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Soldiers of Christ
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they have no say; they merely obey
MP3
In 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War [before being called by
God], I had just graduated from high school and was facing the Military
Draft. Instead of waiting, I chose to volunteer for the Draft and
fulfill my two years of mandatory service to my country. Imagine
for a moment; I was a teenager and as I remember, not a great lover of
anything called authority. I was about to get some intense
education. When you enter the army, you are no longer considered a
human being. You are now a piece of government property. You
do what they say, when they say and ask no questions. You are told
when to speak, when to eat, when to sleep, when to get up, what to wear
and even when to use the restroom.
Every moment of my life came under the heading of absolute authority and
discipline. I was freed, if you will, from having to make any
choices. As the saying goes, "ours was not to ask a reason why,
ours was but to do and die." Through God's blessing I did not have
to serve in Vietnam and never fired a weapon in anger. I served
out my two years in Germany in the beautiful Black Forest of Bavaria.
Nonetheless, I continued to live by and answer to every person over me
in the chain-of-command beginning with my platoon sergeant, the first
sergeant, company captain, battalion colonel, division general and
ultimately the commander-in-chief, the President of the United States.
At the end of twenty-four months I returned home and soon after was
called into God's church. Did anything change for me as far as
authority, discipline and the chain-of-command is concerned?
Hardly. As I was to come to realize, those two years in the US Army
was just an introduction to my being drafted into God's Army.
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 2:3-4
God has called us to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
He has chosen us to be soldiers with all that goes along with that
position: hardness, testing, trials, discipline, training and
absolute obedience. In Ephesians 6:11-18
God commands us to put on the armor of God. Along with this He
also gives us promise...if we obey.
But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I
will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine
adversaries. –Exodus 23:22
The key is obedience to our Commander-in-Chief, God the Father. If
we obey, our life as His soldier and slave [there is little difference],
He will stand by our sides in that battle and hardship. As a human
soldier, I had no say in what was to be done or even as to what I was
going to do. My life was directed by my human commanders. It
is the same with God. We are to obey both His voice and His
direction.
What About "Free Choice"?
Prior to my entrance into the military service, I was just a normal
citizen of the country and though certain man-made laws were in affect,
I had something called "Free Choice." This term is defined as the
power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external
circumstances or by an agency such as divine will. The moment I
entered the military service, I was no longer unconstrained. I was
absolutely constrained. The same thing happens when we become a
soldier for God and enter His army. We are, if you will, within
the constraints of Godly calling, the Word of God, the Law and most
importantly the will of God
Once we enter constraints such as these [military service, God's Army]
we retain one free choice, that of obeying or yielding to the constraint
or fleeing from it. Fleeing from the military or from God carries
rather severe consequences. Jonah tried to flee from God, as did
other biblical characters. The Bible is clear what consequences
come from fleeing from or rejecting God.
Jesus is our example in everything and He was a soldier for His Father.
Notice...
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and
supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to
save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a
Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them
that obey him. –Hebrews 5:7-9
As called out soldiers we learn obedience through our hardships and
trials. We have no say. Our duty is to obey.
Just Whom Are We to Obey?
The Word of God is clear...
Obey His Voice: Deuteronomy 13:4
Obey His Law: Deuteronomy 11:27
Obey Christ: 2 Corinthians 10:5
Obey Doctrine: Romans 6:17
Obey the Gospel: Romans 10:16-17
Obey the Commandments: Ecclesiastes 12:13
Obey principalities, powers and magistrates:
Titus 3:1
Obey ministers as they follow Christ: Philippians
3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7; Hebrews 6:12; 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9
Unlike the human chain-of-command I experienced in the Army,
God is present and foremost throughout each of these elements.
Be that soldier for Christ. Let God lead the way.
Let your Father have the say and leave your choices to Him.
See:
Godly Calling – who has the power here?
See : "It's All About Godly Calling"
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