Soldiers of Christ

But God has put his Army right in the middle of the Devil’s kingdom, and that Army is the Church.  So, when we were baptised, we joined that Army and became Soldiers of Christ in it.  That is why, when we were baptised the priest traced the sign of the Cross on our foreheads, the badge of Christ’s Army.

In the Prayer Book Service, the sign of the Cross is a token that the person shall “not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world and the devil; and to continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant” until the end of his or her life. (3) In the Common Worship Service the priest says:

“Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified”.

And everyone present says:

“Fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ
against sin, the world and the devil,
and remain faithful to Christ to the end of your life”. (4)

So in both Services, there is a strong emphasis on fighting against sin, the world and the devil and being faithful to Jesus throughout our lives.

To renounce or reject means to have nothing whatever to do with.  So at our Baptism we took sides for God and against the Devil, and we keep our Baptismal promise of renouncing or rejecting the Devil by turning him out of our lives and keeping him out.  It is our business, as members of God’s Army and Soldiers of Christ, to fight against evil and wrong wherever we find it, whether it is around us or within our own souls.  When we do that we are loyal to Jesus; when we fail to do that, we let him down.  We must never give up the fight, and when we sin and fail Jesus, we must be sorry and turn back to him without delay.  So in the Common Worship Baptismal Service, candidates are asked to declare that they will persevere in resisting evil and whenever they fall into sin to “repent and return to the Lord”. (5)