"Going"
As good soldiers, we need to be prepared to say, "I know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God." Archaeology has demonstrated the accuracy of the Scriptures, as has science. The fulfilled prophecies within the Scriptures make it unique. No other book has contained such predictions and seen them fulfilled. Besides, the Bible claims to be inspired of God (and not the wisdom of men) (John 12:48-50; 14:25-26; 16:12-13; 1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). A few have tried to set forth numerous Bible errors, but their lists usually consist of their own misunderstandings or things that can be easily harmonized.
The Bible is the training manual for the soldier. It alone is the only source for objective truth we have. Without it we would have no definitions of right or wrong; we would not know who we were fighting for—or why. We are fighting for the faith, the truth, the gospel, the doctrine of the New Testament, the way, the Word. Anything other than the Holy Scriptures is of men and not of God. We uphold the Bible as that which: 1) teaches the truth regarding salvation, 2) enables men and women to live up to the spiritual potential God put within us all, 3) causes us to know what morality is and to want to live morally, and 4) teaches us about the family and what our proper roles are.
"There is a way that seems right to men, but its ways are the ways of death" (Pr. 14:12). We uphold the light of the world to those in darkness, who do not know their right hand from their left (spiritually speaking). The Bible is the only source of true information on these matters. It is our privilege to defend the integrity of the Scriptures before all of its enemies.
Jesus
The army of God upholds Jesus as Deity, the Son of God. Every time we hear someone say, "I think Jesus was a good man, but not the Son of God," we should make sure that our armor is on and fitting snugly. The enemy may be modernists or Jehovah's Witnesses; we must be ready to defend our Lord. The Bible teaches that Jesus is eternal (John 1:1-2; 8:56-58) and that He is God (John 14:7). Only God can be worshipped (Acts 10:25-26; Rev. 19:10), and Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped (Matt. 8:2; 9:18). If there was no other plain passage proving His Deity, the fact that Jesus is worshipped would amply establish the tenet. He demonstrated His Deity by the miracles He performed (John 20:30-31), and on occasion He healed someone to make the very point that He is Divine (Mark 2:1-12).
Christians stand ready to fight for our Lord (spiritually speaking). We are not fighting for an earthly ruler, such as Napoleon, or for earthly territory. We are in an ideological war. Satan, our enemy, has put forth several false ideas concerning the Son of God, and it is our task to fight against such damning doctrines. No one can be saved by rejecting Christ. Neither Muslims nor Buddhists (nor any other religion) can serve as a means of getting to heaven. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The Jews could not get there through the Law of Moses in the first century, let alone in the twenty-first century. "No man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). "Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). The Christian army is not fighting for multi-cultural mushiness. Jesus and Jesus alone can save mankind from its sins and lead people into heaven. All other would-be prophets and leaders are impostors.
The Church
We have the honor of defending and protecting the church. This body of believers was built by Jesus (Mat. 16:18) and paid for by Jesus (Acts 20:28). It belongs to Him; He is its Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). He is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23), which means that only those who are in this body will be saved. There is but one body (Eph. 4:4)—one church. Jesus nourishes and cherishes that body (Eph. 5:28-29).
Jesus did not die for and did not establish a single religious denomination. The church He established became apostate, as prophesied (2 Thess. 2). Men began establishing religious denominations in the sixteenth century. God authorized none of them; they do not exist with His blessing.
Denominationalism is predicated upon the notion that God approves of religious division. How can anyone even entertain such a faulty idea when Jesus prayed earnestly for the unity of all believers on the night He was betrayed (John 17:20-21)? If there were any doubts, Paul makes it absolutely unambiguous by admonishing the Corinthians to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). Likewise the army of God is not ashamed to ask, "Was Luther crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Wesley?" (1 Cor. 1:11-13). To put to rest any lagging doubt, Paul further informs the Corinthian brethren that they are carnal in their thinking. If they accept division and strife, they are still carnal. At least they had an excuse; they were ignorant. What is the rationale today of those who remain in religious denominations?
The soldiers of Christ are prepared to fight against more than those on the outside, however; we are ready to fight against the liberals WITHIN the body of Christ who seem to have forgotten Whose we are. Many, such as Lucado, Shelly, Atchley, Harris, Fulenwider, and others frequently fellowship those in denominations. They have deserted the army of the living God and are lending support to the enemy. In many cases they have belittled the church for which Christ died, and it ought to make us fighting mad—that the church for which Jesus died has come under attack by those (who claim to be) within. These are Benedict Arnolds, who need to be exposed and driven back to the kingdom of darkness, which they really represent. No one has the right to rob the Lord's church of its identity and attempt to prostitute it or equate it with organizations established and built by men. Every able-bodied, right-thinking, red-blooded soldier of Christ is needed on the front lines to fight against these men and cast them out—before they seduce more soldiers to their Satanic cause. Soldiers of Christ MUST arise to preserve the identity of the Lord's Church before these wolves tear and scatter us further.
Salvation
As soldiers, our field manual is the Bible, and one of the most important pieces of information in it is: "How does one become a soldier in the first place?" Anyone who enlists in an earthly army must undergo a physical examination and go through an induction process. Entering into the Lord's army requires a spiritual test: all must know something of the character of God and of Christ. They must know that Jesus is the Son of God and that there is but one Book of authority for this army. They must know that, once they have completed their training and been obedient, they will be added to the one and only army of the Lord. Their obedience, of course, is to repent of their sins and to be baptized unto forgiveness, also referred to as obeying the gospel (Acts 2:38-41, 47; Rom. 6:3-7; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Thess. 1:8; Col. 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21). Once one becomes a soldier, he is allowed to defend the army's Head, its Manual, and his fellow soldiers.
Some have attempted to pervert the Manual, saying that it is possible to become part of the army in a number of ways. Some are advocating that just saying, "I want to be in the Lord's army," is sufficient. They are in favor of doing away with the necessity of the training Manual for a more simple loyalty oath. This very teaching, in itself, disrespects the Book. Those same individuals mistakenly think that, once they have become a part of the army, they can never be court-martialed. Therefore, many of them never stand guard duty, although they occasionally stop by for rations.
Jesus did not tell people to enlist any way they chose. He named specifically faith and baptism (Mark 16:15-16), having taught the essentiality of repentance previously (Luke 13:3). Peter mentioned repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), when it was evident that the people believed. Peter did not say to be baptized for ANY reason; he named a specific reason—"for the remission of sins." What army puts forth a Manual and does not specify the particulars? Yet some would say that entrance can be granted in a number of ways and for a number of reasons.
This philosophy is just plain wrong, and it seeks to rob the Lord's army of its distinctiveness. To be a part of Christ's troops is a privilege and an honor. Those who want less stringent requirements are really taking issue with our King and Commander and the elite nature of His troops. They seek to make us equal with the troops of lesser armies, which practice cannot be allowed to occur. There is one, and only one, army that can fight against the devil and deliver people from his tyrannical rule. He is worse than any Saddam Hussein or other self-appointed dictator; we are the liberators.
The Faith
Jude said to earnestly contend for the faith (v. 3). There is only one faith that God revealed (Eph. 4:4). It is from heaven and needs not the approval of men. It is the only faith—even if the whole world rejects it (as in the time prior to the Flood). We must contend for the elements of truth within this system and fight against the introduction of manmade errors, such as premillennialism, unauthorized forms of "army government," expanded roles of leadership for women in the "military," and innovations in worship that are not authorized by the Manual.
The army of God has the task of maintaining the order and the traditions established since the first century. No army can function well if there is rebellion within the ranks. When some march to a different drumbeat, soldiers will be out of step, thus causing chaos. There is a need for internal discipline. Those who are AWOL so that they can fellowship the enemy must not be allowed to be identified as part of the Lord's army. Those who grumble and question why they cannot do what is not authorized need to be disciplined. No army can function as it should when portions of it are not following orders but making up their own.
Evangelism
Our King wants us to conquer and be victorious. Therefore, we are given the proper equipment. This job is one that only His soldiers can do; thus, we take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and fight with it. Our overall enemy is Satan. He is deluding the whole world, and we are the only ones who can in any measure undo the damage he has done. For this reason we challenge the lusts of the flesh through which he promises people happiness, knowing that fleshly lusts cannot ultimately satisfy (Matt. 5:3-10). Christ's army challenges the thinking of those who promote pornography, casual sexual relationships, drinking, drugs, homosexuality, and other such manifestations. Many will not find a reason to avoid these things unless the army of God stands up to fight against them.
We also fight against the philosophies and ideas of men that turn people away from God, such as humanism, atheism, evolution, postmodernism, fatalism, etc. Many have also fallen prey to the teachings of false religion and various cults. Some become fixated upon a false idea and cannot let go of it. We must be prepared to shine the light of truth upon the various forms of doctrinal darkness.
In addition to making a defense of the faith, we have the privilege of presenting the pure gospel to those under the domination of sin. How great would we feel to be part of a rescue team, delivering coal miners from deep underground after a cave-in. We have done something very similar when someone obeys the gospel. The dirt and the soot of sin can be washed away by the blood of Christ in baptism. The clean air of Christian doctrine is now theirs to breathe. They were trapped and could not deliver themselves, but the gospel, with the help of a few soldiers (Rom. 10:14), delivered them. The joy of those who know they have been redeemed is infectious, and it makes us want to look for more lost souls.
The Future
After becoming part of the Lord's army, we devote ourselves to sharpening our swords. We have work to do. We know that our King cares for each one of us, and we grow in love and fellowship with each other. We learn to fight the battles before us and pray one for another—to be spiritually safe.
Some day each soldier lays down his weapons and removes his armor for the last time; the fight will be carried on by new recruits and will continue while the earth stands. The diligent soldier will get to be with his fellow soldiers and others who fought before him, whom he never met. Best of all, he will be in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. All will honor Him, and we can swap war stories. What a grand time eternal rest will be. It is not too late to enlist.
[*This article was published ten years ago in Spiritual Perspectives (March 6, 2005).]