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The Paradox of the Soldier and the Servant 

The Pastoral Epistles (1st & 2nd Timothy & Titus) are probably the most unique of theepistles because Paul’s message was directed toward individuals instead of an entire

church. 2nd Timothy is the most unique out of the three because it encapsulates Paul’s last

words before being martyred under the emperor Nero. Paul not only wrote a letter wrought with emotion, this was his final opportunity to convey to Timothy what he felt

was most important that he knew. In the second chapter of 2nd Timothy, Paul’s lesson

centered upon being a believer active in service. That is, a teaching on what the duty andactivity of the believer ought to be. He does this quite well by contrasting the believer 

with other well-known roles of society.

Paul refers to Timothy as his son – not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense.

Timothy found Christ through Paul’s ministry and therefore Paul became his mentor.Feeling as if he was a father figure, the first piece of advice Paul gave Timothy was to

“…be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1 English Standard

Version). But, what does it mean to be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus? Grace is

what bridges the gap between us and God and faith is what allows us to move towardGod. To be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus means to quit taking steps back 

when things get tough, be honest with God, admit when you are wrong and seek forgiveness from all involved. The grace of God covers you as a believer. Therefore,

there is no good reason to be disappointed in yourself while you are walking with Christ.

Because if you walk with the strengthening grace of Christ, your faith leads you to

righteousness, but if you enter through the wide gate, taking your own way, as Jesus tellsus in Matthew, destruction awaits you.

 Next, Paul compares the believer to a soldier. “No soldier gets entangled in civilian

 pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 nd Tim. 2:4 ESV). Like agood soldier, the believer is to be willing and able to establish his or her priorities and the

 point Paul is getting at here is the fact that soldiers are disciplined in a way in which their  priorities are clear and executed quickly and out of necessity. Oh, how entangled we can become, from time to time, in worldliness, justifying it by means that we would consider 

ludicrous if we were to just step back a test ourselves with scripture. There is spiritual

warfare taking place, brothers and sisters, there is winning and there is losing. So let usfollow what Paul says to the church of Ephesus and fasten our belt of truth and

 breastplate of righteousness, lace up our boots of readiness, grip tight the shield of faith,

strap on our helmets of salvation and sheath the sword of the Spirit to begin winning

those battles we would have lost, lest we not have prioritized our lives to serve Christ.In verse 5, Paul contrasts the Athlete and the believer. During the time Paul was

writing this, the Greco-Roman world had been significantly influenced by athletic games.

It was not just the Olympics; there were regional games similar to the Olympics that took  place throughout the areas the Apostles evangelized. Because athletics were so engrained

within the culture, this is an important comparison in the sense that the reader could

identify with the writer. Timothy in reading this knew that the athlete could not cutcorners because his objective was to be and beat the best of the best. Cutting corners

would only be hurting the athlete, not helping him.

Similarly, this rings true for Christians. Condensed gimmicks like tracts that are often

left as a tip, water down the necessity for and urgency of salvation. The typical tract

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 preaches a message that assures the reader that if he or she says the sinner’s prayer, they

will be saved. This is simply not true. It is not that easy. Paul reminds us in Romans that

 being a follower of Christ costs us our life. This is not to say we are saved by works, butit is to say that confessing with our mouths is often the easy part, believing in Christ

enough to declare him savior of not only ourselves, but everyone else is a message that a

quarter-page tract fails to convey. Trying to pack the power of witnessing for God intosuch a tiny message because of a quantity over quality mindset may be well-intentioned,

 but it is wrong and it is not going to cut it in today’s world. As Paul is testimony to this

through his adoption of Timothy, we must not only cast the seeds, but stick around tocultivate them.

As believers, we are farmers. We are not merely sewers of seed, preaching the gospel

to those who do and do not want to hear it, but we are also charged with making sure that

we cultivate those seedlings that spring up from the seeds we cast. A million people could be saved, but unless we have as many disciples to minister, mentor and council them, we

are not reaping the full potential of the harvest.

In my twenty-some years as a Nazarene, studying the Word is an activity not many

Christians particularly know how to do. Simply reading your Bible, Daily Bread in hand,may be necessary for you to start your morning, but it is a stretch to think that it gets your 

hands as dirty as reading a biblical commentary by Wesley, Calvin or Arminius. Under the subheading, Paul highlights the ultimate goal of studying the Word. He tells Timothy

to be a diligent student and to be able to use the Word. The Bible was not meant to have

verses plucked out here and there, taking some and leaving some. It was meant to be

taught in its entirety. We must be able to rightly divide the entire Word of God. Like Paulwith Timothy, we should strive to help new believers get a logical and rational answer for 

nearly every question they have. There are a lot of good answers, most of the time all we

have to do is seek, ask or open our eyes.“Let go and let God” is something I regularly see in picture frames on the walls of 

many Christians throughout my life. To let go and let God is to be an empty vessel. But

what does that mean? It is to agree that you will follow God at any cost. And not only isGod looking for empty vessels, He is also looking for those vessels that are clean. He

seeks those who throw aside the lusts of their youth, putting away foolish questions and

 bickering, shifting their focus on the essentials – spreading the gospel and makingdisciples! Verses 20-21 highlight the importance of focusing on holiness, demanding that

we strive to be strong in the grace of God, realizing and searching ourselves for ways to

serve God in accordance to His perfect will for our lives.

Finally, in verses 24 and 25 Paul compares the believer to a servant, gentle unto allmen. Serving both those in need and those without needs, but most importantly, serving

God. By introducing the servant into the chapter’s illustration, Paul creates a paradox.

Essentially, we are told to be both a servant and a soldier. In many ways, these two rolesare polar opposites. The soldier is violent, representing power and control and the

servant, passive, powerless and controlled. So, how should we take this paradox? We are

told to stand and fight like the best soldiers. Yet, we are also told to serve others, steppingaway from all the bickering and methods making the Christian life easier and more

compatible with our ways. When we are confronted with a challenge, we stand and fight

for the truth, but within that fight we must also practice humility, respecting others’

opinions. Perseverance and patience is key, remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.