2:3
How different this is from much of the “motivational” calls either to faith or to “deepening” our commitment. “Join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus”. Join with me in suffering! Following Christ, a deeper commitment to Christ, will involve times of suffering. If we are to be effective leaders we need to be able to endure suffering. In many parts of the world this means enduring prison, beatings, or financial loss for the sake of Christ. But even in the West where there is currently very limited (but not zero) persecution, leadership is hard work. Paul believed it was worthwhile, both for the prize that lay ahead, and for what can be achieved now. We should view “ministry” in the sense of being good soldiers, rather than a career move.
2:4
Paul would be under military guard, and he continues the military analogy. We are not to get entangled in civilian affairs. Instead our primary aim is to please our commanding officer, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. So what does this mean? Does it mean we should not have any “outside interests” (eg involvement in sports clubs etc)? Does it mean that we should not get involved in politics? I think the general answer is no,it does not mean that, but we do need to be careful. Involvement in sports or hobbies can start making demands upon us that hinder us from following Christ, they can become all consuming. With politics we need to be careful. There are some issues (eg Brexit, independence for Scotland) where good Christians can hold opposing views. We do not want people to not listen to our preaching or teaching of the gospel because we have an alternative political view to them. So sometimes we should keep quiet about our views if this is going to help further the gospel. But there are times when we as individuals or as churches should be involved in political issues, William Wilberfore and slavery is a prime example. The guiding principle should be whether what we do furthers the gospel or not.
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