Two weeks ago we began looking at 2 Timothy 2 by laying out three foundational truths. (Link to 7/5/18 blog post here.) Last week we looked at the disciplemaker as a steward who entrusts the gospel to faithful men and women. This week we will examine the disciplemaker as a soldier.
According to Paul, the disciplemaker is also a soldier. He continues in his letter to Timothy, 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:3-4, CSB)
John Stott gave clear insight: “Paul’s imprisonments had given him ample opportunity to observe Roman soldiers, and to meditate on the parallels between a soldier and a disciplemaker.”
Consider several of these parallels from the texts:
“He endures suffering”(Stott). Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3, CSB)
Following Jesus is not an easy undertaking. It will be hard, lonely, and costly at times. In the same way a soldier must endure hardships, the disciplemaker must endure and persevere in trials and adversity for the sake of the gospel. It is not an easy thing; it will take every spiritual resource grace can offer.
“He avoids entanglements”(Stott). 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:4, CSB)
The soldier is entirely committed to the one who enlisted him. His allegiance is unwavering and unshakeable. He will not allow anyone or anything to distract him from being all in! In the same way, the disciplemaker is to have an unwavering allegiance and loyalty to Jesus Christ. He or she cannot allow anyone or anything to distract or deter him or her from a sure commitment to Christ.
“He looks upon Christ”(Stott). 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel, (2 Timothy 2:8, CSB)
The disciplemaker is to keep his or her attention on Jesus Christ. The disciplemaker may glance at all that is around him or her, but the disciplemaker must fix his or her gaze upon Christ!
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The writer of Hebrews said it this way: 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2-3, CSB)
“He looks out for fellow soldiers”(Stott). 10 This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10, CSB)
The disciplemaker who knows he is a soldier fixes his or her gaze on the Lord Jesus but also looks out for other soldiers engaged in warfare. He suffers and endures all things for those who are “the elect,” those who have been saved, and those who have not yet put their faith in Christ.
Several years ago, I heard Grant Teaff, former football coach at Baylor, speak at a coach’s clinic. He closed his talk by summarizing the “power of one” with this quote:
“I am only one, but I am one.
“I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
“And that which I ought to do, by God’s grace I will do!”
He then went on to say, “You be that one!”
That is my challenge to you: be that one. Be the kind of disciplemaker who is a faithful steward, who is totally dependent on God, and who relies on His resources as he invests in others. Be the kind of disciplemaker who has a soldier’s “whatever it takes” attitude to accomplish the work of God. Everything a disciplemaker does is to please the One who called him or her.
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