A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
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You then, w my child, x be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,
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and y what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses z entrust to faithful men a who will be able to teach others also.
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b Share in suffering as c a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
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No soldier d gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
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e An athlete is not f crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
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It is g the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
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Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
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Remember Jesus Christ, h risen from the dead, the i offspring of David, j as preached in my gospel,
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k for which I am suffering, l bound with chains as a criminal. But m the word of God is not bound!
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Therefore n I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain o the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with p eternal glory.
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The saying is q trustworthy, for:
r If we have died with him, we will also s live with him;
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t if we endure, we will also reign with him;
u if we deny him, he also will deny us;
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v if we are faithless, w he remains faithful -
for x he cannot deny himself.
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Cross References
2 Timothy 1:2
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Cross References
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
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Cross References
2 Timothy 1:13
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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Cross References
1 Timothy 1:18
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.
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Cross References
Titus 1:5
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you -
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Cross References
2 Timothy 1:8
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
2 Timothy 4:5
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
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Cross References
1 Timothy 1:18
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.
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Cross References
2 Peter 2:20
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
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Cross References
1 Corinthians 9:25
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
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Cross References
2 Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
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Cross References
1 Corinthians 9:10
Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.
Hebrews 6:7
For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
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Cross References
1 Corinthians 15:20
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
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Cross References
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
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Cross References
Romans 2:16
On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
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Cross References
2 Timothy 1:8
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
2 Timothy 1:12
Which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.
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Cross References
Philippians 1:7
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
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Cross References
2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
Philippians 1:13
So that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
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Cross References
Ephesians 3:13
So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.
1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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Cross References
2 Corinthians 1:6
If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
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Cross References
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
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Cross References
1 Timothy 1:15
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
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Cross References
1 Thessalonians 5:10
Who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
Romans 6:8
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
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Cross References
Revelation 20:4
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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Cross References
2 Thessalonians 1:4 - 5
Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
Romans 8:17
And if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Hebrews 10:36
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
Revelation 20:4
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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Cross References
Matthew 10:33
But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
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Cross References
Romans 3:3
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
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Cross References
1 Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Cross References
Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Titus 1:2
In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.