Verse: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
Nec aspera terrent is the motto of the first battalion I served with, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, Wolfhounds. Translated it means, “No Fear On Earth”. This motto lived strong in the regiment’s history as the soldiers would fight in many campaigns and earn a reputation in WWII and Korea. Soldiers of that unit today still proudly yell that motto when faced with all kinds of difficulties.
As Christians we have no reason to have fear on this earth. Jesus says in Matthew 28, “All authority has been given to me”, so there is reason to fear. In this passage of scripture above in Matthew 10 Christ tells his disciples not to fear because God is in control. He tells them that God takes care of the sparrows, how much more will He take care of them?
As a soldier you will most likely come to a situation in your life where death is a possibility. Whether that be on the battlefield or in training, death is part of this dangerous game (read last post). Though death is a possibility, we have no need to fear it. Rather we should face these situations with the courage of a lion.
Hebrews 9:27, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” We will all die, and that time is appointed by God. In this verse we see the judgement is after our death and we need to fear the account we will give of our life more than what people will think or do to us. We shouldn’t fear man but rather fear the Lord.
We see all through the scriptures and especially in Proverbs that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. Fearing God and having a respect for Him should be the foundation of our life. If we properly know the God we fear, we will not cower in a corner waiting for God to strike us dead for our sin. Rather we will be emboldened to stand firm on His word knowing that He holds us in His hand. And that if something was to happen to us, we know it is for our good, and to glorify Him.
As Christians, this should make us unstoppable in combat. Of course, when faced with death we will be scared or afraid but that doesn’t mean we don’t act. As Christians we should be able to put that naturally feeling of fear aside and do our duty for our fellow bother. Because we have the Spirit inside of us, we should fearlessly do what is right, which sometimes comes with sacrifice.
We know our life is secure. As Christians we know our eternal destiny because Christ has died for our sins and paid our ransom with His blood. Bringing this faith into combat should give us the courage to make hard sacrifices for our brothers and sisters who we love. If someone needs to do something dangerous to “save” the rest of our element, it should be us. As Christians we should be the ones who volunteer with no fear because we have feared the one who can destroy both body and soul, so theirs no need to fear man or situations on this earth. It could also serve as a witness to those around us who by our sacrifice may have more time to surrender to our Lord. No fear on Earth!
By, John Cooper
Godly Grunt 6
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