Christian Soldiers
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“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. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 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.”
2 Timothy 2:2–4
Isaac Watts wrote some of the most powerful and influential hymns in all of church history. He grew up in the home of a non-comformist pastor. Because his father refused to be part of the official Church of England, he was persecuted and even put in jail twice. When Watts was a baby, his mother would take him to the prison so his father could pray over him. Though religious liberty had increased by the time Watts became a pastor himself as an adult, he never forgot that following Jesus Christ carries a price. In 1709 Isaac Watts wrote these words:
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause
Or blush to speak His name?
Sure I must fight if I would reign:
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
The notion that following Christ leads to a life of ease and comfort is attractive, but false. Jesus came into the world with the message of hope and salvation that mankind needed, but that did not mean He was greeted with acceptance and open arms. Instead, He was hated by many and lived without what we consider to be the basic necessities of life for much of His time on Earth. “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).
2 Timothy 2:2–4
Isaac Watts wrote some of the most powerful and influential hymns in all of church history. He grew up in the home of a non-comformist pastor. Because his father refused to be part of the official Church of England, he was persecuted and even put in jail twice. When Watts was a baby, his mother would take him to the prison so his father could pray over him. Though religious liberty had increased by the time Watts became a pastor himself as an adult, he never forgot that following Jesus Christ carries a price. In 1709 Isaac Watts wrote these words:
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause
Or blush to speak His name?
Sure I must fight if I would reign:
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
The notion that following Christ leads to a life of ease and comfort is attractive, but false. Jesus came into the world with the message of hope and salvation that mankind needed, but that did not mean He was greeted with acceptance and open arms. Instead, He was hated by many and lived without what we consider to be the basic necessities of life for much of His time on Earth. “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).
Today’s Growth Principle:
No one can serve as a soldier of Christ unless he is willing to endure hardship and suffering.
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