Today’s subject deals with the military. But this is not your ordinary military. No red, white and blue flag representing this military force. No white Navy uniform; no green Army uniform; and no Blue dress Marine uniform. This is not the Coast Guard, the Air Force or the Green Beret.
Because all of these fight under the banner of the great American flag — “My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing” … the thing about soldiers is that they all represent something; they all stand for something; they are all committed to a cause.
Now when men and women enlist they are all aware of the risk of serving in the armed forces. Should war break out and they are called to battle, they are conscious of the fact that there is a possibility that they may lose their lives; and community, on “Memorial Day” last Monday we took time to honor all of the fallen veterans that paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have.
The Army is to make men out of boys; to train them and prepare them for combat. Now understand that there are soldiers, and then there are GOOD soldiers. For there is a difference. And if we didn’t know, all Christian believers are soldiers in the army of the Lord; if you are a Christian you are in God’s army; no particular branch, we operate under the blood of the Lamb; we are soldiers of the cross and we fight under one banner — THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
But I want to talk today about the good soldier, because the truth of the matter is everybody is not one. Oh no, everybody is not a good representative of the army that we serve in, the cross and the one who died there. Some have left their post and some have gone AWOL. So let me tell you right off that a soldier is not defined by how they look. Many people join the military because of their outward appearance; they love the uniform. But outward appearance is just what it is, an outward appearance.
Good soldiers are not determined by what they have on, on the outside, because that’s just an appearance as good as it may look and that’s not what God is looking for (1 Sam. 16:7). But a good soldier is made by his or her commitment to the cause for which they are enlisted, because a lot of folks look good on the outside, especially at church. In fact it’s hard to distinguish the wheat from the tares by looking on the outside — for some that claim to be wheat is nothing but tares.
If being saved was by looks, everybody looks saved at church; some look more saved than others, but we all know that looks can be deceiving. And the same thing applies to the soldier of the cross — dressing good does not make you good; in fact dressing good does not make you saved!
Now if you want to know about a good Christian soldier, here it is … a good Christian soldier dresses up in the fruit of the spirit that looks good on anybody. When a Christian has love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith and temperance or control of the temper (Gal. 5:22,23), that looks good on any Christian soldier.
Even a so-called ugly soldier looks good when they have this uniform on. On the other hand, the so-called good-looking soldier looks ugly when they don’t have the fruit of the spirit on (Gal. 5:19-21). Because you can look good but act ugly and that makes you look bad. That’s why we all ought to strive to be a “good” soldier.
A good soldier is committed to the cause of Christ. Now let me tell you what a good soldier will do …, a good soldier will tell the truth; they are known for telling the truth; in fact, that’s a part of the Whole Armor that we are encouraged to put (Eph. 6:14a). Christians ought to tell the truth. When we don’t tell the truth we open up ourselves to the attacks of the enemy, and that’s not a good soldier.
The question we all need to ask ourselves today is “what kind of soldier am I?” In the real world the soldier is to ever be on alert; they are to be vigilant; they can’t act like civilians; it could cost them their lives. And lastly, only the good soldiers get shot at; those that stand for something; for only the good soldiers are on the front line. The Apostle Paul told his spiritual son Timothy, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:1)” … then he says, “Endure hardship as a GOOD soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:1,3).”
Friends, when you are a GOOD soldier Satan will take pot shots at you; you’ll be criticized for everything you do; you won’t have many true friends; sometimes you’ll have to walk alone. Folks will stab you in the back; they will sell you out; they may even spread rumors, lies and cast your name out; you are open game. But a GOOD soldier knows how to “take a lickin, and keep right on ticking.” For if you can take it, you can make it.
So be tough, be strong and be a GOOD soldier of Jesus Christ.
The Rev. George Ellis is pastor at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
