Be A Good Soldier

The message was brought by Rev. Cody Boone on March 2, 2025.

As Christians we have been called into God’s Army.  Paul told Timothy to be a good soldier. It’s a fight, a spiritual warfare. Our generation and the one to come depend on us being good soldiers or we may end up with a generation that doesn’t know God. I don’t want to be responsible for that.

Don’t quit. Don’t be one to say, “I used to _____.” You’re still alive so keep fighting. We’re not to sit in a spiritual lazy boy. We are to work. We are to be his workmanship created for good works. Look over the world. We have a lot to do. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Today is not the day to quit. Greater is HE that is in us than he that’s in the world.

II Timothy 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus   Christ. 4 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.

We are to serve for life. When we got saved, we received everlasting life. The way you respond proves your commitment to God. There are no excuses not to do it. There is no bowing out. We have a responsibility to God. There’s plenty to do. The jobs we do may not come with an official title. Maybe you’re an encourager. Keep doing it. If you teach, teach everywhere. Serve in the world, outside these walls. Be the ear someone needs. Supply the coat; supply the meal. Satan is working more now than ever. Sin is everywhere, even right in the palms of our hands through a smartphone. We have to fight till our dying breath. No reasons or excuses are good enough to quit. 

What if Noah stopped building the ark?  None of us would be here. Humanity would have been gone. What if Moses had quit or Matthew, Mark, Luke or John?  What if Paul had written only one book instead of half the New Testament and said, “I quit”?  We’d be in trouble. They were all laughed at and made fun of, even killed. We still must endure as a good soldier. If we have a bad day at work, we still go back the next day. Opposition will come. We know our enemy. We need to take the Word of God and put Satan in his place.

We must have loyalty and defend our God, so people know where we stand. We all need to do what God called us to do. In one mind and one accord, God will work. Make the decision now!  First Corinthians 15 says to be steadfast and unmovable. We serve a God who cannot be moved. It’s one thing to quote the Bible; it’s another to live the Bible.  It’s the only living book in the world and it changes people!  If others don’t approve, it doesn’t matter. We are to please God. He is our Father. We obey him as our commander. That’s the proof.  Profess and follow through with works in obedience to him. Otherwise, it proves we don’t know God. We will be known by the life we live. There has to be an inward change, a spiritual heart transplant first. The way we talk, act, and treat people is proof that we know God and are indeed in his army.

Get acquainted with the Bible. It’s our weapon. The battlefield is wherever we go. It may be awkward at first, but the eternal soul of others is at stake. We have the words of eternal life. Tell people the truth about God. The fact is we’re sinners who need to be saved. We need a committed prayer life, a committed devotional life, and a commitment to church. If not, how can we expect to do bigger things?

Be willing to die for the cause. Freedom was blood bought by Jesus Christ. Later those who followed him became martyrs, giving their lives for the cause of Christ. It doesn’t cost much in the US to profess Christ. In other countries people must worship in secret; they think it’s worth dying for. We are spiritually obese. The gospel is easily accessible here. We take it for granted. The Word is needful. Are we willing to die for our Lord?  Paul said to live is Christ. To walk. To do. To see him in us. By him and for him and because of him. Do others see Christ in us?

There is work to do. We must serve. He made a promise when he saved us. In turn we made a promise to love and serve him. Out of 8 billion people God chose me. I must represent God above all. Surround yourself with those who will hold you accountable, those who will remind you who you are and who you serve. We have a commitment to God. Pour yourself out for him.  Are you a good soldier?