Paul’s Charge as an Old Soldier to a Young Soldier

By Samuel E. Ward   Veteran's Day Sunday November 11, 2012   Introduction "Top Secret" mystery missions, many without other ships in support, were becoming uncomfortably familiar for the crew of the USS Nashville CL43. It started like a Hollywood thriller, secretly transporting from England $25 million in British gold bullion, delivered to the ship in unguarded bread trucks, a pre-war "Neutrality Patrol" that was really an unofficial hostile search for the far bigger and more powerful German battleship Prinz Eugen, and sneaking through the Panama Canal at night with the ship's name and hull number covered for secrecy. Now, with the ship bulging with an unusual load of fuel and supplies, in the company of a large fleet quietly passing under San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the crew was about to learn of their latest (but not last) and most improbable adventure yet as the captain made an announcement that would change the war and their lives forever, "We are going to Tokyo!". Over three years, scores of battles and hundreds of thousands of ocean miles later, the Nashville and her crew had earned 10 Battle Stars, served from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, from the Aleutians to the Yangtze River, as McArthur's flagship and suffered heavy casualties from a devastating kamikaze attack. Tokyo Rose reported her sunk, repeatedly. Earlier, with goodwill trips that included France, England, Scandinavia, Bermuda and Rio de Janeiro, the new, sleek Nashville built a pre-war reputation as a "glamour ship". But with war came the secret missions, capturing the second and third Japanese POWs of the war, having a torpedo pass just under the stern, being strafed and bombed by Japanese planes, losing a third of the crew in a single Kamikaze attack, swimming in shark infested waters protected by marines with machine guns, enjoying the beauty of Sydney and her people, planning a suicide mission to destroy the Japanese fishing fleet, and bombarding Japanese troops and airfields across the Pacific. The Nashville crew served their ship and country well. They came from Baltimore rowhouses, New York walk-ups, San Francisco flats, Kansas wheat farms, Colorado cattle ranches, Louisiana bayous and Maine fishing towns. Many had never traveled more than 25 miles from home and had never seen the ocean until they joined the service. They were part Irish, part Italian, part Polish and All-American. Battered, burnt and bombed, they made the USS Nashville their home and lived and died as eternal shipmates.[1] This is the description of a book chronicling the exploits of the ship and crew who served on the USS Nashville during World War II.  A veteran of that crew is a member of our church.  He matches the description Steve Bustin gave of those crew members of the Nashville who had survived several encounters with the enemy.  All of them were in danger at various times and all of them saw the grotesqueness of death during war. Many displayed stunning acts of heroism in defense of their ship and the care of their shipmates. Yet never once during hundreds of conversations did I hear a boastful remark from a crew member in regards to his role and actions. They were proud and boastful about the ship and their crewmates, never about themselves. They truly were, and are, humble heroes.[2]   I don't know if I have ever told Ray Kincaid this, or not, but I have considered him not only a war hero, but a spiritual hero, as well.  His spiritual life has grown deeply over the years and it is that very quality that has inspired me to be willing to be a "learner" as I live.  Some of his ideas have only deepened with conviction in the passage of time, while others have been changed as his study of God's Word led him to other conclusions more consistent with Scripture.  God's truth and will has always been, and continues to be, central to his life.  Irene, his wife, has grown with him along with him. We should listen to the old veterans of spiritual wars.  They can teach us much.  As I grow older, I have developed a deep desire to pass on to a new generation the same sense of urgency to serve Christ on the spiritual battlefield that motivated me to ministry.  Whether in the ministry, or not, none of us are exempted from serving Christ.  I am fully aware that Paul is writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, in regard to his calling as a pastor.  There is nothing here that cannot be applied to all Christians in terms of accountability for one's service to Christ, responsibility to minister  God's Word to the needs of others, and to guard the purity of the truth. Paul spent nearly the whole of his adult life as a soldier of Christ.  Indeed, he had directed Timothy to "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."  (2 Tim 2:3 NIV)  Those expecting the life of a disciple of Christ to be one of comfort and ease should remember what Paul wrote to Timothy. (2 Tim 3:10-13 NIV)  You . . . know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, {11} persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. {12} In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, {13} while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. We benefit by the experience of veteran saints who have been long in the spiritual battlefield.  They testify to God's faithfulness to supply all that we need and to be true His promise never to forsake us.  We are at not at war with  "flesh and blood . . . but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:12 NIV) While we want to honor those who are veterans of wars fought on behalf of our nation, let us also honor those who are veterans of the spiritual war and recognize that the date of their discharge from the conflict will coincide with the date of their entrance into the presence of Christ. This is true for all of us. Let us learn from Paul's charge as an old soldier to a young soldier. I. The Solemn Charge of the Old Soldier, 2 Tim 4:1-2 A. The Divine Accountability Attached to the Charge, 2 Tim 4:1 (2 Tim 4:1 NIV)  In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: In this one verse we observe that. . . 1. The young soldier has been officially commissioned in the presence of God and Christ Jesus. 2. The young soldier has been reminded that he shall be judged by the One who will judge all the living and dead. 3. The young soldier has been instructed that he shall answer to the fulfillment of his duties when Christ and His kingdom appears. Paul has warned Christians in a letter to the Corinthians that our lives our given to us as a stewardship.  An accounting will made by each of us relative to how we have contributed to the cause of Christ.  Every act shall be judged as either good or bad, positive or negative, adding to or detracting from the glory of God. (2 Cor 5:9-10 NIV)  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. B. The Specific Duties Which Accompany the Charge, 2 Tim 4:2 (2 Tim 4:2 NIV)  Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. With great patience and careful instruction, the young soldier is to . . . 1. Preach the Word – This is more than educating people about God, it is proclaiming the gospel's power to transform sinners into saints by faith in the saving work of Christ. 2. Be prepared – Literally, this means to be "on alert" to do the work of God whenever the opportunity arises whether it is convenient, or not.  We do not fit God into our plans, but ours into His. 3. Correct those who are straying –  By doing so, we show others the way to life; by neglecting it we risk others being led astray. (Prov 10:17 NIV)  (Prov 10:17 NIV)  He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. 4. Rebuke the rebellious – Godly rebuke is an expression of love to the erring brother or sister.  Its rejection only reveals a rebellious heart that God promises to deal with. (Prov 1:29-31 NIV)  Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, {30} since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, {31} they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 5. Encourage righteousness – One of the best means of guarding against sin is to be always encouraging each other to live righteously. (Heb 3:12-13 NIV)  See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. {13} But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. C. The Appearance of False Teachers Necessitates the Charge, 2 Tim 4:3-4 (2 Tim 4:3-4 NIV)  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. {4} They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 1. The source of the threats will come from those who will not subject themselves to the revealed will of God.  They are ruled by their own lustful desires. 2. The scheme is to fill the church with teachers who have their same lascivious character. 3. The result will be that God's truth will be substituted for the world's devilish lies. II. The Necessary Deportment  of the Young Soldier, 2 Tim 4:5 (2 Tim 4:5 NIV)  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Soldiers of Christ must have a . . .  A. Clear Head – Completely alert and vigilant against spiritual attacks.  B. Determined Spirit – Spiritually prepared to endure any hardship for the sake of Christ. C. Evangelistic Mindset – Mentally ready to share the gospel with unbelievers. D. Faithful Heart – Wholly devoted to leaving no duty or responsibility unfinished. I am reminded of Paul's earlier words to the Ephesian elders in which he expanded on how important it was for them to tend to their flocks with due diligence and vigilance. (Acts 20:28-31 NIV)  Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  {29} I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. {30} Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. {31} So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. III. The Anticipated Discharge of the Old Soldier, 2 Tim 4:6-7 (2 Tim 4:6-7 NIV)  For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. {7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. A. The Old Soldier Is Willing to Lay Down His Life B. The Old Soldier Knows the Time of His Departure Has Come. C. The Old Soldier Is Satisfied with His Fight. D. The Old Soldier Is Glad to Have Finished the Race. E. The Old Soldier Is Proud to Have Served Faithfully. I hope I do not sound too pious in saying that it would be enough for me to hear from Jesus those words of the master to his servant in Jesus' parable of the talents . . . (Mat 25:21 NIV)  "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" IV. The Excitement of the Old Soldier's Meeting His Commander-in-Chief and then Receiving His Award, 2 Tim 4:8 (2 Tim 4:8 NIV)  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. A. The Commander-in-Chief Is Jesus Christ. B. The Award Is the Crown of Righteousness C. The Basis of the Award Is Having Longed for the Lord's Appearing. D. The Award Could Be Yours as Well. Conclusion 1. There is no other way to heaven, though there are many ways to hell. (Acts 4:12 NIV)  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." 2. There is no other righteousness but Christ's that can satisfy God's requirement that we be righteous before we can enter His heaven. (Rom 3:20-24 NIV)  Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.  {21} But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. {22} This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, {23} for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, {24} and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 3. There is no condemnation to hell for those who trust Christ for their salvation. (John 3:16-18 NIV)  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. {17} For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. {18} Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 4. When your service for Christ on earth is done, it will be remembered and rewarded in heaven. (1 Cor 15:58 NIV)  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. [1] Book description of Humble Heroes, Steve Bustin, see http://www.amazon.com/Humble-Heroes-Nashville-CL43-Fought/dp/1419658840   [2] Steve Bustin, Humbe Heroes, Privately published, 2007.