Soldiers of Christ Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Soldiers of Christ ------------------------------- Date: 4/5/2003 Keywords: “soldiers" "warfare” Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: 2 Timothy 2:3-4* 3. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Questions The apostle Paul invites his child in the faith, Timothy, to imitate a soldier in following Jesus. In what ways are faithful soldiers like faithful disciples?   Practical help Soldiers on a battlefield understand chain of command. They understand that there is a cause worth fighting for and suffering for. They understand that hardship is part and parcel of being in the armed services of their country. They understand that for the period of time they are involved in armed conflict, they will have to forego some of the privileges and luxuries of ordinary life. Among the word pictures used to describe Christians in the New Testament is the term "soldier." Paul uses it in the passage above, and it is used many other times. Christians understand chain of command. What Jesus says, goes. They understand that the cause worth fighting for and suffering for is the fight for the eternal souls of men and women and the battle for personal purity. They understand that the Christian life may very well involve significant suffering. And, they understand that following Christ will limit their activities to only those things that are permitted under Christ's Lordship. Activities in which others engage may well be "off limits" to the believer. Take 2 Timothy 2:3-4 to heart. You are called to be a member of Jesus' army. (That is, unless you have never placed your trust in Christ for salvation! If that is the case, click here to learn how to receive His free gift of grace.) Jesus, our Commander-in-Chief invites us to a life of purity. Into that life of purity you and I joyfully run, even though it means limiting our exposure to flesh-gratifying activities like pornography. It's part of the price a soldier is willing to pay. Victory in the battle for purity is worth the price tag of self-control. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---