All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

Today is Veteran’s Day, or Armistice Day, in the U.S., and it reminds us of the cost that so many men and women have suffered to punish the enemies of Americans and the world many past conflicts. Much of what they experienced is neither explainable nor necessary to explain, but a lot of it can help civilian citizens understand what it means to suffer and work together against an evil opponent to accomplish a worth-while mission. For believers in the Lord Jesus, it should remind us of the cosmic war raging all around us for the eternal destinies of all of us.

In spite of what many of us see in the lifestyles and beliefs of Bible-believing Christians, Chrsitianity, or “the Way” of Jesus, is a war-time religion. Every man, woman, and child who gives up their God-ward rebellion and trusts in Jesus as Lord immediately enters into the spiritual fight between Jesus and the devil. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers . . . of this darkness”. Because of this combat, he urges believers to “put on the full armor of God”. Hence, every Christian is a spiritual soldier, and does things that are true of soldiers in earthly wars.

The Veterans of Scripture

As with every long-fought or finished war, this one has its veterans. In the Lord’s army, there are battle-hardened and skilled officers that have fought the war of life for years, and have suffered much hardship from its calamities. In the first century, one such veteran was Paul the apostle. At the end of his life, he wrote a letter to one of his spiritual sons, and reminded Timothy that,

“. . . you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings . . .” (2 Tim. 3: 10-11)

As a veteran Christian teacher, Paul had shared his life with Timothy for years, and was then reminding him of all that they’d seen together. And since most of the hardship Paul and Timothy suffered together was directed at Paul, he wanted Timothy to think about how the Lord had always strengthened Paul in the fight, and gave him victory after victory. Timothy hadn’t only seen what Paul went through, but often experienced it along with him. All the while, Paul was leading Timothy in his missionary and pastoral services, and teaching him how to think and act according to God’s will.

Paul wasn’t alone in this practice of discipleship and mentoring. Peter had John Mark, the author of his Gospel. John the apostle had Polycarp, one of his last apprentices in ministry. Luke seems to have had Theophilus, the recipient of his two Scriptural works. And Timothy had his “faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

The Training Plan for the Body

In addition to these specific instances of the veteran soldiers training unseasoned soldiers, Paul himself gives us the general battle plan for the army of God when he writes to the Ephesians and explains,

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ . . .” (Eph. 4:11-12)

These “prophets,” “evangelists,” “pastors,” and “teachers” are the outstanding veterans of the Lord’s army, who have been formally assigned the official role of leading and training the rest of the saints to greater degrees of service. You notice in that passage that their task is to “equip,” or “fit out,” the saints to do this life-consuming work. And how do they do this? As all these roles possess speaking gifts, it’s obviously by teaching God’s truth. But as the rest of the New Testament, and the apostles’ own example, show us, teaching the saints happens by lifestyle as well as by lecturing.

Yet we can’t confine the designation of “veteran” only to those men who have been officially appointed to exercise a public teaching role. The term “veteran,” which orginally meant “mature,” belongs to all Christians who have learned to obey the Lord in the face of severe suffering and trial. They are those who, like Paul, “discipline [their] body and make it [their] slave” (1 Cor. 9:27). They are “the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb. 6:14). In sum, they have been “filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] walk in a manner worthy of the Lord . . . bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God . . . for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience . . .” (Col. 1:9b-11)

The Neglect of Veterans

If you look around among the brethren in your fellowship, you’ll likely find at least a few veteran Christian soldiers. If you serve with a biblical assembly, at least your leaders will be veterans. And you yourself may even be a veteran. The question is — are all the veterans you know training the inexperienced and recruits in the deadly conflict? Based on my experience and research, I’ve found that there are droves of veteran Christians who are neglecting their responsibility and privilege of taking another brother or sister under their wing to be their battle-buddy. This is especially true of self-proclaimed “pastors,” who mostly function as public speakers and/or business administrators, rather than sensible shepherds who are concerned about the future of their congregation’s leaders in righteousness. But I’ve also known of dozens of mature brothers who apparently didn’t have enough maturity to see that their wisdom in living and suffering needed to be instilled in struggling and confused young men of God.

In spite of all our talk of love and devotion to our brethren in Christ, it will take much more effort for the western body of Christ to put our Scriptural tradition of interpersonal discipleship into practice. As I already noted, we first need to recognize that we’re fighting in a spiritual war. And the dangers are often far more harmful than we recognize. When we suffer a single defeat in our fight, we lose peace and joy, and we misrepresent our King and Master. A single sin committed takes away part of our true life, and sets us back in our goal of becoming invincible warriors for the Lord. And if we don’t immediately recover from a sin, then we can fall into a crippling and dazzling trap of the devil, from which we may never escape. This is why it’s essential that the brothers in arms guard each other’s backs, and pull them down when they see a threat about to be unleashed on them. Also, it’s imperative that old soldiers in the Lord’s army take responsibility for younger brothers, and show them the best ways to strategize, plan, take care of their spiritual armor, and fight against the enemy.

Putting Our Boots on the Ground

Of course, I’ve been describing this mostly in military terms, but what does this look like in everyday life? First, and most obvious, Christian parents ought to be training their believing children to discipline themselves to be godly. This is especially true of fathers, who are the heads of their wives and households. Secondly, veteran church officers ought to be training their flocks with the instructions of Scripture, so they can better understand the character and plans of the King of armies, and carry out those plans. Third, elders, overseers, and “pastors” ought also to train future elders through personal, intimate, and brotherly mentoring. This is an important duty of all elders, regardless of how much it’s neglected. Fourth, mature, tested, and exemplary believers ought to always be looking for opportunities to teach and counsel less experienced brethren in godly living. And finally, inexperienced and new Christians ought to gravitate toward the godly examples of mature brothers and sisters, and learn as much as possible from them.

How will all this happen? The methods will vary as much as the situations and personalities do, but the general principles will remain the same. In our weekly gatherings for studying, praying, and breaking bread, there must be ample time and opportunity for deep and brotherly discussion. This means that eating together must be an integral part of the Sunday meeting. Why? Because the early church “gathered together to break bread,” as a family would do. Also, all the leaders of a congregation should be striving to make sure that every member is in close fellowship with a more mature believer, even if that’s some other time than on Sunday. There should be no “lone ranger” Christians among the devoted saints. That’s how the enemy makes short work of godly testimonies. In addition, the two sexes of congregations should be doing something to cultivate mutual encouragement and instruction. What I mean is that the men and boys of the assembly should serve together, and the women and girls should do likewise. That way, their shared responsibilities and callings are being specifically honed by a different kinds of brethren with the same gender. In other words, generally men ought to mentor and counsel men, and women should do the same with women.

Taking the Fight to the Enemy

A final area of Christian community that ought to be fostered in fellowships is evangelistic work. This is where the “evangelists” and evangelistically-skilled brethren play an important part. Those who are especially gifted in sharing the gospel ought to teach their less skilled brethren to improve. And overall, the whole congregation should always be looking for ways to preach and share the good news of salvation through the Lord Jesus with the unbelievers in the area. This is the second most important part of the spiritual war, as we wage the sword of the Spirit against the lies and strongholds in sinner’s minds, in order to break their chains to the devil and sin.

To sum up, veterans, train the young soldiers to fight the good fight of faith, and to suffer hardship as good soldiers. Call them to follow you as you follow Christ, and stay shoulder to shoulder with your fellow veterans. All you fellow soldiers, be watchful and on the alert, act like men, and be strong. Let all you do be done in love, and pray at all times through the Holy Spirit, seeking whatever is needed to strengthen the saints in the strength of the Lord. Don’t let the devil gain a foothold, but stand against his constant traps and flaming arrows, looking for the soon coming of our King. He reigns.