Let us turn once again to God's
Word and I want to turn with you to that portion of Scripture
we were considering on the last Lord's Day there in 2nd Timothy
chapter 2 in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and
we read verse 3 through 6 verse 3 through 6 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. And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully, the
husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. And we've considered the latter
part of this portion. I said last time now that what
we have in these verses is the Apostle giving instruction to
Timothy. Timothy and Titus, these are
pastoral epistles. These are young men who had been
separated to the ministry of the Word of God. and remember
how here in the beginning of the second chapter Timothy himself
is instructed to seek such men who would give themselves to
that work the verse 2 Paul says the things that thou hast heard
of me among many witnesses as I am commit thou to faithful
men who shall be able to teach others also and so the content
of these Epistles, the two to Timothy and that to Titus are
very much taken up with that work of the ministry of the word
of God but of course it's all part and parcel of the inspired
scriptures and God's word is surely intended for all of God's
people and so whilst it is speaking in In particular of the gospel
ministry there's an application, a wider application. It belongs
in some measure to all the people of God. There are principles
that we can draw. And in these few verses that
we've been looking at we see how the apostle speaks in terms
of a threefold figure to illustrate what that work will entail. He
speaks of the athletes. And we were looking at what he
says there at verse 5, Last Laws Day morning. If a man also strive
for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully. The apostle was very much aware
of the world in which he lived. He was familiar with the ancient
Grecian games. And on several occasions we find
him making some allusion to these things in his various epistles. In chapter 9, the end of chapter
9, there in the first letter to the church at Corinth, look
at what he says at verse 24 following, Know ye not that David's run
in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run! that ye may
obtain, and every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate
in all things. No, they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown, to become the Olympic champion, as it were. They obtain
a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so
run not as uncertain them, so fight I not as one that beateth
the air." Paul is using this illustration then with regards
to the work that Timothy is engaged in and in some measure all of
God's people are engaged in. There's a race to be run and
how is the child of God to run that race? Well, there are certain
rules and regulations that govern all the events that would take
place in those ancient games. One had to abide by the regulations
and the rules in order to attain the crowd. There were wrestling
matches. The gang, they must be careful
to ensure that they would abide by the rule, otherwise they'd
be disqualified. Well, believers are to be those
who are striving for the mastery in these various competitions,
as it were. We're to be wrestlers. There
were wrestling matches and we're to wrestle. And we read it in
that portion in Ephesians 6, we wrestle not against flesh
and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world. There's a world out there and
it lies in the wicked one, the evil one, and we have to wrestle
against the world and all its forces. And how can we wrestle
against it, poor creatures that we are, where we learn to oppose
this world as we are brought to cry to God we have to wrestle
with our God isn't that the mark of God's real Israel or the true
Israel of God the spiritual Israel the church of Jesus Christ what
do we learn concerning Jacob who was the supplanter of course
the birth of those twins to Rebecca how Esau was the firstborn but
The younger took hold of his brother's heel. He would usurp
his brother's place. That was the purpose of God.
Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. But he was called Jacob
because he was a supplanter. But there at Peniel in Genesis
32, as he meets with the angel of the Lord, so we find him wrestling. And he will not let the angel
go until the angel blesses him. Or are we not to wrestle? And
to wrestle with God that we might wrestle against all the forces
of darkness. If a man strive for masteries,
yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully? So we thought
of that particular figure last Lord's Day in the morning and
then in the evening we were looking at what he said in verse 6 concerning
the husbandman, the man who's laboring in the fields. The husbandman
that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. How the ministry is to labour
in the word of God. And we see that don't we in what
the apostle goes on to say. In verse 15 he says to Timothy
study to show thyself approved unto God a workman. It's the
same word labour really, a workman. but needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the words of truth. How this man has to labour. Last week we read in Matthew
20 those words at the beginning of the chapter where Christ tells
the parable of the day labourers who go to work in the vineyards.
Well it's the same word that's being used you see concerning
the work of this minister Timothy a workman, a labourer how is
to labour in the word of God and how Timothy as he's enforced
upon him in a sense how Paul will remind him time and again
of the importance of labouring in the words he says back in
chapter 5 of 1st Timothy Verse 17, in that fifth chapter,
let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour,
especially they who labour in the words and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou
shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And the
labourer is worthy of his reward. But there's a work to be done.
There's to be that right dividing of the word of gods and the consequence
of that will be that the man will grow weary and worn as he
applies himself to that word of truth and I think I said last
week that in the Old Testament of course we have the the book
of Ecclesiastes and it bears that subtitle doesn't it, the
preacher and when we come to the end of Ecclesiastes we're
reminded aren't we something of what the preacher is to do. He's concerned with words, with
the words of God. There in Ecclesiastes 12.9, Moreover,
because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge.
Yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out
acceptable words And that which was written was upright, even
words of truth. The words of the wise are as
goats and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which
are given from one shepherd. There is to be that labouring
then, likened to that of the man who works hard in the fields. This is a man who's working hard
in the field of God's Word, that he might bring that from the
field, as it were, the nourishment of those crops that grow in the
fields are to be brought ultimately, of course, to feed the people.
Well, the Word of God is here that God's people might be fed
and sustained and encouraged. Well, we thought somewhat of
these things last Lord's Day and tonight. I want us just to
turn back to the beginning of the portion that we're considering. So we turn now to verses 3 and
4 here in this second chapter of 2 Timothy. Thou therefore
endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Thou, man, that
wardeth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life,
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. The Christian soldier. And first of all, the soldier's sufferings and
privations. Here are sufferings, and there
are many privations as one engages in that life of the soldier.
Doesn't it say here in verse 3, Endure hardness. Endure hardness
as a good soldier. of Jesus Christ. Now, remember
Him who is the Captain, the Captain of Salvation is one of the names
that's given to the Lord Jesus. We have it there in Hebrews 2.10. And what do we read concerning
the Captain of Salvation? How He was made perfect through
His offerings. And so too with those who are
His followers. What is true of Christ is true
of them. It's interesting isn't it? I
said last week that we have that word back in Hosea like people
like priests. And I said there's not just an
application to the minister of the word but there's an application
to all the people really. Like people like priests. Well,
we can say like soldiers So it is for him who is the great commander,
the Lord Jesus, the captain of their salvation. He was made
perfect through sufferings. He had to endure. And how he
endured. And what is true of Christ must
be true of those who are his followers. The words that we
have there at the end of Philippians chapter 1, unto you it is given
in the behalf of Christ says Paul not only to believe on him
but also to suffer for his sake. Oh he is that one you see who
is the author of faith but that faith also comes with sufferings
where there is faith there is also the trial of faith. And
now we see Paul in that portion that we read in Ephesians 6 speaking
of the the stance of the soldier in verse 13 where for he says
take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand and
it's interesting because it's a purposive clause that we have
there you take the whole armour of salvation He goes on, of course,
to specify what the various parts of that armor are. We've looked
at the Christian's armor on previous occasions, but it's given for
a purpose, that she may be able, in order,
literally, in order that she may be able to withstand in the
evil day and having done all to stand. And I want us to think
about those two aspects of his stance, you see. There's a withstanding
and there's a standing. And all that that entails, the
sufferings, the privations that this soldier must endure if he's
going to prove to be a soldier of Jesus Christ. The withstanding. It says, to withstand in the
evil day. Now, the words Withstand literally
means to stand opposite. To oppose someone. To resist someone. To withstand
in the evil day. Who is it that we are to stand
against? Well, James says, resist the
devil and he will flee from you. And we have to withstand that
great adversary of souls. withstanding in the evil day. Well, so much for the withstanding.
What of the day? It's the evil day. Now, what
does that mean? Well, there in Ephesians 6.13
the word doesn't really suggest morally evil. We know that the
word evil can have other meanings in Scripture. We find it back
in the Old Testament in Amos chapter 3 and verse 6, shall
there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it. What is
the evil that's spoken of there? Well, that's not moral evil that
the Lord has done. The Lord is not the author of
anything that is morally evil. He's not the author of sin. He's
of eyes too pure to behold iniquity. He cannot look upon sin. The
word that shows back there in the book of Amos, is really suggesting
calamities, evil in the sense of a day of great calamities,
great troubles, dangers, difficulties. And the Lord is in those things.
Everything is under His sovereign hand. Well, there in Ephesians
6.13, this word, withstanding in the evil day, The word that's
used and rendered as evil really has the idea of a day of trial. It's derived from a word that
means toilsome and painful. It's that sort of a day. It's
derived from the verb to toil. That's the day that he's speaking
of. You see, as we said last week, in all his labourings,
the husbandman that laboureth, in all those labourings there
is pain because he's got to exert himself, he's got to give himself
to prayer and to preaching and all that that preaching entails,
laboring in the Word, laboring in the doctrine of the Word,
trying to understand, trying to find right words, trying to
properly divide the Word of God. And this is the idea here, you
see, when he speaks of the evil day, it's that day that's toilsome. And we think of the trials and
the troubles that come into the life of the Christian. As a soldier
in the world says, Christ ye shall have tribulation. Be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world." Oh, he is the one who
is the captain of salvation. He has vanquished all the powers
of darkness. But there's still tribulation
in the world. Again, the apostle says the same, doesn't he? We
must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. How do we enter into this kingdom?
It's by and through troubles. And how Paul knew it, we're troubled
on every side. When he writes there to the Corinthians,
2nd Corinthians 7 and verse 5, we're troubled on every side,
without, we're fighting within, we're fierce. The devil is ever
active, constantly seeking to attack the child of God. fill
his mind with doubts and fears, to destroy his faith. He's bent
on that. There's trouble all around him.
And we're to withstand. And we're to withstand in the
evil day. Ah, but mark the facts. Mark
the facts. It is but a day. That's what
it says. In other words, it's a short
period of time. What is a day? How quickly the
days come and go. Why, even this day, seems like
just a few moments ago the day was beginning. We were coming
out of our beds, preparing for the day, and now the day is far
gone. It's just a day, the evil day.
Peter says, now for a season, if needs be. You are in heaviness
through manifold temptation. And you see the preacher is to
pick out the words. What does he say there? It's now. Literally
it's just now, it's at this moment. It's for a season. What is a
season? It's just a little period of
time, a short while. Now, for a season. If needs be. Oh, there's an if there, you
see. It's only if it's necessary. It's only when it's necessary.
There's also the needs be. It is necessary. God is in all
of these things and he has given us his word and we should meditate
in these things and consider his words. He said we read the
word of God we love to dwell on it and to examine it and to
think upon it. There is this withstanding then
and it's standing against, it's opposing and it's opposing him
who is the great adversary of Saul. And then he goes on, doesn't
he, in that 13th verse in Ephesians 6, to speak of the soldier having
withstood, he says, having done all to stand. Take unto you the
whole armor of God that ye might be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all to stand. Oh, how this soldier endures! He that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved. Oh, there is a fight to be engaged
in. And doesn't the Apostle here
speak of it as a good fight in that last chapter of the previous
epistle? And there of those twelve fights,
the good fights. of faith, lay hold on eternal
life, whereunto thou art caught, and hast professed a good profession
before many witnesses." How He is giving charge, you
see, to this young man is to fight, is to stand his ground. And a believer is one who must
stand prepared, readily, ready for the battle and how is he
made ready for this battle well he has to be very much looking
to the Lord his God that's the one that he must always have
his eye upon his commander to do the bidding of his commander
again in the language of the book of Psalms and there in Psalm
20 and words that we find at verse 7 and the following
couple of verses. Some trust in chariots and some
in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright. Say, Lord, let the King hear
us when we call. This is how we stand, isn't it?
We have to remember the name of the Lord our God. We have
to look to Him, we have to call upon Him. And those who trust
in chariots and horses, they're the ones who are brought down
and fall. This is how we stand. We live that life of complete
and utter dependence. And we're encouraged because
greater is He that is in you, says John, than he that is in
the world you see there is one greater than the strong man armed
if satan is the strong man armed and he is that but there is one greater than
satan and so the believer is to look
to that one the lord jesus who overcame all the assaults of
that great adversary Why immediately upon his baptism he is led of
the spirit into the wilderness and there so sorely tempted. If thou be the Son of God. If
thou be the Son of God. Oh, what wicked boldness. Questioning
the very deity of the Lord Jesus. He is the Son of God. The Son
of the Father in truth and love. but how the Lord resists him,
and he leaves him, but he only leaves him for a season. And
when the Lord comes to the end of his ministry, he says to the
disciples, ye are they which have continued with me throughout
my temptation. This is the one that we must
look to. What does it say there in the
margin in that verse, Ephesians 6.13, and having overcome all
to stand how do we overcome? only through Christ only through
Christ to him that overcometh he says will I grant to sit with
me in my throne even as I overcame and am set down with my father
in his throne and doesn't John there in in Revelation chapter 12 remind
us of those who did indeed overcome. And how did they overcome? He
says, I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now is come salvation
and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of
his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony and they locked not their lives unto death
or they overcome by the blood of the Lamb by the word of their
testimony what is their testimony? it's the testimony of faith now
those who are looking to Christ how important this is with those
friends who having done all stand having overcome all stand, and
we stand by the grace of God. And we can look for that day.
Oh, we made reference in our prayer, didn't we, to this being
the day of grace. There will be another day that
is yet to come, the day of judgment. And what of that day? What does
the hymn writer say? Bold shall I stand in that great
day. For reward to my charge shall
lay, fully absolved by thee I am from sin's tremendous curse and
shame, for which the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ prevails. And that's the standing, we stand
in him, having done all to stand. In the second place, Thinking of this Christian soldier,
I want to say something with regards to his singleness of
purpose. Thou therefore endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth
himself with the affairs of this life. He doesn't get entangled
with the affairs of this life, temporal things. There's that
singleness of mind, that singleness of heart. His great concern,
you see, is to please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier. Here is a man whose mind is set.
How, in a sense, we see him as one
who is Christ-like. He's Christ-like. He's a good
soldier of Jesus Christ. and he has been chosen he wants to please him who has
chosen him to be a soldier the doctrine of election comes
in here doesn't it? it's the purpose of God it's
the outworking of that sovereign purpose of God but how this man
as he is predestinated and then as he is called by the grace
of God, receives his call-up papers as it were, he becomes
a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. How is Christ like? This singleness
of purpose, you see. He doesn't entangle himself with
the affairs of this life. Think of the Lord Jesus. What
does he say? back in Isaiah 15 verse 7 the
Lord God will help me therefore shall I not be confounded therefore
have I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be
ashamed isn't that the language of the Lord Jesus Christ as He
comes not to do His own will but the will of Him who was sent
Him You can say His meat is to do that will of God, the purpose
of His coming. I shall not be confounded. I
have set my face like a flint. And we see it, don't we? He knew what He must do in order
to save His people. And He knew that the time would
come. He is God. He is the Eternal Son of the
Eternal Father. He is God of God. He knew these
things. He's that one who is there in
the eternal covenant of redemption. That covenant made between the
three persons in the Godhead, the great purpose of salvation.
There was a time appointed. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. It was the appointed time for
Him to be born. But there was also going to be
a time for Him to die. and to die that awful death,
that cruel death of the cross. And He sets His face like a flint,
as it says there in Isaiah 50. He came to pass, we are told,
when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly
set His face to go to Jerusalem. Luke 9.51 He steadfastly set His face to
go to Jerusalem. Nothing would deflect Him. He
would accomplish the work, all the work that the Father had
given to Him. He would be obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Why He obeys the Father? Because He loves the Father.
And the love of the Father is demonstrated in that He delights
to do the Father's will. I came not to do mine own will,
but the will of Him that sent me, He says. That's a mark of
love, isn't it? Are we those who want to be doing
the will of God? If we love Him, we want to do
His will. We will pray indeed, Thy will be done in us as it
is in heaven. Thy will be done in me. Whoever
we are, we want God's will, not our own will. It's not easy.
Far from easy. We have to pray for that grace
of submission, that spirit of meekness, to humble ourselves
before such a God. But His will is the best will.
And Christ would do the Father's will, even to the very death
of the cross, because He loved the Father. But He didn't only
love the Father, He loved all those that the Father had given
to Him. Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved
them unto the end. Oh, that's what held Him to the
cross, isn't it? That love that He bore towards
His people, even as many as were given to Him in the Eternal Covenant. There was in Christ that singleness,
that singleness of purpose, and how important it is, how
important it is in the life of those who are
believers, those who are true Christian soldiers. We read something
of those various duties that Paul is speaking of in that sixth
chapter of the letter to the Ephesians as I said he's already
spoken of the duties of husbands and wives at the end of chapter
5 and then he continues speaking of children and fathers and servants
or slaves we should really say bond slaves and their masters
and what does he say with regards to these bond slaves how are
they to serve their masters well he says at verse 5 with fear
and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ,
not with thy service, as men pleases, but as servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart." Isn't that how these
Christian soldiers are to serve their commander and the captain
of salvation? They are to do it with that singleness
of heart. that singleness of purpose all the importance of that you
see as they give themselves to that
soldier's life one eye, one object to be obedient to all the Lord's
commands but also these soldiers must have a sound mind What can
we say concerning the sound mind? Well, they must certainly have
some understanding of their enemy. They must know what they're about. Put on the whole armour of God
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. That's what they've got to do.
They've got to know their enemy. Isn't that a basic Necessity, really, in successful
warfare. Know your enemy. That's to know
their enemy. Or we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. What does Paul say again to the
Corinthians? There in 2nd Corinthians 2.11,
lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant
of his devices. We are not ignorant of his devices. It's a book by one of the Puritans.
I can't remember which one it is now. I can't remember just
one it is. I think it's probably Thomas
Manton. But it bears that title, Satan's Devices. and God's precious promises.
Oh, he has his devices, does the devil. He is such a cunning
foe. He's one who is so very subtle,
so clever in the way in which he can easily tempt when he tempts
of course it's so difficult to resist the temptation and before
long we find that he's entrapped us and then what? why then he he turns accuser causes us to
fall into sin and then when we've sinned he turns and he accuses
us before God and we're ashamed And we've committed the sin that
we've committed so many times before and we thought could we
ever commit that sin again and we've committed it. We find it so hard how can we
pray, how can we sincerely ask God's forgiveness when we've
committed this sin. And we've committed it again
and again and again and again. He's so clever and so strong. We need to be aware of Him. Well,
take the helmet of salvation. That's what we're exhorted to
do. Take the helmet of salvation. Or as he put in another verse,
1 Thessalonians 5.8, for a helmet, the hope of salvation, or the
grace of hope, you see, as well as the grace of faith, the hope
of salvation. This helmet is there, of course,
to give protection to the head. and our minds need to be protected
our understandings need to be protected we have to look to
God what does he say here in chapter 1 verse 7 God hath not
given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a
sound mind all we need is a sound mind that's part and parcel of
the helmet of salvation how can our mind become sound? well it's
only as we come to the word of God and read the word of God
and by God's grace begin to think as God thinks begin to think
God's thoughts after Him and not our own thoughts and our
own ways how we need to read God's word and meditate in God's
words and seriously consider what God is saying to us, the
force of His words. All we believe, we believe that
this is God's book. We believe it's inherent, it's
got no error anywhere in it. It's all the Word of God, it's
verbally inspired, and we have a very faithful translation in
our authorized version. As we've said many a time, it's
really a very literal translation, the very Word. Now we need to
meditate in the words to contemplate what God is saying to fill our
mind with Scripture. Remember how the Lord Jesus Christ
resisted Satan. And you can read it there in
Matthew 4. And I read the first part of
Matthew chapter 4. How does the Lord resist the
devil? Well, Matthew 4, verse 4, he says to him, it is written. Verse 7, it is written again. Verse 10, get thee hence, Satan,
for it is written. Three times the Lord says to
him, it is written, it is written, it is written. How does the Lord
resist this great adversary? It's the sword of the Spirit.
which is the Word of God. We need then to be all familiar
with the Word of God, to make use of the Word of God. We often
say we need to feed our souls upon the Word of God. It's meat
and drink to our souls. It's that book that reveals to
us the Lord Jesus. He's in all the Scriptures. The
Scriptures of the Lord bear one tremendous name, the written.
An incarnate Word in all things are the same. Here we have the
Word in Scripture. Christ is the Word incarnate.
He is the Word. And as He says there in John
6, and we've often referred to that passage, is He not the Great
I Am? I am the Bread of Life. We feed
upon Him. But what a Word is this! Oh,
what a Word is this! because it's not only meat and
drink to our souls feeding upon the Lord Jesus it is a blessed
sword of the Spirit with which we can resist the devil and with
which by the grace of God we can overcome that great adversary
of souls. Ought to be these soldiers there
that the Apostle is speaking of. 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. We've looked then at these few
verses through, at 3 through 6, and then I close tonight by
reminding you of what he says in verse 7. Consider what I say,
and the Lord give the understanding in all things. Amen. Well, let us now conclude our
worship today. We're going to sing the hymn
number 1007. And the tune is St. Polycarp,
405. Stand up, my soul, shake off
thy fears and gird the gospel armour on. March to the gates
of endless joy, where thy great Captain Saviour's gone. 1007,
tune 405.