2Ti 2.4 Good Soldier

2Ti 2.4; Nenhum soldado em serviço se envolve em negócios desta vida, porque o seu objetivo é satisfazer àquele que o arregimentou.

Pois o soldado, quando está servindo, quer agradar o seu comandante e por isso não se envolve em negócios da vida civil. (BLH)

The soldier to do good service must devote himself entirely to the soldier's life, giving up worldly affairs. So the soldier, like Timothy, engaged as a minister, should have no other business.

Paul himself worked at tent-making (Ac 18:3). Therefore what is prohibited here is, not all other save religious occupation, but the becoming entangled, or over-engrossed therewith.

What do You command Your servant, my Lord? (NRSV)

Christ Jesus is our Commanding Officer, and we owe total obedience to Him!

A spiritual Christian does not simply do minimum duty for his Lord, Christ Jesus, but serves Him with everything he is and has."

If the men and women in the armed forces treated their orders with the same carelessness the average Christian treats God’s Word—they would probably all be court martialed!

A good measure of all worldly activities is...
Does it (whatever "it" represents) entangle me?
Have you become entangled in "Civilian" Affairs?

A like sacrifice must be seen in the soldier of the Cross. He may find that he will have to give up certain things, certain interests, certain habits, certain amusements, even certain friends - not because any of these are wrong in themselves, but because they are a snare, an entanglement, to him; they get in the way of his success as a soldier.

Some believers think they can be a Christian but not have to fight as a soldier but they are deceiving themselves, for all believers are on "the front line" whether they realize it or not. Those Christians who do not realize the intent or intensity of the real spiritual war are essentially "asleep at the post" a dangerous position to be in!

“em serviço” - Strateuomai is in the HYPERLINK "http://www.preceptaustin.org/new_page_40.htm" \l "present" present tense indicating that this active service is to be a lifestyle, not an occasional endeavor.

The point is that a good soldier in active service does not have a 9 to 5 job but is on duty (and needs to be alert) around the clock, "7x24". All that the soldier is belongs to the military in which he serves. A soldier on active duty is always a soldier.  He can't call a "time-out" in the middle of battle.  As we have seen in recent wars in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc, even when the soldier is on leave, he is still subject to recall without notice. Whenever he is ordered into dangerous duty, he is expected to put his life on the line without question or hesitation. This picture emphasizes the total commitment necessary in order to be a good soldier.

How would your "military service" be evaluated?
Are you AWOL?
Are we acting like children playing "toy soldiers"?

"You cannot be a saint on Sundays and a sinner in the week; you cannot be a saint at church and a sinner in the shop; you can not be a saint in Liverpool and a sinner in London. You cannot serve God and Mammon. You are a soldier everywhere or nowhere, and woe to you if you dishonour your King."

2Pe 2.20; Portanto, aqueles que chegaram a conhecer o nosso Senhor e Salvador Jesus Cristo e que escaparam das imoralidades do mundo, mas depois foram agarrados e dominados por elas, ficam no fim em pior situação do que no começo.

“envolve” - Empleko refers to the act of getting so involved in something that one becomes restricted and controlled, no longer free to do what one should do.

Lot LOOKED at Sodom ( HYPERLINK "http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=gen+13&section=0&translation=nsn" \o "And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere-- this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah-- like Ge 13:10), then pitched his tent "TOWARD Sodom" (NIV "near Sodom" HYPERLINK "http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=gen+13&section=0&translation=nsn" \o "12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom." Ge 13:12), and finally was "LIVING IN Sodom" ( HYPERLINK "http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=gen+14&section=0&translation=nsn" \o "12 And they also took Lot, Abram's nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom." Ge 14:12). Little by little, Sodom began to move INTO Lot and entangle him to the point that he did not please the Lord, eventually costing him dearly. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=gen+19&section=0&translation=nsn" \o "15 And when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, \"Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of t Ge 19:15ff).

the Christian soldier has a duty to perform “in the affairs of this life,” but in doing it he is not to be entangled in them. They are means, not ends; and must be made to help him on, not suffered to keep him back. If they become entanglements instead of opportunities, he will soon lose that state of constant preparation and alertness, which is the indispensable condition of success.

The Roman soldier was to avoid all preoccupation with the daily affairs of the marketplace in order to be free to obey without hesitation or hindrance the commander's order.

Quais são algumas coisasque podem nos impedir de agir? Conforto, bens, pessoas

Imagine a soldier in the midst of battle going to his sergeant or his lieutenant and saying, “Sir, I’m sorry to have to leave, but I have to go over into the city to see about some business; and then I have a date with a local girl, and I just won’t be able to be here for the battle tonight!” A great many Christians are trying to fight like that today!

This idea of "separation", of being in the world but not of the world, is not an easy task. Every believer faces the same danger as the frog in the kettle where the water temperature is being slowly, imperceptibly increased.

2Timothy 2:4 was Jim Elliot's "Life Verse"

He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep 
to gain what he cannot lose.

It is a most lamentable thing to see how most people spend their time and their energy for trifles, while God is cast aside. He who is all seems to them as nothing, and that which is nothing seems to them as good as all. It is lamentable indeed, knowing that God has set mankind in such a race where heaven or hell is their certain end, that they should sit down and loiter, or run after the childish toys of the world, forgetting the prize they should run for.

INTENTIONS - A strong desire to please God is the highest incentive for doing His will and shows a true understanding of godly fear. We may have other worthy motives, such as the inner satisfaction of doing what's right or the anticipation of heavenly rewards. But we bring the greatest glory to God when we obey and serve Him because we long to do what brings Him delight.

In 2 Timothy 2:3, Paul used the image of a soldier who serves with single-minded devotion to please his commanding officer. He wanted Timothy to know the supreme reason for serving God, even when the going gets tough. Wholehearted devotion, marked by hard work and careful attention to God’s rules, brings the greatest glory to the Lord when it comes from a yielded and loving heart.

Tg 4.4; Gente infiel! Será que vocês não sabem que ser amigo do mundo é ser inimigo de Deus? Quem quiser ser amigo do mundo se torna inimigo de Deus.