Onward Christian Soldier
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Introduction
Introduction
All of these great hymns come to mind as we think of people who have served both this great country and also have served our Great Lord.
On this weekend as we have said thank you once again to those who have served in the military I am reminded of the training each went through to be self-controlled and alert, ready with a battle plan if you will to carry out orders of which to go and defeat the enemy.
I think about how that has been manifested on our faith, particularly perhaps in some of the songs we have sung in our churches.
Over the years, perhaps like me, you have sung with gusto hymns like Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, Stand up Stand Up for Jesus, or Onward Christian Soldiers.
All of these great hymns come to mind as we think of people who have served both this great country and also have served our Great Lord.
The hymn Onward Christian Soldiers was written by a British pastor/theologian/scholar/author (just to name a few), named Sabine Baring-Gould.
Baring-Gould wrote about this hymn:
Whit-Monday is a great day for school festivals in Yorkshire. One Whit-Monday, thirty years ago, it was arranged that our school should join forces with that of a neighboring village. I wanted the children to sing when marching from one village to another, but couldn’t think of anything quite suitable; so I sat up at night, resolved that I would write something myself. “Onward, Christian Soldiers” was the result. It was written in great haste, and I am afraid some of the rhymes are faulty. Certainly nothing has surprised me more than its popularity. I don’t remember how it got printed first, but I know that very soon it found its way into several collections. I have written a few other hymns since then, but only two or three have become at all well-known.
The first verse reads:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
I had no idea this was written for school children marching from one village to another as a part of a school festival.
This song has often been associated with soldiering and warfare, and was even sung at the funeral of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1969.
Our continuing study of 1 Peter brings us today to a topic that we might be able to relate to the idea of thanking those who have served in the military of our country as they perhaps have marched into battle and yet how we as Christians have been called into a spiritual battle.
It is amazing to me how Peter recognizes this spiritual warfare that we have in our lives but it is also amazing that he helps us be equipped to take it on!
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:
Poised
Poised
Peter tells us straight on to be self-controlled and alert: Poised!
I see that is a great characteristic of those of you who have been trained in our military. You have been taught how to be certainly be self-controlled and alert.
As Christians, we are called to also be self-controlled and alert. We are called to a spiritual watchfulness. The opposite by the way, is spiritual drowsiness.
When one is spiritually drowsy, he or she will respond to situations no different than unbelievers.
You and I are called to be different! You and I are called to be poised with spiritual watchfulness.
So why do we need to be called to be poised with spiritual watchfulness?
The very next phrase shows us exactly why:
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Peter recognized a genuine danger of being attacked by enemy. He even identifies this enemy in this passage as the devil.
The Greek word is “diabolos” and it refers to a spiritual being who is in active rebellion against God and how has leadership of many demons like himself.
It is translated 18 times in the Greek as satan, and also translated as slanderer and false accuser.
It is used in in the temptation of Jesus.
It is used in when Jesus talks about the separation of the sheep and the goats.
You should read that!
It is also used in by John in his description.
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Revelation 13:
The metaphor used here is spot on! The word “devour” means to swallow something up. Peter says this because there is potential for great harm to Christians.
Notice the warning is there, but also there comes with it wisdom in how you and I can POSITION ourselves to prevent this great harm.
POSITION
POSITION
First and foremost, by being SELF-CONTROLLED. This means that you and I will strive to act good, we will be sensible, we will be just, and we will be devout.
How are you doing with the idea of being SELF-CONTROLLED?
Secondly, we will position ourselves by being ALERT. I had a poster when I was in college of this really ugly creature and a big ole goofy smile. The caption on the poster was “Be A Lert....because the world needs more lerts.”
I don’t think we need any more lerts....whatever that is, but I do know we need to be watchful; we need to be prompt, and we need to be quick to perceive.
How are you doing with the idea of being ALERT?
Are you able to POSITION yourself in a way that helps you do so?
How do you become so self-controlled and alert that you can know without a shadow of a doubt?
1 Peter 5;
Maybe this illustration may help.
I read several years ago that Canada was having problems with counterfeit $20 bills coming in their country. To combat this problem, the Canadian Mounties, my understanding of their version of our FBI, asked for the United States government to loan them some authentic $20 bills. Interestingly, the Canadian task force chose to study that which was real instead of that which was not real. They studied the authenticity of the $20 bill backwards and forwards until they were able to quickly spot that which was counterfeit.
It makes sense to me that if I want to quickly identify that which is not of Christ, then I must take the Word of God and become a student of just who Jesus claimed to be in those pages and how this same Word of God tells me I can enter into a relationship with Him and walk with Him daily!
The Book of John is a great place to do just that and we are going through this great book on Wednesday nights.
Not only should we be POISED and be POSITIONED, but you and I need to understand our PURPOSEFULNESS.
PURPOSEFULNESS
PURPOSEFULNESS
Our purposefulness is found the last verse of our passage today:
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter
Resist him (anything that is apart from Christ)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The promise is submission, resisting, fleeing!
The action is standing firm.
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Colossians
How solid is the ground on which you stand?
When I fish in these streams around here, I am just vigilante of where I put my feet as I am in where I cast my line. I know that one wrong step could be disastrous and in a flash I could be underwater.
The same holds true to our faith. You have to be firm in your stance. You have to know what you believe and why.
Country music legend Travis Tritt sang, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll for anything.”
We will have enemies pursuing us and the Bible tells us that in this passage.
Read to book of Jude.
Read .
