Summary
J.C. Philpot argues that spiritual maturity and strength in the faith come not from doctrinal knowledge or outward appearances of piety, but from battling sin and Satan through lived Christian experience. Drawing on 2 Timothy 2:3's call to endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ, Philpot contends that the truly strong believers are those bearing spiritual scars and wounds from their warfare against evil, not those who merely display doctrinal prowess or maintain a spotless external reputation. The essay emphasizes that genuine Christian strength is demonstrated through perseverance in spiritual conflict and personal sanctification rather than theological sophistication or religious ostentation.
"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." - 2 Timothy 2:3
The strongest believers are not the men of doctrine, but the men of experience; not the boasters, but the fighters; not the parade officers in all the millinery of spotless regimentals, but the tattered, soiled, wounded, half-dead soldiers that give and take no quarter from sin or Satan.
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