II Timothy 2:4 “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
Mankind, without Spiritual Birth (John 3:1-8), cannot and will not choose God, nor choose to serve Him. However, every one of His Children will be given Spiritual Birth to know and love Him; our Lord put it this way, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37). We are plainly told that God the Father “hath chosen us in him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). And, God, Himself calls and qualifies and equips His ministers to serve Him (Hebrews 5:4). This choosing and calling is NOT an invitation or a simple opportunity, it is God’s Sovereign Choice and Action. Solomon put it this way: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Our God alone calls His Children His very own, and also He alone calls each of them to Spiritual life and He alone calls His servants into action. Those that He “hath chosen” to Eternal Life can never be un-chosen; our Lord put it this way, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29). And, those “chosen” and “called” into service are to emulate a “good soldier”; that is, be faithful to our Commander, no matter how difficult our service may be or how many or how severe out tribulations may be. Thus, Paul wrote: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58).