Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (2 Timothy 2:3-7)

God foreordained the salvation of some individuals and decided that he would show his grace to them. This salvation was promised and described throughout the Old Testament documents by the prophets. Then, at God’s appointed time, this grace appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, who suffered the penalty of sin in himself for the sake of these chosen ones, and died, and who was raised from the dead for his own glory and vindication, and for the justification of these same individuals. This salvation was preached and believed even before the appearance of Christ, and those in the past were saved by trusting in God’s promise of salvation that was to come.

In this sense, the gospel was preached even at the early days of human history. God himself preached it to Adam and Eve, and to Satan as a witness against him. And in his letter to the Galatians, Paul says that God preached this same gospel to Abraham. This message is no longer a promise, but has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ in a definite and conclusive manner. Now we preach Jesus Christ crucified – not that he will be, but that he was already crucified – and raised from the dead. Salvation appeared in him, and is now explained and propagated by the message of the gospel. Although all Christians are to engage in this effort, and the power of the Holy Spirit is available to all of them, God calls some individuals to dedicate their lives to this task and grants them special abilities to perform the work with excellence and effectiveness. Paul was appointed “a herald and an apostle and a teacher” of the gospel.

This gospel is preached to sinners. By their very nature, they are spiritual morons and rebels who do not know the truth and who resist the truth when it is presented to them. Christians must always tell non-Christians that they are wrong, that they are wrong in their thinking and in their behavior. If a Christian does not say this, then he is not talking about salvation at all, since he does not explain why the non-Christian is in need of rescue. But sinners do not like to be told that they are wrong. They are filled with rebellion and they do not want to change. Unless God acts in their minds to alter their inner dispositions, they will persist in this rebellion, and they will react with unbelief and malice.

For this reason, the ministry is difficult and dangerous. When the Christian preaches the gospel to non-Christians, he is presenting something that is obviously true, but he is presenting it to some very foolish and stubborn people. They are so dull and wicked that the truth of the gospel does not register on them. Nevertheless, they perceive enough to realize that it is something that they do not like, and sometimes they react with aggression and even violence. Paul himself is chained like a criminal because he preached the gospel.

Now, the work of the preacher is to declare the gospel. He is to declare it to all men, and to teach men the doctrines of the Christian religion. And he is also to train others to carry on the same work. So Paul tells Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say…entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” He is telling Timothy to do the very thing that got him into trouble in the first place, and moreover, to train more people to do this same thing.

It is to be expected, then, that Timothy and those he trains will also face trouble. So Paul continues, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” He is aware that the work he tells Timothy to do will likely plunge him into the same kind of trouble that he is in as he writes this letter. Paul loves Timothy dearly, but instead of telling him to run the other way, he urges him to share in the suffering that is common to those who are called to preach the truth about Jesus Christ.

He uses three analogies to illustrate his point: the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. He has used them elsewhere, but as the same analogies can serve to illustrate different points in various contexts, he uses them with a particular emphasis here. A soldier can have a family and other things associated with a normal life, but the fact remains that he is not entangled with civilian affairs. His work is more than a hobby or even a career. It is a way of life. In the main, his life is about this one thing, and it will control other aspects of his life. An athlete is characterized by self-discipline. He is dedicated to training. Even when he is doing other things, this one thing rules him, and controls even his sleeping and eating habits. He may go on a vacation, but he does not stop training, and he does not return with a potbelly. Likewise, a farmer’s work is intense labor and demands all his attention.

A minister must not take his work any less seriously than the soldier, athlete, or farmer. He is not to be given to excess in luxuries, in private interests, or even in social interactions that have no spiritual purpose. Of course he can have a normal life as far as biblical principles permit. He might have a family. He might have hobbies that he wishes to pursue. He might take vacations. But whatever he does, his life is ruled by this one thing, by his dedication to prepare for and to perform the work of the gospel. He will teach his family to serve God. He hobbies will contribute to this ministry. And he will devote extra time to study and prayer during his vacations. He never stops doing the work of the ministry.

Just as the single-mindedness of the soldier, athlete, and the farmer enables them to persist through hardship, the minister’s dedication to his work enables him to endure suffering and face persecution. The ministry is not a hobby, but a mission that claims the preacher’s whole life, every aspect of it. The gospel is not only one option among many, but it is a necessary message, and the power of God to save those who believe. Combined with the expectation for future fruit and reward, a single focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ prepares the minister for the suffering that he will likely encounter.

The teaching is applicable to all Christians, even if they are not ministers who dedicate all their time and effort to the work of the gospel. A Christian must take his religion seriously just as a preacher must take his ministry seriously. How seriously? He must be prepared to stand true to it and suffer for it. Some of us do not suffer nearly as much as Paul did, but Christians in many parts of the world do, or come close to it. And even if we do not suffer now, we might later. Thus it is important to keep Paul’s words in mind. We are unfaithful to the gospel and unprepared for suffering if we do not regard our religion as seriously as the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer regard their work. And unless our faith rules all aspects of our lives, we do not have the same dedication.