Are you a soldier of Christ?

A soldier is a man or woman enlisted in an army. Soldiers are referred to by designations which reflect their military occupation specialty arm, service, or branch of military employment, their type of unit, or operational employment. In a war, soldiers are involved in combats on the ground, in planes, or from warships. They fight for their country even if it means death. Also, soldiers live regimented lives under the instruction of a commanding officer, and can get deployed to anywhere at any time, going through various difficult situations. Different countries in the world have armies with highly trained and equipped soldiers for defense against threats and attacks, yet none of these armies are invincible. However, there is one army that will ever remain indomitable – the sovereign army of God. Jesus is the commander-in-chief of this army (2 Tim. 2:4). 

The soldiers in this sovereign army are actually humans too, but they don’t wage war as humans do. They use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to pull down strongholds, cast down false arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every rebellious thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5). These soldiers of Christ don't just do anything they feel like doing, they take orders from their commander-in-chief. 

Using the armors of soldiers in the old Roman Empire to describe their weaponry, it is clear that each one of them puts on a belt of truth and a breastplate of God’s righteousness. For shoes, they put on the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to all of these, they each hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. They wear salvation as a helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:14-17). They stay alert and are fervent in their prayers, standing firm against all strategies of the devil (Eph. 6:11).

They are bold by the power of the Holy Spirit and strong through God’s grace (2 Tim 2:1) and the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). They help their fellow soldiers, encouraging and strengthening each other. Although, they are not yet perfect, they keep striving for perfection (Matt 5:48). They are completely sold out and totally committed to their commander. They are not fighting against human beings with flesh and blood but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). They are engaged in a spiritual warfare between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God. They are vigilant because they know that their great enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).

These men and women are focused on the mission given to them by their Great Commander to make disciples of all nations. They go up to the high places, tear down the devil’s kingdom down, reclaim the things he has stolen, pull down the altars of darkness, and enthrone Jesus as King in the different lands where they are deployed, raising up the banner of righteousness. They break down the walls and hindrances that stand against the augmentation of God’s Kingdom and enforce His will on earth. They are soldiers on a raid to take over lands from the hold of the devil, shining the light of the gospel into the surrounding darkness, and delivering souls from the hand of the stubborn god of this world. They don't sleep on the battle field, they are disciplined. They follow the instructions of their Commander. Their greatest honor is to have accomplished their sovereign's command. They seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Rom. 6:33), the salvation of souls is their priority. They go on from strength to strength, wrestling and fighting and praying, treading down all the powers of darkness. 

They endure hardships (2 Tim 2:3), tribulations, afflictions, distresses, persecutions, perils; they are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, yet in all these things they are more than conquerors through Him who loved and called them (Rom 8:35-37). Jesus, their head was once dead but now He lives for ever more. These soldiers have overcome the world because He who is in them is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). In fact, the victory of their warfare had been won at the cross of Calvary thousands of years ago, and their duty is to enforce this victory in the situations they encounter. 

Exactly the same way soldiers at war don’t work at outside jobs, these soldiers don’t get entangled in trying to serve two different masters (Matt 6:24). They are not preoccupied with worldly pursuits to gain the applause of men rather they concentrate on pleasing their commanding officer (2 Tim 2:4). They use their daily work as a platform for transforming lives and standing for the truth. Their motivation is not the advancement of themselves but the advancement of God’s Kingdom. They do not compromise even when faced with threats. Although they have different duty posts: the missionary field, the medical field, the business field, the political field, the entertainment field, the research field, and so on, yet their allegiance is solely to the same Great Commander, the King of all Kings. 

They battle against the desires of the flesh and choose to live by the Spirit keeping their garments unspotted from sin (Gal 5:16). They have dominion and power over all the power of devil (Luke 10:19). They fight the good fight of faith to lay hold on eternal life, to which they have been called (1Ti 6:12). They are the soldiers of Christ.

My friends, there is no demilitarized zone in this battle; you are either on the devil’s side or on the Lord’s side. Which army do you belong to? Are you a soldier of Christ or are you one of the officers in the army of darkness serving Lucifer and his cohorts? Enlist as a soldier of Christ today, don’t look back and you will receive the crown of life.

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev. 3:21-22)