Paul often used military illustrations in his letters. This is not surprising since he lived in a military state and was in prison himself. He described in these verses the characteristics of a “good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
He endures hardship (v. 3). Many people have the idea that the ministry is a soft job. Preachers are often the butt of jokes that suggest they are lazy and should be ashamed of accepting their salaries. But a dedicated Christian minister is in a battle that requires spiritual endurance (see Eph. 6:10ff.).
He avoids worldly entanglements (v. 4). He is totally committed to his Commanding Officer, the One who enlisted him. In our case, this is Jesus Christ. I recall a story about a Civil War soldier who happened to be a watchmaker. One day the bugle sounded and the men were told to break camp. “But I can’t go now!” the soldier complained. “I have a dozen watches to repair!”
It is sometimes necessary for a pastor, or a pastor’s wife, to be employed because their church is not able to support them. This is a sacrifice on their part and an investment in the work. But a pastor who is fully supported should not get involved in sidelines that divide his interest and weaken his ministry. I have met pastors who spend more time on their real estate ventures than on their churches. Our purpose is to please the Lord, not ourselves.
He magnifies Jesus Christ (vv. 8–9). “Remember Jesus Christ!” is the way this phrase should be translated. It sounds almost like a war cry, like “Remember the Alamo!” or “Remember Pearl Harbor!” Jesus is the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10), and our purpose is to bring honor and glory to Him. What an encouragement Jesus Christ is to a suffering Christian soldier! For He died and rose again, proving that suffering leads to glory, and that seeming defeat leads to victory. Jesus was treated as an evildoer, and His soldiers will be treated the same way.
The best way to magnify Christ is through the ministry of the Word. Paul was bound, but God’s Word cannot be bound. “His Word runneth very swiftly” (Ps. 147:15). “The Word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24).
He thinks of the whole army (v. 10). “The elect” are God’s people, chosen by His grace and called by His Spirit (2 Thess. 2:13–14). Paul not only suffered for the Lord’s sake, but he also suffered for the sake of the church. There were yet many people to reach with the gospel, and Paul wanted to help reach them. A soldier who thinks only of himself is disloyal and undependable.
He trusts his Commanding Officer (vv. 11–13). This “faithful saying” is probably part of an early statement of faith recited by believers. (For other “faithful sayings” in the pastoral letters, see 1 Tim. 1:15; 4:9; and Titus 3:8.) It is faith in Jesus Christ that gives us victory (1 John 5:4). We do not fear the enemies, for He has already conquered them. Through our identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection, we have won the victory (see Rom. 6).
What a pair of paradoxes! Death leads to life! Suffering leads to reigning in glory! We have nothing to fear! The important thing is that we not “disown” our Lord, for if we disown Him here, He will disown us before the Father (Matt. 10:33). In that great “roll call” in glory, when the “medals” are given out, we will lose our reward if we disown His name.
But Paul makes it clear (2 Tim. 2:13) that even our own doubt and unbelief cannot change Him: “He abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself.” We do not put faith in our faith or in our feelings, because they will change and fail. We put our faith in Christ. The great missionary, J. Hudson Taylor, often said, “It is not by trying to be faithful, but in looking to the Faithful One, that we win the victory.”