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Blessed assurance
Blessed assurance – Day 9
Xanthe Hancox

Blessed assurance – Day 9

Onward Christian soldiers

Bible text(s)

2 Timothy 2

3Take your part in suffering, as a loyal soldier of Christ Jesus. 4A soldier on active service wants to please his commanding officer and so does not get mixed up in the affairs of civilian life. 5An athlete who runs in a race cannot win the prize unless he obeys the rules.

2 Timothy 2:3-5GNBOpen in Bible reader

Ephesians 6

Children and Parents

1Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do. 2“Respect your father and mother” is the first commandment that has a promise added: 3“so that all may go well with you, and you may live a long time in the land.”

4Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction.

Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ. 6Do this not only when they are watching you, because you want to gain their approval; but with all your heart do what God wants, as slaves of Christ. 7Do your work as slaves cheerfully, as though you served the Lord, and not merely human beings. 8Remember that the Lord will reward everyone, whether slave or free, for the good work they do.

9Masters, behave in the same way towards your slaves and stop using threats. Remember that you and your slaves belong to the same Master in heaven, who judges everyone by the same standard.

The Whole Armour of God

10Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. 11Put on all the armour that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. 12For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. 13So put on God's armour now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.

14So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight round your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, 15and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. 16At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. 17And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. 18Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people. 19And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret. 20For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.

Final Greetings

21Tychicus, our dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord's work, will give you all the news about me, so that you may know how I am getting on. 22That is why I am sending him to you — to tell you how all of us are getting on, and to encourage you.

23May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give to all Christian brothers and sisters peace and love with faith. 24May God's grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love.

Ephesians 6GNBOpen in Bible reader

“Onward, Christian Soldiers” was written in 1865 with no intention of ever being published. Rev Sabine Baring-Gould, the author, was at that time the curate of a parish in Yorkshire County in the north of England, and his own account of how and why he wrote it still survives:

“It was written in a very simple fashion. Whit Monday is a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire, and one Whit Monday, it was arranged that our school should join its forces with that of a neighbouring village. I wanted the children to sing when marching from one village to the other, but couldn’t think of anything quite suitable, so I sat up at night and resolved to write something myself. ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’ was the result. It was written in great haste and I am afraid some of the rhymes are faulty. Certainly, nothing has surprised me more than its great popularity.”

The hymn has a militaristic theme and a rousing marching melody for which is has been criticised. Some church denominations have removed it from their hymn books entirely.

But are we not in a war? The words of the hymn make it clear that the focus is on this spiritual battle – that our foe is Satan, not men, and that our King and Commander-in-Chief is the eternal, omnipotent Christ whose kingdom cannot fail.

“Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
 with the cross of Jesus going on before.
 Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
 forward into battle, see his banners go!”

The Bible teaches us that Satan has waged war against God and those who follow him. It may not be a physical war, but it is no less real and there is no middle ground. All Christians are on a spiritual battlefield. In his letter to Timothy, Paul uses military language to describe the extent of our commitment to this spiritual battle. Once we’re enlisted, we must be willing to fully surrender our will – we must accept the given task and prepare for deployment. In Ephesians 6, he instructs the church to “put on the whole armour of God” because we wrestle against the spiritual forces of evil.

Many are willing to carry the banner, but not all are willing to make it their life’s pursuit. Are you in? Are you committed? Are you willing to rise up and fight for Christ Jesus? Onward, Christian solider!

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