Engaging the Enemy

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). When I think about the America in which my precious little boy is growing up, I shudder. In fact, I almost get sick to my stomach. I literally fear for his spiritual safety. There is a war raging and everything godly is in its crosshairs—particularly as it relates to the family.  The Bible refers to this conflict as a struggle against all things evil. It is a war with far greater consequences than any man-fought battle. No believer is exempt from this war. We are either part of the solution or part of the problem. There is no in between. There are no sidelines. There is no break. Your options are battle stations, battle stations, battle stations or “shipwreck in regard to your faith” (1 Tim.1:18). The war is to extend God’s kingdom and destroy the kingdom of Satan and sin. But it appears the church is losing the battle, at least in America.

America is in a spiritual and moral freefall. To use aviation speak, we are in a graveyard spiral. We think we’re flying straight and level when in reality we are in a tailspin quickly approaching our demise. Just look around you. The clash between a biblical worldview and every other worldview is reaching a lethal level. A satanic anti-Christian spirit is growing increasingly hostile towards true believers. The family is under attack. There is a movement afoot to radically redefine marriage to accommodate the homosexual agenda. The thing that frightens me is the true church seems silent on this issue while the pseudo-church embraces and even promotes this lifestyle and agenda as something godly. Those who do speak up are quickly demonized as bigots, liars, and hateful fear mongers. It sort of makes one wonder how they’d label Jesus, especially since they often build a straw-man argument that He never taught on such matters. It has gotten so bad that the lines between scripture and reality have blurred to the point most so called Christians can’t or won’t even take a biblical stand on the matter. 

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In fact, it seems most don’t even know what a Christian is anymore. We have heretics in Christian institutions teaching things like, “We have no idea how much of the Bible is actually the ‘word of God’ or what man would have us believe,” with such statements deceiving many hearers into deeper spiritual darkness and assuring a one way ticket to hell. Yes, I believe in a literal hell—that awful place of eternal suffering and torment where unbelievers go when they die. I believe this because the Bible tells me so. Unlike the aforementioned heretic, I know exactly how much of the Bible is actually the ‘word of God’ – all of it! It is not a matter of picking and choosing but a settled belief in “the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). By the way, as an aside, I believe some of the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who teach such heresy because it is a satanic teaching that can and does lead those who embrace sin to believe they are on their way to glory, when in reality, they are on their way to hell.  Jesus said, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:22-23).

So what are we to do? First of all, we must realize and believe Christ’s supreme victory is available to all those who believe, but it must be appropriated by faith. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 4:4). Secondly, we must understand we are in a war and the primary weapons we have are prayer and the preaching of the Gospel. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Cor. 10:4). Thirdly, we must speak the truth no matter what. They will call us names and some of us may ultimately pay with our life as some came close to doing recently at the Family Research Council.  But we must speak the truth! We must speak it boldly and without apology but we must also speak it humbly. Finally, in speaking the truth we must offer hope. I’m particularly drawn to passages like 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. In this passage Paul issues a warning about those who are deceived into thinking they are on their way to eternity in heaven when where they’re actually headed is to a Christ-less eternity. After listing a litany of sinful lifestyles in verses 9 and 10, he concludes in verse 11 with, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Wow. Now that’s what God is able and willing to do for those who believe Him. Supreme victory is available to all those who believe! Do you believe?