Pilgrims and Soldiers, 3

 Continued from "Pilgrims and Soldiers, 2"

You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:3-4 WEB)

From the ruminations of the two previous posts, I think you must draw the conclusion that Christians, as aliens in a hostile culture, must see themselves as pilgrims, but also, in terms of the Great Commission, must also see themselves as soldiers in a conquering army. Don't think of these in terms of disparate forces balancing each other, but as parts of a whole that complete each other.

The pilgrim recognizes that he belongs to a different world order from the pagan culture around him. The soldier needs this to keep from losing the vision of his mission. He can never fulfill his mission if he substitutes humanist objectives and tactics for Christ's clear "disciple the nations" and "teach them to observe all I have taught." 

In contrast, the believer who sees himself as pilgrim in exclusion to his calling as a soldier too easily falls into a mindset of withdrawal. This perspective can lead to a ghettoization of the Christian community, wherein separation devolves into isolation.

This brings us to another consideration: Can the pilgrim/soldier ever become a settler? That looks like fodder for at least another post.

Pilgrims and Soldiers, 2

 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
(Hebrews 11:8-10 WEB)

(Continued from "Pilgrims & Soldiers, 1)

This passage of Scripture presents Abraham as a pilgrim. It also presents him as the rightful heir of the the land he wandered as an alien. Moreover, Genesis 14 gives us a peek at Abraham the military strategist and leader. All of these aspects of his life figure into his calling.

R.J. Rushdoony provides an indispensable insight into that calling.

When Abraham came to “the land of promise,” he dwelled [sic] there in tents,as did Isaac and Jacob, who were “heirs with him of the same promise” (v.9). All “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (v. 10). They were promised more than a land for themselves: they expected a new society founded on God’s law and word, and it was this they longed for. This new city or social order would be the reverse of the Tower of Babel: its purpose would be, not the glory of man, but the glory of God. The world around them gave evidence of a steady deterioration. Their pilgrimage, and that of all the saints of the Old Testament, was towards the Kingdom or City of God. (Ross House Books, 2001 p 112)

 Under the New Covenant, the boundaries of God's promise to Abraham do not end with the frontiers of Canaan. "For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring [seed] that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4:13 WEB) Abraham's seed inherits the whole world, not just a portion of the Middle East. 

Hence, the comprehensive nature of Jesus' commission to His disciples.

 And having come near, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “All authority in Heaven and on earth was given to Me; having gone, then, disciple all the nations, immersing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all, whatever I commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days—until the full end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 LSV)

This has broad implications for believers today, for, "If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring [seed] and heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3:29 WEB) Rushdoony addresses those implications here:

Like Abraham, we too are pilgrims, but God’s realm is far closer than in Abraham’s day. As our day draws near, the battle intensifies, and the hostilities increase, but the Lord is no less able to deal with His enemies than at Babel and Calvary. (ibid., p 113)

Thus, as Abraham's seed, we too travel this world as pilgrims, but unlike Abraham, God has assigned us the task of possessing the land for Christ. More on this in another post.

Pilgrims & Soldiers, 1

By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
(Hebrews 11:8-10 WEB)

God called Abraham to the life of a pilgrim. Christian economist & educator Gary North rejects this as a model for today's Christians:

This pilgrim motif stresses internal struggles over sin, rather than struggles with external enemies. The soldier motif is the opposite. The soldier gains his self-confidence and skills in boot camp; after this initial training, he is assumed to be ready for battle. He concerns himself with the enemy, who is a true threat to his life. The pilgrim is more like a newly reformed alcoholic, or a drug addict going "cold turkey." He wails, groans, struggles with inner horrors, writhes, and concentrates on what is going on inside him. He is at war with himself and his flesh, but not primarily at war with the external environment. The various allegorical characters in Pilgrim's Progress are external representations of internal enemies: vanity, doubt, despair, and so forth. The pilgrim does not bother much with his external environment, since he is only passing through. The soldier, on the other hand, is a conqueror, and he has to be concerned with what is going on around him. ("What Kind of Army?")

While Dr. North's article promotes a much-needed change of perspective, you must realize that he uses the term pilgrim in a particular historical context -- that of the pietism that has infected so much of contemporary Christian thought.

Are pilgrim and soldier mutually exclusive concepts from a biblical perspective? I want to explore that question in tomorrow's post.