I’m not sure when I first heard the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” but I recently found it online with a heavy metal sound (here). And while I’m not a fan of heavy metal music, this one is done in a way I’d say is appropriate.
It has received some backlash and even been removed from some hymnals because people have been offended by equating Christians to marching soldiers. But I think this criticism shows a failure to understand that Christian life is a battle.
- We are fighting our enemy Satan.
- We are seeking to rescue the unsaved from his deadly arrows of deception.
- We're seeking to stop his attacks on faithful believers.
You won’t find negative attitudes toward soldiers in Scripture. Jesus claimed that a gentile soldier had amazing faith better than any He’d seen in Israel, and He never told the soldier to get out of the army (Matthew 8:5-13).*
In addition, we find these positive references to soldiers:
Paul tells Timothy: “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).
And Ephesians 6:10-17 describes spiritual battle gear every Christian needs, both defensive and offensive: the full armor of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit.
If we aren’t taking the battle seriously, we are going to fall prey to “the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
So let's march onward, Christian soldiers!
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Info about the hymn: source
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