Army of Christ

         There seems to be a major misconception in the world today that we as Christians should simply build our buildings, hire a preacher, open the doors, and people will show up. Of course, if you have a dynamic speaker that makes people feel good, or gets them fired up, by word of mouth more people will come in, and the more people you have, the more faithful and good your church is. There is no or very little work outside of the church building. Oh, there may be missions where members go to different parts of the world and build schools and possibly hand out Bibles and give a sermon or two, but no real outreach to teach people the Word of God. Why? I think the biggest reason is we are afraid to offend anyone or their beliefs. We must respect their beliefs and walk away quietly if there are those who don't believe. And in doing so, we are showing them that we love them for who they are. Is this the right thing to do however? Does God want us to move around the world quietly and allow unbelievers to speak louder and with more authority that His followers? Paul often mentions Christians as being part of an army, and to "fight the good fight" (1 Tim. 6:12), "war a good warfare" (1 Tim. 1:18), and Jude wrote in Jude 3 to defend for the faith. What does this mean, and how are we to do it? Have no fear, scripture tells us exactly how and why.
         Since the Bible refers Christians to soldiers, God makes it clear that we should compare ourselves to them. So what are the characteristics of a good soldier? First, a soldier obviously must be part of an army, not a vigilante who fights for his/her own cause, or a mercenary who will fight for anyone's cause for the right price. We see many televangelists today who used to be members of one belief, but now have their "own" church with thousands in their congregation and millions following on the T.V. Soldiers of Christ must fight together, for His cause, which means being in His army. Anything else, will mean being in the much larger but weaker army of Satan. There is no in-between. To be a great soldier, you must also wear the proper uniform to distinguish yourself from your enemies. Christians should not just be Christians in worship, but should be a good example outside of the building and show the world the love and compassion, yet strength and courage we are about. To be a great soldier we must also be properly trained in the work that we do. Of course for Christians, this means to do all that Christ has commanded us (Matt. 28:19-20). Note that Christ didn't say to do what we thought was right, but to do as He commanded. And to be a great soldier, we must be prepared to go into battle, not just a "parade ground" soldier, one who puts on a good show and looks impressive, but one who will fight for the faith such as Paul, Philip, and Stephen. What great army on earth does not follow the commands of their commanding officer? What soldier hears a command, then says "Well, I know what you said, but I think we should do it this way?" That kind of army will not last long and is easily defeated.
         So what makes a great army? What is it's characteristics? Firstly, a great army must have a great commander in chief. What would the world look like today if we did not have leaders such as Winston Churchill, FDR, or Abraham Lincoln? The army of God has the greatest of all commanders in Christ. During times of war, commanders will have to change their strategy as battles are won or lost and positions change. However, when we read and study the Bible, the strategy has remained the same and was written thousands of years ago, and is perfect, never having to change. God does not have to change, and in fact said He never would (Mal. 3:6). For those who want to change the marching orders that we have been given, they are saying the original orders were not perfect because times and situations change. God warns us NOT to do that. A great army must have great fighters who will fight and defend for the faith. These are the preachers that are willing to stand behind the pulpit, and preach the truth of the Word and nothing else. They are not afraid of being ridiculed and or persecuted for their beliefs and teachings. And of course, what would a great army be without the rank and file soldiers who go out and do battle each and every day. These are the members of the church, who are to go out and spread the Word to all who are within earshot. This is our job, our mission, to teach to all who would listen, and contend for the faith (Jude 3). When someone begins preaching something other than the truth, should we defend God or be silent to not offend others? What would the church look like today if Paul, Philip, Stephen had not fought for Christ? This is why Paul, in his farewell letter to Timothy wrote that he had "fought the good fight" (2 Tim. 4:7), in the war against Satan (1 Tim. 1:18).
         We must go out into the world to spread the gospel message, because just building a building will not bring true believers to God. It is unfortunate that people today are offended by His Word, but this has always been the case and always will be, and God expects us to fight for Him. After all, don't we owe it to Him for the sacrifice He gave for each and every one of us? Be proud to be a member of the Army of Christ, and fight for Him to save lost souls. It is not about disrespecting someone for their beliefs, but it is because we love them and care about their souls as to why we are to talk and not remain quiet in our beliefs. Always remember, if we stay silent because we might offend someone, we are offending God, and telling Him we are not good strong soldiers in His wonderful army.