1. Qualities of a Good Soldier
2 Timothy 2:3-4

2. We Are At War!
We must continually remind ourselves of this!
1 Timothy 6:12 – fight the good fight of faith
Ephesians 6:12 – a spiritual war
Satan is our enemy!

3. Not everyone is a good soldier
In physical armies, many are disqualified – some before they enlist, others after they enlist and are training
Spiritually, many are not good soldiers – ill prepared, unwilling to fight disloyal to God defecting to Satan’s army
Being a good soldier depends on us – ALL can serve!

4. A good soldier… Must enlist
You are not part of the army, unless you enlist
We are not drafted, we must join the army of the Lord
2 Timothy 2:4 – we are enlisted as a soldier
Romans 13:14
Obey the gospel- Romans 6:3-4, 17-18, Galatians 3:26-27

5. A good soldier… Must arm himself
Being a soldier means taking up arms to fight
In the Lord’s army, we are to put on our armor
Ephesians 6:10-18 – the armor of God
1 Peter 4:1- arm yourselves
A spiritual warfare 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Romans 13:12-14

6. A good soldier… Must train
You will not be effective in conflict if you have not learned to use your equipment, and how to identify the enemy, etc.
Christians cannot sit by idly
Hebrews 5:12-14
1 Corinthians 9:27
Bible study, prayer, assembling, working together, etc.

7. A good soldier… Endures hardships
One doesn’t join the military to become wealthy. There is great material risk. They join for other reasons – love of country, etc.
Christians join out of love – Matthew 22:37
We must be willing to sacrifice 2 Timothy 2:3-4
Hebrews 10:36-39

8. A good soldier…
Obeys orders
Soldiers are trained to respond without asking questions
Christians must trust what God says and obey His commands – Hebrews 5:8-9
Matthew 28:19-20
2 John 9

9. A good soldier…
Makes his work a priority
A soldier is a soldier first!
Christians must put God first at all times – 2 Timothy 2:3-4
Matthew 6:33 Luke 14:33, 26-27

10. A good soldier…
Needs to fight
While physical armies enjoy “peacetime”, spiritually, we are at war! We are called to fight!
Fight the good fight of faith 1 Timothy 6:12
Philippians 1: Timothy 4:7-8

11. Final thought:
We CAN become disqualified in the Lord’s army
1 Corinthians 9:27
But our faithfulness is up to us. God will not randomly disqualify anyone!

12. Are you a good soldier of Christ?
Have you enlisted in His army?