By: Phil Hopkins
Paul gave Timothy much good advice in his two letters. His desire for Timothy was for him to be a faithful gospel preacher. He clearly loved him and cared deeply for his soul. Paul had encountered many difficulties and struggles as he went about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. To the Corinthians, he wrote about his challenges 2ndCorinthians 11:24 “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;” He realized that to practice and preach Christ, would put one’s life in danger and if Timothy was to be successful as a Christian, he needed to realize that he must to be ready to fight against Satan, every day. He warned Timothy about the fight and that he must be constantly prepared: 1st Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,” The gaining of eternal life with God in heaven is a daily battle with evil. We also must be always ready as a good soldier. In our military, one of the branches of service, the Coast Guard has “Semper Paratus (Always Ready)” as its motto. We as Christians need to also be always ready. Ready to serve in the fight against evil, ready to defend our souls against the devil. We sing a song which carries this message with the moving words:
“Soldiers of Christ, arise,
And put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies
Through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts,
And in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than a conqueror.”
This song reminds us, that as any good soldier knows, the soldier must be prepared with his armor. The armor consists of both of the protective covering that will shield the soldier from the attack from the enemy but also consists of the tools that the soldier can use to attack and conquer the enemy. A conquering army cannot sit back and just fight defensively, it must attack and go on the offense to win its battles. Likewise, we Christians must have our armor always at the ready. Paul warned the Ephesians and wanted them to be prepared as he wrote: Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For 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. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Brother Franco, a few weeks ago gave us a lesson to remind us of the importance of having our armor ready but also knowing how to use it. A sword is of no use if the soldier hasn’t practiced using it. A shield won’t protect the soldier if the soldier doesn’t know how to use it to block the attack from the enemy. We have several defensive tools, as Pauls wrote: Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”, which if we know how to use them, will help us withstand not only the initial attacks upon us, but our defense also requires our preparation: Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” We must build and strengthen our faith to defend ourselves from the attacks of the wicked one. It doesn’t stop there; Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”. We must know how to use our sword, “the sword of the spirit”, “the word of God” in our defense and in our attack. This sword is a mighty powerful weapon as the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote: Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. The word of God, the Bible, is a mighty weapon in our battle against evil, Satan. So many homes in this country have Bibles, Bibles which are never opened, never used and the owners of them will fall to the many wiles of the Devil due to their lack of preparation. And again, it is through the use of this sword which gives the possessor of it the ability, the strength, the knowledge to stand and defend against the attack. We see in the loss of morality around us in this country and in the world, the pitiful state of morals the surrounds us. In fact, it is due to our unwillingness to defend the truth and our unwillingness to attack and teach others the importance of obeying God that our neighborhoods, our cities, our country follows the path of evil. Paul wrote: Romans 13:12 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” God has given us the warning, he has given us the charge: Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.” We must obey, we must be teachers, we must spread the word.