The Year of the Deuce
guest post by john Cooper jr. of the Godly Grunts
Happy New Year to you all! I hope you are all sick of all the craziness we have had to endure these past two years. Most of us are observing the world around us and wondering, “Will this get better or worse?” None of us can be certain, but, judging on the governmental overreach and degradation of our society, one can easily venture to say the latter is more likely.
What I would like to challenge you with is that however better or worse it gets depends on you. It is easy to sit back and blame the world for the crumbling of our society, but what are you doing? God calls all of us to a specific calling that He wants us to do. For some of us, it’s planting a church, for some it’s being a janitor in a local school, and for some it is giving our lives to Christ in martyrdom. No matter what it is, we need to and are expected to do it for the glory of God.
If you look at the number of this year it is 2022. The unit I deployed with to Afghanistan was the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment out of the 10th Mountain Division. Because of our number designation (2-22IN) we are called Triple Deuce or what most of us affectionately call “the Deuce.” Why does any of this matter? It is because, in this article, I’d like to talk to you about our motto, “Deeds not Words”.
If you are reading this and have ever been in the 10th Mountain and you have heard people annoyingly yelling or chanting, “Deeds”, you know who we are. It is a challenge to our soldiers and an ethos we ask our soldiers to embrace. It says, “Don’t just say you’re going to do something, do it.” It is a challenge to hold each other accountable and judge our actions.
If the past two years have taught us anything, it has been that many churches have abandoned the reformed and orthodox faith and have fled to feast upon the grain of vain philosophies instead of the manna from heaven, the Word of God. We have so quickly thrown out the most crucial doctrines, especially that of Sola Scriptura or Scripture alone. When the world dangled their philosophies like critical race theory, critical gender theory, or ultimate state submission we melted it down and worshiped it as the golden calf of old. We were people who had words but no deeds. We said that we would stand on the firm foundation, but our house was built upon the sand. This needs to end.
Consider this parable from our Lord:
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered and said, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. And the man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
Matthew 21:28-31 (LSB)
As a church, we need to be like the first son. Who of us when the heat was on may have gone with the practical answer, but not the Biblical one? We may have gone running to the latest church growth book or other pragmatic philosophy while abandoning a firm stance of the rock of our salvation, the Word of the living and true God.
I know it is a punch to my gut as I have had to repent of my faulty views this past year. This is a rebuke to me as much as anyone else. Let us be about doing our Father’s business, not just talking about it.
This year will be met with many challenges. More aggressive shutdown measures, a crackdown on free speech, Bill C-4 in Canada, and challenges we may not even know about or can foresee. We have all said during peacetime that we would step up to the plate, now the war is on, will you fight? Will you run to your Bible when challenges come instead of Fox News? Will people at the end of 2022 say, “They said a lot of good things” or “Those are people who stand for something greater”?
James 2:26 says, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” Don’t just talk about your faith and all you want this year, but do it. Let’s not only scream from our pulpits to abolish abortion, but let’s labor to do it. Let’s not talk about Sola Scriptura in our group chats or podcast and then flock to the business section to get 20 more people in our church. Rather, let us boldly proclaim the Gospel.
God called Nehemiah to accomplish an amazing task. And after his brother told him about the devastation of Jerusalem, he prayed a moving and deep prayer for God to intervene and show compassion on his people. But he doesn’t just pray and then go back to being the cupbearer. “Oh that’s terrible for those people, I’ll just keep them in prayer before I go to the king’s party.” No, he acted. He went before the most powerful man in the known world at that time and pleaded to be released and worked day and night not only to build up the city of Jerusalem, but also to build up the people’s faith.
Like Nehemiah, God has given you something to do for Him in 2022. It could be the same calling of 2021 or something entirely different. Once you know what the Lord has laid on your heart this year, embrace the motto, “Deeds not Words”. Don’t just talk about it, but do it. Labor hard to accomplish the mission God has set before you. This is the year, this is the year you stop dreaming about how God would use you but rather seize the moment for His glory. It is the year of Deeds not Words, the year of the Deuce.
I’ll leave you with this. Jacob Krep was the commander of Mike Company of the 22nd Infantry Regiment during the Philippine Insurrection, said this of soldiers in the American Army, but I think it applies to soldiers of Christ as well. He said,
“The history of a soldier in the regular army, or any soldier for that matter, is the story of his organization while he is affiliated with it. The hero is usually of newspaper manufacture—and remains a hero for possibly three editions. The soldier who falls in combat needs no such notoriety. If his company or regiment never disgraces its flag— but only adds to the brightness of its colors— this honor is shared with his comrades.”
That is our call brothers and sisters. Not to have some article written about us in Christianity today or be interviewed by Wretched Radio or mentioned by a “famous preacher,” but to live and die so that the flag of God’s glory may shine brighter and brighter in a world that grows darker every day. We live our lives to fight for His beautiful and glorious Gospel and pray that we may die on the battlefield for Him. This year live a motto that says, “Deeds not Words” and seize the faith.
Written By,
John Cooper Jr.