Are You Ready to Die for Jesus?
II Timothy 2:1-13
I would like to have you think back to the day that you confirmed your faith. Confirmation Day is a big event in the life of a young person as well as in the life of an adult who is ready to publically confirm their faith before God and the congregation. It takes a lot of study and preparation before you are ready to stand before the Lord and answer those questions about what you believe. Do you remember what you promised on that day? You can find the questions on page 272 in the hymnal. Do you acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your Baptism? Do you renounce the devil? Do you renounce all his works and all his ways? Do you believe in the Triune God as described in the Apostles’ Creed? Do you hold the Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God? Do confess the Doctrines of the Lutheran Church
Whether you made that solemn promise on Confirmation Day a few months ago or ten, twenty, thirty or maybe even eighty years ago, the question still needs to be asked, “Are you ready to die for Jesus?” That can be a difficult question to answer especially since you are living in a time and place where you are not really in danger because of your faith, much less be threatened with death because of your connection with a Christian Church. The truth is that your faith is being threatened all the time by the attacks of the devil. Most of the time those threats are so subtle that you don’t even recognize them.
The question still needs to be considered. “Are you ready to die for Jesus?” What does it take to be strong enough to stand against the attacks of the devil? First of all it takes a strong faith. Faith is actually a rather complex thing. It involves knowledge of the Triune God and His plan for my salvation. But there is more than just a knowledge of God. The devil knows the facts and that makes him that much more determined to work against God’s plans. True faith also involves trusting that what Jesus did was for the forgiveness of my sins and that eternal life in heaven is mine because of what Jesus did for me. Even the power to believe comes from God as the Holy Spirit works in me through the Means of Grace. If you can say that you are ready to die for Jesus, it is only because God has given you the faith to trust in His Word and promises. One of those promises is eternal life with Him in the perfect joy of heaven in His presence.
As you read God’s Word further you also find that eternal life is not the only blessing that God give to you as a result of your faith. You also have the gift of new life now. That new life comes when you die with Christ and are raised to new life with Him through His resurrection. Through our Baptism, your old self, that old sinful nature, dies with Christ and the new self arises to live for God. You still have to face the temptations of the devil but you do not face them alone. You now live with Christ and you have His power, a power that was able to defeat the devil. That power will help you when the challenges to your faith come.
Paul uses several images that help us to see what this struggle is all about. In the first one, he says, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” When you think about a soldier you can see many parallels to your life as a child of God. For one thing a soldier is disciplined. A soldier learns to follow orders. A good soldier knows the rules and also knows the consequences of failing to follow orders. Strict discipline is essential for the continued effectiveness of the army. A good soldier is prepared through the proper training and practice in skills that are necessary for battle. A good soldier is also loyal to the cause and to those who are in command. Most importantly, a good soldier is willing to sacrifice everything, including life, in order for the higher purpose to be accomplished.
Think about how that applies to your life as a soldier of Christ Jesus. Not only would you have to consider the question of being ready to die for Jesus, but also are you ready to live for Jesus. I started by talking about discipline. The root word for discipline is disciple. Christian discipline includes an on-going study of God’s Word. It includes making regular worship a priority because that is part of what God expects of those who are disciples. A good disciple also knows that worship is not just following a command. It is also an opportunity to thank and praise God for His goodness and mercy and an opportunity to grow through the regular use of the Word and the Sacraments, the Means of Grace.
A good soldier is also prepared for life in the world because of good training and practice in the skills that are necessary for dealing with the challenges that will come as we live in a world influenced by the devil, the world and our own sinful nature. That training and practice come from a thorough study of God’s Word where you see how the Lord worked in the lives of His people and prepared them to face the world.
A soldier for the Lord Jesus is also loyal. When I started I mentioned the Confirmation vows that included a statement about remaining faithful to the Lord and the Church. In this world you are pulled in many directions and there are influences that try to pull you away from a life of discipleship. It can be difficult at times to remain faithful to the Lord when friends, worldly interests and the tug of your human nature try to influence you to let your loyalty to the Lord slip. That is when your Christian training and discipline that come from the power of the Holy Spirit are so important.
The final point brings us back to my original question. A soldier for the Lord is willing to suffer all, even death, in service to the higher calling as we heard in the Epistle lesson last week. Certainly no one wants to suffer but the reality is that in this world there will be suffering as we face the enemy of our faith. Think, though, of the strength that you have as a soldier for the Lord when you know that the victory is already yours. Jesus has won the victory over sin, death and the devil. Knowing that, you know that you can’t lose if you remain loyal. In writing to Timothy, Paul says to him, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.” His victory is your victory. Serve Him with confidence. The Word of God is not bound, even though, as Paul said, we may be bound for a while by the world, “but I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
As a good soldier for Christ Jesus, you remember that you are serving the Lord’s purposes and that means that the good of others is your primary concern, especially their eternal salvation. Like Paul, you can endure suffering for the sake of the elect so that they can come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Take heart in the midst of the battle. The victory has been won. Now I ask you again, “Are you ready to die for the Lord?” By God’s grace and with His power, we can say confidently, “Yes!”
Amen.
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