Only the violent take it by force (3)

2Tm 2 “³Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. ⁵And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. ⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.” Amen! We have seen

it was the Lord's good pleasure to give us the kingdom for free, but that kingdom is occupied, say even locked, and therefore, we must fight to take it by force. The violence that we use to possess the Kingdom is to suffer for Him, not to get involved in civilian affairs, and to fight according to the rules.

Ph 1 “²⁷Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. ²⁹For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; ³⁰Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”  We fight for the faith of the Gospel. The faith of the gospel has many opponents that we have already seen in the first part: the false teachings that are contrary to sound doctrine and the desires of the flesh which burn in our members. We must fight these opponents without letting ourselves be frightened by them, regardless of their size, because the victory that overcomes the world is our faith.

Then, the Spirit tells us it is a grace to suffer for the Lord. Amen! With the stature we have now, we are well aware that the heavenly Gospel that we received is in perpetual conflict with the world. Jesus who was the manifestation of this ever valid Gospel was found to be a spoilsport for the world. The world deployed his armor against Him, but He was not scared, not even by the death on the cross: He was more powerful than death. If we remain steadfast in the position of this Gospel, we are found to be a killjoy in the world, and that's when we have the grace to suffer for Him. He Himself is the Word made flesh objected to by the world and wherefore the world persecutes us. And this world which persecutes us because of Him is not political, scientific or secular, but consisting ​​of religions forged as a result of the falsification of the Word of God.

Truth comes to unmask them, to overthrow their tables and they are ill at ease. In their time, the apostles remained steadfast in the objected Word and were, in doing so, exposed to the wrath of the Sanhedrin. Ac 5 “⁴¹And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. ⁴²And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” For them it was a matter of joy and dignity to suffer for the Lord. By calling Paul, the Lord showed him the suffering that awaited him because of His name: Ac 9 “¹⁵But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”  And such was the glory of Paul, even to suffer for the name of the Lord. Woe to those who think they believe in Him yet will never have the opportunity to suffer for Him.

As long as Paul served God conforming to a world religion, he had no conflict with the world. But as soon as the Lord established him apostle, not by a man or by men, to proclaim the Truth that tears into pieces the lies of the world; that triggered the war. You may choose to serve God conforming to your religion and remain at peace with the world, or to serve Him  against any religion whatever, as the apostles did at Jerusalem, and suffer for His name.

When he was Saul, he spoke of God according to his Pharisaic religion, and no problems arose with the world. He had no problem with the Sadducees, Zealots, Essenians, etc. All these religions, although having some shades of divergence of view, advocated tolerance between them. All had masses of people so that the initiative of persecution of one by another would have degenerated into disturbing law and order, if not into civil war; whence they had to tolerate each other and even cooperate, especially when it came about to destroy a common enemy called the Word of God , the Truth . On this occasion, indeed, they had no other choice but to unite, they could not dare to ignore that they all had one head, the father of lies, whose interests were threatened. Ec 3 “¹⁵That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”  It's the same thing today, a man who speaks of God conforming to a religion does not really have any conflict with all other religions, but a man who speaks of God conforming to the Truth is the enemy of all religions united together. Let him understand who can understand.

And he that takes so courageous a stance sows his glory. Ro 8 “¹⁸For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” The apparent consequences of being banished from the world often seem so miserable that we take the time to think twice before engaging in war with the world, as if we had any interest to preserve in the world! But the truth is this: 1 Tm 6 “⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. ⁹But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ¹¹But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. ¹²Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”  Amen!

Now these things which suffice us, food and clothing, our Father knows that we need them. Mt 6 “³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. ³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” And seeking the kingdom is getting conscripted in the army of God, is fighting the good fight of faith; No-one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs, he wants to please the one that conscripted him. We have no interest to preserve down here because our interests are hidden in the heavenly places with Christ in God. And we take care to follow his orders carefully and deliver blows as he gives us orders, without thinking of the consequences, he cares about them.

All he wants from us is absolute discipline, especially in the strict observance of his commandments. Many have taken the courage to fight, but in violation of the rules, unfortunately, and they cannot win the prize. 1Co 9 “²⁴Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. ²⁵And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. ²⁶I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: ²⁷But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” The rules of fight are not those contained in the canonical constitution of the Roman Catholic church, in the collections of catechesis, they are not Catholic, or Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, etc., they are biblical and eternal, governing the Army of God Almighty.

So Paul wrote to Timothy: 1Tm1 “¹⁸This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; ¹⁹Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. “ In Paul's day there were many conscripts who had received the Word. They did not have the spiritual discipline or did not carry on fighting to the end. But it is not just about fighting, but also to fight the good fight and keep a good conscience. Along the way, they gave up their arms and lost their crown. Only those who endure to the end will be saved. Mt 22 “¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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