“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.” Ecclesiastes 4:12a NLT
An army in the natural realm does everything to train and prepare their soldiers for war. The soldiers enter Boot Camp where they learn the skills needed to be effective on the battlefield. Some adjust well to the new routines of army life while others struggle to make the adjustment. Some soldiers stay in the army while others succumb to the pressures of combat and go AWOL. It is the responsibility of the army officials to guide and direct each soldier until they are ready for combat and it is the responsibility of the soldiers to learn how to work together as a team. But it is not their responsibility to make them stay. If a soldier can’t take the pressure and they go AWOL, the other soldiers can try to bring them back, but the ultimate decision to return belongs to the soldier. If they choose to return at some point the commanding officer determines how he is restored. He can select no punishment, non-judicial punishment, or he can send him to a Court Marshall. But the point is that a soldier has the right to return to the army if he chooses to.
The Army of God is no different. We have entered the Army by our own free will and we need to be trained. It is the responsibility of the church leaders to train the soldiers for combat. As soldiers we have the responsibility to adjust to the Army life. Some will adjust well while others may struggle. We also have to learn how to work together as a team, building one another up in Christ so we can encourage those who struggle, and be prepared for defending each other in prayer. Each individual has the choice to stay and learn how to live a Christ centered life or they can choose to go AWOL when the pressures of life become overwhelming. We can’t keep them from going AWOL but there are things we can do if they do.
First we can try to reach them with a message of truth and hope and we have to be careful not to judge them when we do this. This is why Galatians 6:1-3 says, “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”
Unfortunately most people do not follow this Scripture when a fellow soldier is overtaken in a sin (fault). Instead of adopting a mindset of restoration they adopt a mindset of persecution. They reason that the soldier should have known better and there is no compassion for the soldier; only comparisons that they draw from their own lives. They think and say things like, “I would never do that. That person deserves what’s coming to them.” They fold their hands as the Pharisees did when Jesus healed the cripple man and they stay silent; waiting to see their fellow soldier destroyed by their sin. Then they say things like, “I told you they weren’t a Christian.” “I knew they were going to do that and they will pay the price now.” This way of thinking will destroy the Army of God and it gives place to the devil in the midst of the Army’s camp. He gets a foothold that soon becomes a stronghold and the Army of God begins to be overtaken by the enemy.
If a fallen soldier chooses to return we have the responsibility to help them to be restored in love. We don’t have the right to Court Marshal them because we are not the judge. But there needs to be a system in place for restoration for the fallen soldiers. In order for this to happen the body of Christ has to understand that we have a real enemy who is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy us. (John 10:10) And he has a strategy to accomplish this tactical mission. His biggest strategy is to single out a soldier and attack him when he least expects it. He knows when a soldier is alone he is vulnerable and it is easier to destroy him if he has no one to defend him. This is why Ecclesiastes 4:12a says, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.” The deception of the enemy is to get Christians to judge the fallen soldier so they will not help them be restored when they want to return.
The enemy has deceived the body of Christ into believing his lies over the truth of God’s Word. Many Christians adopt those lies as beliefs and tell themselves and others the same lies to justify their actions when a fellow soldier falls. This causes the body of Christ to become angry at a fallen soldier and instead of praying for them and seeking to help them be restored to the body; they wash their hands of them. Ephesians 4:25-27 says, “So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” If we are going to be a unified army we have to change the way we think when a fellow soldier falls into temptation, because when they are ready to be return we have to be capable of helping them be restored. When they initially fall they may not be willing to listen. But those who know they have a battalion of loving soldiers waiting for them, will be more receptive to listening to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to them to come back home to the Christian Army’s camp.
Prayer: Spend time asking the Holy Spirit to give you the heart of Christ for your fellow soldiers who have fallen. Begin to ask for the love of Christ to well up in your heart so you will be able to walk in love. Spend time praying for the body of Christ to be unified and to begin creating systems of restoration for fallen soldiers. If you have been one who judges the fallen soldiers ask the Holy Spirit to give you more understanding in regards to what it means to have the mind of Christ so you will accept your role as a soldier and not as a judge.
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