Basic Training: Fallen In Battle
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INTRODUCTION
· Basic Training – Training to Be Good Soldiers “3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”.
· We have talked about many things so far to help us be prepared to face the battles that come our way so we can indeed be soldiers that are pleasing to Christ our great commander and not be entangled by the affairs of this life.
· For today’s lesson, I would alike to take a step back for a moment and talk about a very sobering subject – the dangers of war… in particular… the danger we each have of not just falling in battle and losing the war – about what happens when the enemy gains victory over one of us. This is so important for us to reminded of as we go out into the battles that we face. Ultimately, Satan wants to see us destroyed. He wants to see us fall into sin, to drift away from the faith, and to be lost…
FALLING IN BATTLE IS POSSIBLE
· Jesus taught in the parable of the sower about the soil that received the word with joy for a time, but when persecution came because of the word, they fall away ().
· Jesus also taught in that branches (individuals) who do not bear fruit as part of the vine — disciples — would be cut away from Him and thrown into the fire where they are burned ().
· Paul spoke about how in the later times a great apostasy from the faith would occur (). “the Spirit expressly says that yin later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…”
· - [4] For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. (ESV)
o Here the Hebrews writer shows us that if you have someone who fully experienced the blessings that come in Christ and they turn their back on those blessings and fall away, it can get to the point where it is not possible for them to come to repentance… Just giving the warning in this passage implies that it is possible for a Christian soldier to fall in battle and be lost because of it…
· Examples:
o Hymenaeus and Philetus ()… We talked about these two men a couple weeks ago as we were studying this passage during our first hour. These two men departed from the truth and taught false doctrine, leading others to go astray…
o Others… Judas, the followers of Jesus save the 12 ()… Demas, who deserted his work with Paul because of his love for the world…
JUDGMENT COMES TO THOSE WHO FALL & DON’T REPENT
· In , James talks about what happens when we lose the battle when we are tempted… [14] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (ESV) James says that the sin brings death… This is not talking about dying physically, but a cutting oneself off from the source of spiritual life… from God. Whenever you rebel against God through sin and turn your back on his blessings, then fellowship is lost with God.
· - [26] For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. [28] Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (ESV)
o This is a sobering passage that sums up what we can look forward to if we continue to live a life of sin. This is not talking about committing one single sin and then repenting from it… The tense of the Greek words here show that this is a continual action that is not being stopped… Whenever you give your life back to the world, whether you still claim to be a Christian or not, this is what you can hope for… all you can have is ““a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” where God himself will bring his vengeance…
o These are very sobering passages that show us how important it is to make sure that our lives as soldiers are focused on pleasing Christ and not being distracted by the attractions of the world. These passages show what our enemy wants to happen to us!
SIGNS THAT YOU MAY BE FALLING (OR HAVE FALLEN)
· Are you too busy to pray and to spend time in scripture? One indication that you are dying or are already dead spiritually is that you do not have hunger for the word of God or you are neglecting prayer. One who is in a relationship with God will desire to grow in that relationship by these means that He has given us. If we are neglecting them, we will fall into sin and will die!
· When was the last time you confessed and repented of sin? Either to your brothers or sisters in Christ (as we are commanded to do in scripture) or to God? If you have not done so in recent memory, then there probably is sin on your account that is killing you! One of the reasons why this happens is because we are neglecting God’s word, and because of this, are unable to see our true state in comparison to the perfect standard.
· You are a “loner”. You keep off to yourself and don’t seek relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe because you are hiding something… Maybe because you are just too busy with work or other activities… Listen closely, one of the things that Satan tries to do is to separate us from one another…! If you have logs on a fire or charcoal in a grill, if one of the logs or coals falls away from the others, then the hotness and fire that that coal has will diminish and die out… If Satan can get us to fight on our own or get us to the point where we stay away from our brothers and sisters, then we are in danger of losing the battle. All of our struggles and our sins we will keep to ourselves… And we will fall. If you are always making excuses why you can’t be around your brothers and sisters for worship or outside of services, then you may be falling or already lost! ... DO NOT FORSAKE GATHERING WITH YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
PREVENTING DEATH
· None of us is beyond the possibility of falling. Paul shows this in . After talking about the Israelites (how God saved them and how they fell in the wilderness), he tells the Corinthians, “[11] Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. [12] Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (ESV)
· They needed to learn something from the Israelites, and we should also… We must take heed… we can fall also… We need to be on the alert. Satan can come against us at any moment… We must be diligent to fortify our souls against falling from the grace of God. And we must learn to assist each other on the road to heaven.
· And how do we do this? How do we fortify our souls and protect ourselves from falling in battle? If you have listened to our lessons in this series, you should already know the answer to this question! Spending time in scripture so you can remember our great history, remember God’s promises to you, and remember what you are fighting for. Spending time in prayer will fortify your soul… Spending time with your fellow soldiers and serving one another will help you. And working on building our character will do this. Remember Peter’s admonition in where he tells Christians to grow in the grace of God and to add to their faith Christ-like character? He said: “for if you do these things, you shall never stumble” (). If we are working on growing as Christians we will never stumble in our faith… That is a great promise!
ARE YOU DEAD?
· Is your name on the tomb “spiritually” speaking? Have you fallen in battle and not dealt with your sin yet?
· You can be restored! James speaks to this point: “My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins” ().
o If you have fallen as a disciple, then you have the promise that if you confess your sins against Christ you can be forgiven (). You can be freed from the death that your sin causes…
· DIE WITH CHRIST - If you are not a Christian, even though you may be alive “physically”, your name is on this tombstone “spiritually” speaking. describes your condition outside of Christ as being “dead in their sins.” You are separated from God and have no hope unless you obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ… If we can help you receive the life that God promises to those who in faith w/ a repentant heart are baptized into Christ, don’t hesitate to get right with God today!