2:1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, [a] who will be able to teach others also. 

1 Spiritually engage as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2:3-4

2 Spiritually engage like an honorable athlete. 2:5

3 Spiritually engage like a hard-working farmer. 2:6

4 Spiritual engagement is a well-prayed-through choice. 2:7

2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Good morning Church, I am Robin Harris, one of the elders of Verse by Verse. As you just heard we are going to be in 2 Timothy 2:3-7. The title of the message is Spiritually Engage. Pastor had mentioned several weeks ago that Paul was nearing the end of his journey on this earth. This letter could have been written even days before his execution, yet he is still discipling Timothy. His focus today will be on spiritual engagement, but before we get into our text, let's look at verses 1 and 2 again.

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, [a] who will be able to teach others also. 

 In these two verses, Paul basically says as a steward of the Word and the Gospel, disciple others with what you have learned so that they can disciple others with what they have learned. Discipleship is the key underpinning to this section of Scripture.

With that as the backdrop, Paul exhorts Timothy to be spiritually engaged. To drive home his point, Paul uses occupational illustrations. Paul uses many of these illustrations in this letter. The first one is implied in chapter 1 and 2:1-2. It is the steward entrusted with the Gospel and the Word of God. Today we will look at 3 more occupational illustrations. 

From the very beginning of the church, as shown in the Bible, and as we read historical documents, Christianity has not been a passive unattached religion of rituals. Actually, I would rather not associate following Jesus with the word religion, but more accurately I prefer the word relationship. Just the fact that we are in a relationship and not in a religion emphasizes the fact that Christianity is not passive. Phrases like “I am a Christian, but my church is in the woods” do not carry any water! I heard that type of comment when I was in Oregon where the mountains and forests were plentiful.

Following Jesus is effectively active and effectively connective. Following Jesus can be summed up this way, Spiritually Engaged. I said effectively because we can be active and we can be connective, but we also can be ineffective.

Paul brings this out with the use of occupational illustrations. Each occupation includes an associated adjective. The adjective expresses the quality at which that person performs the occupation ie effectiveness. Without the adjective, no one would know whether or not the person is good at his occupation. Paul wanted young Timothy to be spiritually engaged. Paul didn’t want Timothy to be a minister in name only as he discipled others. Even though this is written to young Timothy, it is wise counsel for both pastors, ministry leads, and the congregation alike. We all minister to someone to some degree. We all disciple to one degree or another. So, let’s dig into the text.  Write this down:

1 Spiritually engage as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2:3-4

 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

There are some very important keywords and phrases in these two verses as we look at spiritual engagement. Before we look at them, what is the occupation that we are dealing with? It is a soldier. What do soldiers do? They fight wars. They have enlisted to fight. They are trained to fight. They are equipped to fight. They are physically and mentally prepared to fight. Paul uses military terms many times as he talks about spiritual engagement. For example: 

2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Do you see the imagery? We have weapons. We destroy strongholds with our weaponry. We are at war. We fight!

Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Paul doesn’t say pick and choose your weaponry. He says put it all on! He also identifies the enemy. Who is the enemy? The devil is our enemy.

So, a soldier fights in wars. A soldier has an enemy. As soldiers of Jesus Christ, we have an enemy and that enemy is satan. We do not use military weapons, but we do use weapons and we do fight. Our fight is a spiritual fight and our weaponry is spiritual weaponry. Let me ask you this, are you in the fight as a good soldier of Jesus Christ? Well, let’s dig deeper into the text.

Let’s deal with one word that freaks people out. One of the words that is associated with spiritual engagement. The word that Paul uses to identify a good soldier of Christ Jesus, not just a soldier of Christ Jesus, but a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The word is suffering. Now if Paul would not have said a good soldier of Christ Jesus, but had just said a good soldier, we might not have made the connection with the word suffering. When he says that this soldier is in the army of Jesus Christ, then it makes perfect sense. Listen 

We are called into suffering 1 Peter 2:20-21 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Paul even invited young Timothy to join him in suffering. 2 

      Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our 

      Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the 

      power of God,

 I will ask the question again, are you in the fight as a good 

      soldier of Jesus Christ? 

       If we are good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we will suffer 2 Timothy 3:12 guarantees that we will suffer. It says, indeed, 

       all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

So how can we suffer as a good soldier of Jesus Christ? Here are some ways, some are extreme and some are not:

A believer can be killed……we see this around the world but not here 

A believer can be tortured …we see this around the world but not here

A believer can be physically, or mentally harmed…it is happening to an extent here

A believer can be reviled…. Most definitely here

A believer can be slandered…… Most definitely here

A believer can be mistreated at their jobs……Most definitely here

A believer can be canceled ……on the rise by institutions and particular sectors of government 

A believer can be targeted …Most definitely here

A believer can be intimidated …. Ex expelled from school for not using the preferred pronoun 

Ex Losing the opportunity to have a new client

As an engineer in Oregon, I was given the assignment to interview with a utility district to become their engineer of record. The interview was going really well until during the interview the potential client started using the Lord’s name in vain as we spoke. When we took a break, I politely asked him not to do that because I was a follower of Christ. Well, he got embarrassed, and the rest of the interview was not as good as the beginning. As you would probably guess, we didn’t get the job. In this world, you will suffer persecution for standing up for Christ.

Listen, suffering is not some crazed badge of honor that we pursue though. It is a result of faithfully following Christ as a good soldier. It is a result of living in the likeness of Christ. It is a result of sharing the Gospel of Christ. It is a result of pointing to the truth of the Word. It is a result of shining light on darkness, especially false religions. You do this and you will be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and you will suffer.

4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

So, what is the difference between a good soldier and a civilian? A good soldier shares in the suffering. A civilian doesn’t share in the suffering. He is distanced from the war. The civilian is not engaged in the battle. The civilian is going about civil pursuits. He is entangled with civil pursuits. These pursuits control his actions. On the other hand, the good soldier is controlled by the one who enlisted him. His actions are controlled by his commander. 

Who is your commander? Do you look at your life as being a civilian in the spiritual war that is raging all around you? Is Jesus your commander or is your civilian pursuits your commander? Listen, you cannot have two commanders, which is it? 

If you are a good soldier of Christ Jesus, you are not entangled with civilian pursuits. For young Timothy, Paul did not want him entangled with what he could gain by a secular job, even though Paul was bi-vocational. Being bi-vocational, ie working as a pastor and working as a tent maker is not bad, but it is challenging. I was a bi-vocational pastor and pastor Mike is currently. But how does this apply to the rest of the congregation? Does this mean you quit work and become a monk, naturally no. It means this, your work is an extension of your faith as a believer, not the other way around. Your commander is Jesus not your place of employment. You can serve your commander, Jesus Christ, and do your secular job. God gives you the grace to do both. 

Sydney McLaughlin won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the Olympic Games, but athletics is not her commander. Jesus is her commander. Listen to the prayer she prays before every race, “give me the strength to do my best, and may whatever I do bring glory to your name.”  Sounds a lot like the principles of 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Spiritually engage as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Write this down as point number two:

2 Spiritually engage like an honorable athlete.

5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Lance Armstrong was a seven-time consecutive winner of the Tour de France from 1999-2005. At the time, I thought he was amazing and so did most people until it was revealed that he was doping. He was charged with using performance-enhancing drugs and with demanding his teammates use them to help him win races. He was not an honorable athlete at the time. He was stripped of his titles, and he was given a lifetime ban from sanctioned cycling events.

Here it is. He was still an athlete, just not an honorable one. 

Why would Paul use this occupation in this way to exhort young Timothy as he discipled others who would then disciple others? Why would he use the illustration of an honorable athlete? 

I believe he is driving home his spiritual point. The athlete must compete according to the rules, or he is disqualified. I believe he is making a very particular point. I believe he is saying to young Timothy and to us, that there are no shortcuts when you follow Jesus. There are no cutting corners. The Word of God must be followed, not the words of men to any extent.

“In the Greek games, which continued for centuries under Roman rule and were still being held in Paul’s time, every participant had to meet three qualifications—of birth, of training, and of competition. First, he had to be a true-born Greek. Second, he had to prepare at least ten months for the games and swear to that before a statue of Zeus. Third, he had to compete within the specific rules for a given event. To fail in any of those requirements meant automatic disqualification. Comparable rules apply to spiritual Christians. We must be truly born again; we must be faithful in study and obedience of God’s Word, in self-denial, and in prayer; and we must live according to Christ’s divine standards of discipleship.”

— 2 Timothy MacArthur New Testament Commentary by John MacArthur

Let me summarize it this way:

1 There are no shortcuts to salvation.

Jesus didn’t say add me to your life, he said surrender your life to me. No shortcuts.

Additionally, If you say I have always been a Christian… you are disqualified 

       If you say I am a good person, I will get to heaven….you are disqualified 

       There had to be a moment in time when you believed the Gospel and put 

       your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior…..qualified through the blood of 

       Jesus Christ.

       If you say I have not put my trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior or this is the 

       first time I have heard about Jesus, then you are not even in the race. You need 

       Jesus or you will perish in your sins. Jesus came down from heaven, lived a 

       perfect life, went to the cross and bore your sins, died, and rose again on the 

       third day. If you will put your trust in Jesus as your Lord and believe in your 

       heart what he did is true, your sins will be forgiven, and you will be saved.    

       You will be in the race.

2 There are no shortcuts to faithfulness.

Bible study, obedience, service, self-denial, gathering as a body and prayer are not optional ……Faithfulness requires a very disciplined life just like a runner in the Olympic Games.

3 There are no shortcuts in pursuing holiness and good works. Your Christian life is a marathon, not a 100-meter dash. None of us have reached the finish line of holiness and good works. The finish line is face-to-face with Jesus in the kingdom! 

Are we prone to take shortcuts? Sure, we are. We live in the I want what I want and I want it now world. This is why Visa and Mastercard are doing so well. It is called shortcuts! I believe there are a lot of good reasons that Jesus said in the model prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread”, but one of them was to establish a heart that is daily surrendered. We live a day-by-day surrender to Christ. It takes day-by-day spiritual discipline to run the race honorably. There are no shortcuts to growing closer to the image of Christ. 

There are no shortcuts as we disciple others who will then disciple others.

Spiritually engage like an honorable athlete.

Write this down as point number 3

3 Spiritually engage like a hard-working farmer. 2:6

6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 

Ex. My biological dad was a farmer, so when I was young, he had me hoe weeds in the cotton field. I was about 10 years old. He would let me off and I would begin to chop weeds until he was out of sight. Then I would get into the middle of the field and lie down with my hoe sticking up or swim in the irrigation ditch. That was a stupid move. Around lunchtime he would come back and find me very easily and it wasn’t good for me when he did. I wasn’t a hard-working farmer. 

On the other hand, my father was a very hard working farmer. He would be up before daybreak and out the door and he normally would not get home until after sunset. During harvest time, I would barely ever see him. Sometimes the work was very hard and other times the work was long and tedious. He had to do what he needed to do when it was needed. Laziness does not produce much of a harvest.

Let’s see how this verse applies to young Timothy. Paul wanted Timothy to be working hard like a farmer, cultivating the fields of people’s lives. Remember, Timothy is going to disciple others who will then disciple others. Again, Paul did not want him to be a minister of the Word in name only. We see the same type of wording given to elders in 1 Timothy 5:17-18 Paul said it this way:

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

In these two sets of verses, we see two valuable descriptions:

hard-working

ruling well

Both are about spiritually cultivating the lives of people, ie discipleship!

Let me tell you based on firsthand knowledge, overseeing the flock of God well as a pastor is no piece of cake. The hours are long, the spiritual battles are intense, and the gravity of the position is weighty. I have seen those who thought they were called to the ministry crumble under the spiritual weight of it all. Only by the grace of God does a pastor stand firm and thrive as he shepherds a flock.

Can a pastor or elder become lazy and spiritually apathetic? Yes, he can, and it is utterly a disgrace that God will handle. They are still a farmer, but not a hard-working farmer. They are still an elder, but they are not ruling well. He has the occupation in name only. 

Now, look at the rest of verse 6. There are rewards for the hardworking farmer. The good soldier of Christ Jesus shares in the sweetest of fellowship with Jesus, the honorable athlete obtains the prize for the race and the hard-working farmer shares in the harvest. 

But look closely, it says he ought to have the first share of the crops. Now that is a distinction that we cannot overlook. What does it mean? From a farming standpoint, it means that since he has been the one who has done the work, he is entitled to his portion of the harvest before he sells the remaining crop or uses it for trade. It is his wages. It is his profit. It is how he provides for his family. Without it, he will not remain a farmer very long and he will not be able to sustain his family.

So, what does it mean for Timothy? I believe it means a couple of things:

Commonly this verse is taken as proof text that we should take care of our pastor financially, and 1 Timothy 5:17-18 also gives proof of this.

I also believe this verse means that the pastor who diligently works hard in preparation for teaching or preaching is the first to benefit from what God has shown Him. Additionally, the pastor who labors long and hard to see people's lives changed through his dedicated prayer, his long-suffering counsel, and his uncompromising teaching shares the fruitfulness that only God can give.

Now, let’s bring it home to all believers. Are you plowing the field of people’s lives? When you diligently pour into people and see a response to the Gospel, do you not partake in the fruitfulness of a life won to Christ? Oh yes, you do! When you work long and hard through prayer and longsuffering, providing counsel to your prodigal, when they let you, and you see a harvest of repentance, do you not rejoice with heaven? Oh yes, you do! When you have discipled someone and now you see them discipling someone else do you not share in the harvest to come? Oh yes, you do! Yes, this verse applies to us as we labor in the fields of people’s lives awaiting a bountiful harvest!

Spiritually engage like a hard working farmer.

Each one of the occupations that we have covered applied to Timothy, the ones he would disciple, the ones they would disciple, and on and on, and also to us. The key though is the adjective.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus.

An Honorable athlete.

A hard-working farmer.

The occupational name does not imply effectiveness. If we had a Google review for Paul, I would think that he would have 5 stars for each occupation. How about us?

Write this down as we close:

4. Spiritual engagement is a well-prayed-through choice. 2:7

After verses 1-6, Paul creates a pause. Look at verse 7.

3:7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Why did Paul do this? He has several more occupational illustrations to cover. I believe Paul is telling Timothy to meditate on what he has said, chew on what he has said, and ponder on what he has said, pray about what he has said, and consider how is own life lines up. That is how important these illustrations were.

Let me ask you this, is the Lord speaking to you today, I believe He is. He did with me. No matter where you are in your spiritual journey with the Lord, the Lord is saying don’t walk away from this message and forget it by Monday morning. This message needs to be chewed on. And when you do, God will give you understanding and will move you closer to Himself through surrender to spiritual engagement. 

Remember this,

Good soldiers of Christ Jesus do not desert from the front lines, they engage in the battle.

Committed followers of Christ run the race to the end, they don’t quit, nor do they take shortcuts.

Servants of the Lord plow the fields of people’s lives anticipating a harvest.