2Ti_2:4. - Chosen To Be A Soldier; Not Chosen To Salvation!

11. 2 Timothy 2:4. - Chosen To Be A Soldier; Not Chosen To Salvation!

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this file; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” - 2 Timothy 2:4 The verse, itself, is self-explanatory. Paul is simply writing to young Timothy to encourage him to be a good soldier. God has chosen him to be a soldier. It does not say He had chosen him to salvation! In fact, you cannot be a soldier for Christ until you have already received Christ as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in John 1:12 :

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Here, writing to young Timothy, he simply states that he “hath chosen him to be a soldier,” not to be a Christian as he was already saved.  To take 2 Timothy 2:4 as leverage to convince someone that God has either chosen you to be saved or rejected you and ordained you to be lost is absolutely erroneous!  Again, the Greek word for “chosen” is a different Greek word than is usually used.  It is “stratologeo,” and according to my Lexicon it literally means “to gather as a warrior.”  It is to enlist one into the army, or choose one to be a soldier.  It has nothing to do with choosing one for salvation.