body feels crummy. It takes discipline to get out there and run.

          So in this race of life, are you running, day in and day out?

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.  -1 Corinthians 9:24-27

          The race we are running requires discipline and self-control. Are the things you are doing, the things you are devoting yourself to, are they helping you win or holding you back? If they are holding you back, why are you holding on to them?

          Christ freed you from the enemy’s prison, he broke your chains of sin, he has removed the weight of guilt from your back. You must discipline yourself not to cling to them again. Let go of the those former encumberances, release your reputation, repudiate comfort; and brother, sister, run! Let go of all that encumbers you. Run with the wind, wherever the Holy Spirit might take you!

          And do not think you can make up the rules of this race as you go, lest you be disqualified. As Paul says, the athlete must compete according to the rules. What are the rules of this life? Already we have seen a number, but I’ll return to one summary rule.

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.                                                                                -Mark 8:34

Jesus spoke a sobering promise to the church – a promise for all of life’s athletes.

          Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.    -Revelation 2:10

A person will only discipline themselves if they have whole-hearted commitment to the prize. If your heart’s not in it, you won’t run.

          Where is your heart?

Where you treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

          Jesus doesn’t just call us to single-minded focus and whole-hearted commitment; he calls us also to hard work.

          Read vs 6

          There are many in this church familiar with the hard work of farming. And if you know a farmer, you know they are a hard-working bunch. In the kingdom of God we are not just likened to soldiers and athletes, but also farmers.

          This harmonizes well with something we teach in the Ambassador Training. It’s called 4 Fields, and it illustrates how the kingdom of God advances on earth.

          (Illustrate the 4 Fields on whiteboard – 3 minutes)

          Like a farmer, the work Christ calls us to demands hard work. Christians, don’t live a sterile, sanitized life! Get your hands into the dirt and go to work! Loving ease, constantly saying “tomorrow,” deferring to others, will only fill your life with want.

How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.             -Proverbs 6:9-11

          But the promise of hard work is that you will enjoy the fruits of your labor. In the context of our passage, I believe this means rejoicing in the lives God has used you to transform.

Read vs 7

          With a simple reading, verse 7 can almost seem like a throw away verse – but oh it is not!

Think over what I say, wrestle with these words, do not leave them until you get them. And then, the Lord will give you understanding in everything. If the Lord is going to give understanding, then why do I need to spend time thinking and wrestling with the text? Because the Lord works through our wrestling.

There are so many Christians that want an easy understanding. They want a revelation without work. They wish for a sign to fall from heaven or for so-called prophets and apostles to give them a word, when God has already given us his word. One commentator writes, “Understanding significant matters as far as God’s way and kingdom is concerned requires God’s gift of revelation, but it is revelation in the context of a thinking and grappling mind, not just revelation ‘out of the blue.’”²

Think over what Paul says. Wrestle with God’s word. And the Lord will bring understanding. God’s people are named Israel; and Israel literally means one who wrestles with God.

          The soldier, athlete, and farmer all know what it is to struggle and strive and wrestle. So does a Christian with a Bible in their hands. But the effort uncovers immeasurable treasures.

          See the reward in each illustration.

          The single-minded soldier pleases the King.

          The fully committed athlete wins the crown of life.

          The hard-working farmer enjoys the fruits of his labor.

There is a way of wisdom in this life, and it follows a path of struggle.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.                                                                    -Matthew 7:14

          On some level, we all understand that this life isn’t about us. But how hard it is to live this out! Life is not about our desires, or what makes us feel safe, or the legacy we’ll leave behind. This life is about Jesus and making great his name and seeing his will be done! Seek first his kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).

          Following Jesus means suffering. Yes, this will come from opposition. But it is costly to live with a single-minded focus, with whole-hearted commitment, and to spend yourself working hard for Christ.

Is so costly a life worth it?

It is worth it! For us and for our children!

Earlier I asked how many of you would encourage your sons and daughters to suffer? What father sends his son into affliction?

          He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed…the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all…It was the will of the Lord to crush him…when his soul makes an offering for guilt.                               -Isaiah 53:5,6,10

All the suffering of the soldier, the discipline of the athlete, the labor of the farmer; it’s not so we can be better. It’s because our King has gone before us, and he calls us to himself. Jesus was not spared suffering. The Father sent his beloved Son into affliction to save us. And now the crucified King calls us to share in his sufferings, so the lost be found, so our lives might testify that Jesus is better than all the riches of this world.

I know it is hard. The struggle is real. No one wants suffering. So often it can feel like you’re failing, and like the whole world is stacked up against you, like hope hangs by a thread.

There is this moment in JRR Tolkien’s Return of the King.

The great city, Minas Tirith, is collapsing. The evil armies of Mordor vastly outnumber the defenders, who are exhausted and terrified. Hope is nearly gone.

Then, in the distance, shattering all despair, horns are heard.

And with morning’s first light crested the riders: ranks of horse and spear, banners streaming in the wind, and at their head rides Théoden himself — king of the Rohirrim.

Tolkien writes, “Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away…After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them…Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old…His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed…and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them.”

These words, brother and sister soldiers, are a mere fiction, a shadow of our reality. Though you feel alone and outnumbered, like the dark tide may swallow you, like hope escapes, the King is coming!

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.         -Revelation 19:11-16

          The King comes, take heart weary soldier! And when he does, you will run and not grow weary, and you shall rest from your labors. The King comes!

          But until that day the single-minded soldier pleases the King because the King is worthy. The disciplined athlete runs for the crown because the King is worthy. The hard-working farmer labors for the harvest because the King is worthy. And one day, King himself will rend the heavens and come down, and we shall see him, and we shall be like him.

We do not endure hardship to earn Christ’s love. We endure because Jesus has already loved and has laid down his life for us. We love the King who has first loved us, and it is our joy to lay down our lives for him!

          This world is a battlefield. Let us have single-minded focus, whole-hearted commitment, and work hard for the sake of his great name, the name above every name, Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords!

¹Spurgeon, C.H. (1891, April 19) The Sword of the Spirit. The Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching at Midwestern Seminary. https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-sword-of-the-spirit/#flipbook/

²Yarbrough, R. (2018). The Letters to Timothy and Titus. Pg 376. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.