2 Timothy 2:3-7 BSB
“3Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him. 5Likewise, a competitor does not receive the crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to partake of the crops. 7Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all things.”
What does it look like if we suffer like good soldiers of
Christ Jesus? It means that we are following our commanding officer, for one,
and because we are following his instructions to us, we are also actively
engaged in spiritual warfare. For the devil does not want us obeying our Lord
and living holy lives, pleasing to God. And he especially does not want us
teaching the truth of the gospel of Christ and calling sinners to repentance and
to obedience to our Lord. So he will use all means possible at his hands to try
to destroy us.
Affairs of This Life
And what are these “civilian affairs,” i.e. “the affairs of
this life”? The word “affairs” also means “transaction, or negotiation.” And “of
this life” means of this world, so this would be about worldly pursuits and
transactions and negotiations. And worldly is opposite of godly. And a
negotiation can be a compromise, which can be a spiritual compromise, i.e. a
concession with regard to God’s commands and his moral values. And “affairs”
also carries with it the meaning of an adulterous relationship outside of
marriage.
Now, an adulterous affair is not necessarily the intended
context here, but it is also not out of context. For if we are good soldiers of
Christ we will refrain from entangling ourselves in what is worldly and immoral
and that which compromises the truth of the gospel in order to appease human
flesh. We will not live in addiction to sin, making sin our practice, while
making excuses for why we are not living righteously, in obedience to the Lord,
obeying our commanding officer, and living to please him in all we do.
But sadly, and I just read some recent statistics on this
subject, it appears that around 80% of Christian men, and about 40% of
Christian women are engaged in pornography. And I think it was 50% or greater,
the number of pastors who also engage in pornography. But it isn’t just that
they all engage in the viewing of porn on a somewhat habitual or consistent
basis, but this has been accepted among many pastors and church fellowships as
the norm, it would appear, from what I just read, and which I have also
observed.
God’s Call To Righteousness
And so what took place in the church in Corinth has multiplied
beyond counting, it is now so enormous (see 1 Corinthians 5). And not many are
doing anything to stop it, either. For so many are living that way themselves
and it is becoming socially acceptable within the gatherings of “the church.”
So many are claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior and heaven as their eternal
destiny while they deliberately and habitually are engaged in what they know is
sinful, immoral, hateful, selfish, and against God’s commands.
Even though they know that what they are doing is sinful,
and is against God, yet they continue in addictive sin, in what is corrupt,
vile, wicked, immoral, dishonest, and hateful towards those they are sinning
against. But many who engage in this put on a show of righteousness on the
outside, just like the Pharisees, and they pretend all goodness while secretly
they are still living in sin. For their lives are not surrendered to the Lord.
They are still operating in the flesh and so they lie and they cheat as a
matter of practice.
According to The Rules
But genuine soldiers of Christ refrain from entangling themselves
in the affairs of this life in order to please our commanding officer, the Lord
Jesus Christ, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. But all this is of God, and is done in the power of God, and not by
human flesh. We can only be those who follow the rules (God’s commands) because
of God’s grace in delivering us out of bondage to sin. And God empowers us to
live holy lives pleasing to him, not perfect, but obedient in practice.
So please pay close attention to what this is teaching us
here. If we live by the flesh, and so we engage in the sinful desires of the
flesh, in habitual and deliberate defiance of God’s commands which say we must
live holy lives, pleasing to God, and that we must put sin to death in our
lives, and then we put on a show of righteousness to hide what we are doing in
secret, we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God. And we
will not receive that long awaited crown if we do not live by the rules, by God’s
commands.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth
after You
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my
spirit yield
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
The Affairs of This Life
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