God’s Word for You
2 Timothy 2:3-4 as a good soldier
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, June 10, 2026
3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; he wants to please the one who enlisted him.
The suffering Paul is talking about is the hurt that often comes with the service of Christ. False accusations, people involving the police, threats of being arrested or of being shot at, people siccing their dogs on missionaries—but those are only the things that I went through when I was a missionary. There are worse things in the world that many other missionaries and their families deal with and suffer today. Robbery, beatings, attempts on their lives, and worse. These are just the things that I know about from talking with missionaries in person. There are surely other ways of suffering.
Timothy knew about these things. In Timothy’s own hometown of Lystra, Paul had been stoned almost to death by a crowd stirred up by Jews (Acts 14:19-20). And now Paul was in prison for at least the third time, this time waiting for execution. But Paul describes such troubles as nothing different from what any soldier goes through. There are dangers in any walk of life. Fire, robbery, accidents, dangers from nature or from sinning men and women. But a soldier concerns himself mostly with what his officer commands. This is what Paul means by “the one who enlisted him.”
That officer was usually the general of the army, and therefore Paul is right to describe him as the one who would worry about “everyday affairs.” This would include food, supplies, travel routes, available ships or other transport, possible opposition including but not limited to the main enemy, and so on. The ordinary soldier would follow orders and would count on being looked after by a good commander.
So it is with the minister of the Gospel. He must let the Lord look after his worldly needs, whether this is a paycheck or other means for living, his personal safety, a place to live, or even a spouse. The Lord will provide, and he trusts the Lord to provide. Quite a few of these things will come through the church, the congregation that calls him to his work. They should take care of him.
The minister of the gospel must keep in mind the souls of his people at all times. The worship of the true and only God, in obedience to the First Commandment, the proclamation of the name of Christ for the salvation of all, in obedience to the Second Commandment, and the worship of God and proclamation of the Word of God, in obedience to the Third. But there are also the concerns of his people and his family that especially require the minister’s attention to the Second Table of the Law. In obedience to the Fourth Commandment, he must be a worthy father, not one who exasperates his children, but who brings them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). He must see to their physical needs and to the general physical welfare of his people, for this is the most common and ordinary application of the Fifth Commandment. He must be a good husband and bless and pray for the marriages of his people, for this is the will of God for mankind (Genesis 1:28, 2:24), for this is the plain positive meaning of the Sixth Commandment, apart from the many things that it forbids. And so it is, through the rest of the Commandments. For Christ kept them all in our place, and we are no longer bound by them, but they remain as a guide for Christian living. We show our love by doing the will of God, and the minister of the Gospel sets his life as an example for his people. He must be careful to do these things while carrying out his office as the shepherd of the church. As we say in our fellowship, he must do the one without failing to do the other.
And Paul’s command here is to accomplish all of this without getting entangled in “everyday affairs.” As Professor Habeck put it, “To advance such (ordinary) concerns as justification for avoiding some unpleasantness or hardship in our ministry by sinful silence, compromise, surrender or desertion would stamp us as not being good soldiers of Christ Jesus.” Keep us from these things, Lord Jesus! And bless us as we serve and bless your good people. This is what you have called us to do. And with your forgiveness and your constant help, you make us able to do it.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.