One of the favorite Vacation Bible School songs for generations has been, “I’m In The Lord’s Army!”  Many of us remember singing it as youngsters many years ago, and are thrilled when we hear our children and grandchildren sing it today.  This is one of those VBS songs that must be sung while standing so we may “march in the infantry,” “ride in the cavalry,” “shoot the artillery,” and “fly o’er the enemy.”  It is of little wonder that young people have loved this song for generations.

Sometimes adults are dismissive of the songs our children sing.  While we enjoy the tunes and the enthusiasm of our children as they sing, we give little thought to the truths that are taught by them.  We may eagerly encourage our children to sing these songs, but refuse to do so ourselves.  It is as if adults believe that these sweet songs have no bearing on their lives, or perhaps are somewhat beneath our dignity.

In the case of this particular song, however, nothing could be farther from the truth.  This is a song whose theme is very apropos for adults, and is entirely biblical.  The apostle Paul used the imagery of a soldier a number of times in his letters to Timothy and to the church in Corinth.  In 2 Tim. 2:3, 4 he said, “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”  He used similar language in 1 Cor. 9:7, where he said, “Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense?  Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it?  Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?”

His point in each case was that he was a soldier of Jesus Christ, and so are all those who have put on Christ in baptism (Gal. 3:27).  Because we are soldiers in the Lord’s army, we must expect to engage the enemy in combat.  Paul spoke of this combat as fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 1:18), and he reminded Timothy near the end of his life that he himself had fought the good fight (2 Tim. 4:7).  The fact that Paul had fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith insured that he would receive the crown of righteousness at the end of time (2 Tim. 4:8).

We who are Christians are soldiers in the Lord’s army, and we are in a spiritual warfare against the forces of evil, which are led by Satan himself.  In Eph. 6:12 Paul said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  This means that our struggle is real, even though it is not fought with conventional weapons.  It also means that the consequences of this struggle are far more serious than in conventional warfare.  In the Lord’s army we are in a battle for the eternal destiny of our souls, and for the souls of our families, friends and neighbors.

Like soldiers in our armed forces, who take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution, we have taken an oath of allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ and to His word.  We did so when we obeyed the gospel.  We have foresworn ourselves to be faithful to Him and to His word until we pass from this life.  Our term of enlistment is until death, and the promise of our Savior is that if we are faithful until death, He will give us the crown of life.

Unlike human warfare, we know the outcome of our conflict.  The Lord will be victorious in the end, and so will the faithful of His army.  For this reason, let us enthusiastically declare, “I’m in the Lord’s Army!”

The proliferation of credit cards in the last quarter of the 20th century has made it relatively easy for consumers to buy things for which they have insufficient funds.  The retailer is unconcerned about the consumer’s ability to pay for the item because the credit card company transmits the funds directly to the retailer on behalf of the purchaser.  Virtually every retail establishment accepts credit cards these days, even most fast food restaurants.  These kinds of transactions are so commonplace today that we are actually surprised, and maybe a little put out, when someone writes a check to cover his purchase.

Statistics gathered by financial institutions who issue credit cards show that when consumers use credit cards they spend much more money than if they use cash.  This means that many of us are buying far more than we can actually afford.  The result of our infatuation with credit purchases is that millions of us have houses full of clothes, toys and gadgets that are being used up, but have not actually been paid for.

We may say this because most consumers have large balances on their credit cards at all times.  Each purchase, no matter how large or small, gets added to the amount owed and the monthly payments never keep pace.  Thus, one may be paying for that Big Mac for months or years, even though it was consumed in a matter of moments after charging it to one’s card.  The consequence of this way of purchasing is that we never truly own the things that we buy.  If this were not the case, there would be no such thing as repossessions.

In terms of spiritual principles, there are two lessons to be drawn from this reality.  The first is what Solomon said in Prov. 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.”  Those who live on credit card purchases are actually slaves to their creditors.  All one has to do to test this principle is to stop paying his credit card bill.  This is a lesson that should prompt us to pay off all our debts and only purchase things when we hold sufficient funds in hand.

The second lesson has to do with the price that was paid for our sins.  In Acts 20:28 Paul told the elders of the Ephesian church that they must shepherd the church of God which our Lord purchased with His own blood.  When the Lord made this purchase, He paid the entire debt of all the sins of all mankind for all time, once and for all (Heb. 10:12).  There will be no repossession of our souls by Satan because our spiritual account is still in the red.  We are bought and paid for by our Lord, and we truly do belong to Him.

This truth was one of the key elements in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth.  In 1 Cor. 6:19, 20 he said, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”  Those Christians needed to understand that they were wholly owned by the Savior.  When they were washed in the blood of the Lamb in baptism for the forgiveness of sins, they were purchased by Him.  They were then His possession and needed to conduct themselves appropriately.

The same is true for those who are Christians today.  We have been bought and paid for by our Lord Jesus Christ.  The full price has been paid and there will be no repossession of our souls by Satan.  We therefore have confidence as we face the future, because we are the wholly-owned property of the Son of God, and we therefore have a responsibility to act like those who belong to the Lord.  We are bought and paid for.

As Paul brought his letter to the church in Ephesus to a close, he spoke of the armor of God in Eph. 6:10-17.  When one looks at this discussion it is immediately evident that every piece of armor in Paul’s list is defensive in nature, except the final one.  The lone offensive element in the armor of God is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 17).  This imagery is present in both the Old and the New Testaments and is consistently used in reference to God’s word.

It is significant that Christians only have one offensive weapon at their disposal.  It is even more significant that this one offensive weapon is so precisely defined.  This suggests, first of all, that the Lord did not intend for Christians to be overly focused on winning victories, as it were.  Humans tend to be competitive and combative enough as it is, without giving them multiple ways in which to go to war with one another.  We are to take the offensive against the forces of evil, certainly, but our armory contains a single weapon, which must be wielded carefully.

The fact that our sole offensive weapon is the word of God is a limiting factor in our struggle against evil.  However, this does not suggest that God’s word is of limited power.  Rather, it suggests that we can only use it to accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish.  Speaking of His word in Isa. 55:11, God said, “It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”  Therefore, we may only use the sword of the Spirit to accomplish what God desires.  To do otherwise is a misuse of this weapon.

There is another reason why our one offensive weapon is defined so narrowly.  It is because our victory in the struggle against the spiritual forces of darkness will be won by God Himself, not by us.  This principle goes back to the time of the judge Gideon.  When God reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men, He did it so Israel would not be able to boast that they had, by their own power, destroyed Midian (Jdg. 7:2).  It is demonstrated again in Revelation, where the Lord Jesus is portrayed as having a two-edged sword in His mouth with which He makes war against the enemies of God (Rev. 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15).  The victories in both cases can only be attributed to the power of God’s word.

Lest anyone should doubt the power of the sword of the Spirit, God’s word is clear on what it is capable of doing.  In Heb. 4:12 the scripture says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  When Christians take up the sword of the Spirit, they hold in their hands all the power they will need in the struggle against evil.

This, then, is why the scriptures exhort and admonish us to know God’s word.  Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).  Just like soldiers in a physical army train incessantly in how to use their weapons of war, we who are soldiers in God’s army must conscientiously train with the sword of the Spirit in order to wield it accurately in the Lord’s service.  May each of us who professes faith in Jesus Christ become experts in the use of God’s word, which is the sword of the Spirit.

In his beautiful hymn, “May This My Glory Be,” Tillit S. Teddlie proposed the impossibility of one being ashamed of Jesus Christ.  To be ashamed of Christ, Bro. Teddlie suggested, would be like the evening blushing to own a star.  Since stars are the glory of the evening sky, to be ashamed of them would be something akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the actions of many believers do, in fact, show that they are ashamed of Christ.  Certain progressives within our fellowship have long pontificated about the “baggage” carried by the name “Church of Christ.”  This name, they say, is an obstacle to evangelism, because of the negative connotations associated with it.  Those among them with sufficient influence to do so have persuaded their congregations to drop “Christ” from their signage, stationery and advertising.  Now one may see a marquee with a name such as “Hilltop Church,” rather than “Hilltop Church of Christ.”  Insinuated in the arguments for such a change is that our denominational neighbors do not have such baggage to overcome.

In point of fact, however, more and more denominational churches are doing exactly the same thing, and they are using the very same reasoning for it.  It is not uncommon today to find a large church building with a sign that reads, “Crestview” or “Bible Fellowship” or “The Vineyard.”  To the uninitiated, these appear to be churches that are not affiliated with any denomination.  On closer inspection, however, one finds that the preachers on staff were trained in Baptist seminaries and the church is affiliated with one or more of the various Baptist Conventions, or with some other denomination.  They claim that they are “non-denominational,” but they are actually hiding their denominational affiliation for the same reasons given by progressives in our fellowship.

While those who take such actions will deny it, removing Christ from the name of the church is an act of shame.  The scriptures speak clearly of the church being the body of Christ (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 12:12, 13).  In Eph. 5:22-33 Paul speaks of the church as the bride of Christ.  Even in the convoluted world in which we live today, it is typical for a bride to take her husband’s name.  So why shouldn’t the bride of Christ also carry His name?  To choose not to wear the name of Christ suggests that one is ashamed to wear it.

Lost somewhere in the determined rush to jump on the ecumenical band wagon is the fact that the Lord warns us about being ashamed of Him.  In Lk. 9:26 He said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  This same warning is made also in Mk. 8:38.  Both of these warnings appear in the context of the Lord’s teaching on discipleship, specifically in reference to becoming a disciple by obedience to the gospel.  It is in this context that we expect one to make profession of his or her faith in Jesus Christ.  The Lord suggested that failing to do so indicates that one is ashamed of Him.

There are, of course, many ways in which our actions may show that we are ashamed of Christ.  A failure to be faithful in our walk as Christians is one way.  Dressing, speaking and acting like the world is another.  Refusing to put Christ’s name on a church marquee may seem a small thing, but it reflects an underlying shame that belies every other profession of loyalty a church may make.  Let us not be ashamed of Christ in anything we do, so He will not be ashamed of us at judgment.

We have all heard the expression, “Time flies.” We use it to remind ourselves of how quickly life goes by. The younger a person is, the slower it seems that time passes. The older one gets, the more quickly it seems to pass. This disparity of perception may be explained by the fact that a year for 5 year-old child represents twenty percent of his entire lifetime up to that point. For a 60 year-old, it is one-sixtieth of his life. When we consider the fact that our life expectancy is somewhere in the neighborhood of eighty years, the closer we get to that age only multiplies how quickly time seems to pass.

Sometimes instead of saying, “time flies,” we add the phrase, “when you’re having fun.” This modification captures the reality that we are less cognizant of time when we are having a good time. Thus, three hours at the football or baseball game seems like a short time, and we are sorry when it is over, while one hour in a class at school or in the worship assembly may seem like forever. This demonstrates that our attitude about the activity in which we are engaged plays a role in how we perceive the passage of time as we do it. A good attitude makes time pass more quickly, but a bad attitude mades the time drag.

Another aspect of this fact of life is that time flies, whether we want it to or not. this is an area in which self-help gurus focus much attention. Those who have personal issues that need correcting or improving must understand that time will pass, whether they make any effort to improve themselves or not. The question is not if time will pass, but what will the person have done to help his circumstance after that time has passed.

Having a good attitude and making the most of one’s time are essential principles in our daily affairs. They are also essential spiritual principles. The scriptures are very clear that a good attitude is a blessing for those who have it. In Prov. 15:13 Solomon said, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.” In Prov. 17:22 he added, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” The point is that a good attitude is both physically and emotionally uplifting. King David, in Psa. 122:1 said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.'” If we choose to have a joyful heart that is glad when it is time to gather for worship, time will fly in the Lord’s service.

The scriptures are similarly frank about how we use our time. In Eph. 5:15-17 Paul said, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Here we see the importance of spending our time wisely, meaning, in context, that we must devote ourselves to understanding God’s will so we will be wise in our walk as Christians. Time that is wasted is time that is lost. Time that is wasted is time that has been foolishly spent.

It was once said that time marches on. This is a fact of life. We can do nothing to stop the progression of time. All we can do is make use of that time while we have opportunity. At some point, however, time will end, when God the Father sends His Son for judgment. Where we stand at the end of time will largely depend on how we spent our time while we lived. If we had a good attitude and spent our time wisely in obedience to God’s word, we will enter heaven. If we have not spent our time wisely (that is, have not been obedient), we will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15), where time will stand still in the place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 25:30).