Westlynn Baptist Church
1341 East 27th Street, North Vancouver
Phone: 604.986.4516
Email: info@westlynnbaptist.com
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  • No Civilians – Only Soldiers for Christ

      Article by Pastor Sam Chua


    “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”
    (2 Tim 2:3-4 ESV)


    The Christian life is not a calling to live life safely aboard the comfort of a cruise ship that is basking in the warm waters of the Caribbean, but rather to serve on the deck of a battleship that is being inundated with cannon fire in the waters of battle. Here the apostle reminds us that we are to act and think like soldiers and not civilians. We do not march to our own beat but answer to the trumpet calls of our captain Jesus. Some of us will be ordered to the front lines where the fighting is thickest and fall in battle, whereas others of us will serve as support, bringing supplies to others as David did at his father’s request. Whatever our roles, we are all enlisted in the King’s service and not our own. How dangerous our deceitful hearts are! How tempting it is to want to choose a life of ease and call it Christian. Sin in our hearts drives us to mould God into our own image, rather than allowing him to mould us into his own image. Just like the Israelites who crafted the golden calves and declared them to be the gods who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so too do we have a natural tendency for crafting God into our own image—to make him fit our desires and our requests. But if we do so, we are not followers of Christ, but of our own religion.

    Everything we do must not be put through the grid of what we want and prefer, but whether or not it aligns with our commanding officer’s desires. And the Scriptures are nothing less than the King’s orders for his soldiers. Christian soldiers have only one goal in mind, and that is to please our commander and Lord. Nothing else will do. Do not grow weary in doing good. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Go and make disciples of all nations. We are called to evaluate every single decision we make in light of whether it pleases our Lord Jesus and not our own desire to avoid suffering.

    What an example our Lord Jesus was to us! In his life, he shied away from comfort and wealth, and instead chose the road of suffering, single-mindedly devoted to his Father’s will. Though his flesh recoiled at the sight of the cup of the wrath of God as he interceded in the garden of Gethsemane, he was obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Our Lord certainly participated in what we would consider normal in life, such as a wedding at Cana and dinners with those who wished to speak to him, yet, he was a man of sorrows, acquainted with much grief. But because of his suffering and grief, you and I have been set free from the curse of eternal death through his work on the cross. Words are simply inadequate to express our infinite gratitude for this immeasurable sacrifice that was purchased for us on the crucible of suffering! Praise be to God!

    Christian, are you aware that you live during a time of war in which eternal lives hang in the balance? Do you arm yourself each with the armor of God, sharpening the sword of the Spirit in your times with the Lord each day? Do you think about your shopping habits, what you watch on TV, and how you spend your time outside of work? Do you make your decisions around what will please your commanding officer the most?

    Never forget that there are no civilians in the kingdom of God—only soldiers. Soldiers who endure suffering and advance against the gates of hell through laying down their lives as their Lord and Saviour did for them. Do not be distracted by the civilian affairs of this world! And when we have completed our mission assignments on this earth, we shall be blessed with the victor’s crown.

    – Pastor Sam Chua