STRATIOTOLOGY: Introduction [1] series featured on monergism.com

Onward Christian Soldiers! marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus going on before!

The biblical doctrine of the Christian as Soldier

INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTRINE

It is my goal, by the grace of God, to establish the subject of Stratiotology as a bona-fide area of systematic theology. It is my hope, by the grace of God, to provide helpful material concerning the doctrine of the Christian Soldier, for the sanctification of sustratiotes (fellow soldiers) and for the spiritual equipping of my fellow soldiers in this battle against the world, the flesh and the devil. It is my prayer, that by the grace of God, soldiers of the cross will rise up from within the ranks and assist me in developing and articulating this doctrine with the hope that one day we will accumulate as clear an understanding as we currently have in ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology, Christology, the Trinity, Anthropology and the rest of systematic theology.

We can pull old books off of our shelf and read the theological discourse that flowed from the Protestant Reformation as confessions were formed and theology was defined. I have found very little published information on the doctrine of the Christian Soldier and never have I found the use of the term Stratiotology. I believe that as an isolated subject, Stratiotology can be recognized, defined and most importantly applied to our lives so that when the battle rages, we won’t cower and crack under the pressure of this age and it’s demands. We answer to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who reigns supremely over all as the Sovereign God of the Universe! He has commanded us to be his soldiers and has given us the instructions that we need in order to accomplish his will.

EXPLANATION AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS

stratiotes
Meaning: a soldier – used in: 2 Tim 2:3
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

sustratiotes
Meaning: a fellow soldier – Ph 2:25, Phm 1:2
Phil 2:25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;

Phm 1:2 and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

stratologeo
Meaning: to enlist soldiers – 2 Tim 2:4
No soldier (strateuo – to serve as a soldier) in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier (stratologeo).

HOW DOES THE NT DEPICT SOLDIERS?

The New Testament usage of the stratos word group, in particular stratiotes, is significant to the Christian and his study of scripture. It is a word that is used to describe certain individuals that collectively as a whole carry out the will physically of whom they swear allegiance to. Soldiers are also described as obeying commands and specific instructions, such as in:

Acts 23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.

Matthew 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

John 19:23 The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece.

John 19:32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him;

John 19:34 but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

In these few examples of stratiotes translated “soldiers”, we see that it is used to describe those who carry out the physical acts according to the will of their commander.

In Acts 23, Luke records the account of the Jews plot to kill Paul. He writes that there were over 40 of them that took an oath not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. This conspiracy was broken up when Paul’s nephew learned of the ambush and intervened, according to Paul’s instructions, by informing the tribune of the plan to ambush Paul. Claudius Lysias then writes a letter to Felix the governor and sends Paul to him for a hearing. It is important to note that the soldiers that brought Paul to Antipatris, did so at night. More importantly, it was done in accordance with their orders to do so.

This suggests that soldiers do not operate freely in the sense that their actions are apart from the will of their commander. The detail that Luke includes (v.31c – by night) was not an idea that they came up with in their own mind. It was a strategic military move that was plotted in the mind of their commander. The tactical usage of the darkness of the third hour of the night, that is, 9:00PM, was the decision of the commander, not the soldier. The commander summoned two centurions, and by way of the chain-of-command, the soldiers received their orders as to how and when this mission would be carried out.

We, who have been saved by grace and called to a holy calling (2 Tim 1:9) must live accordingly, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, adopt a “war-time mindset” (2 Cor 10:3-4). We too, have commands from our Ruler (John 14:21) that are to be followed, not according to our own will, but His will. As we obey His will, guard His truth and depend on His mercy to persevere, we must do so as soldiers in rank and file, assisting our sustratiotes along the way. Together, united in spirit and in truth, we must march bravely through the battlefield of this age, and shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation (Phil 2:15).

In this series, I intend to draw the framework from scripture, as to how the Christian Soldier is to be. These studies presuppose a very high view of Christian accountability as taught in the sermons and lectures of Dr. Robert Morey, and ultimately in the Divine Word of the Eternal God!