The warfare we’re engaged in, you see, isn’t against flesh and blood. It’s against the leaders, against the authorities, against the powers that rule the world in this dark age, against the wicked spiritual elements in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (BFE)
Jesus told us that in the last days we would hear of wars and rumors of wars. We know that throughout history, times of complete peace have been rare, if not nonexistent. Arguments for pacifism are at times compelling, and yet there have been periods when evil men and nations have put those beliefs to the test.
A pacifistic outlook was the prevalent opinion of Christians during the first three centuries of the church. The overwhelming paganism in the Roman military along with the unquestioning loyalty demanded of soldiers was seen as incompatible with Christ’s teachings.
The adoption of Christianity as the official religion of Rome precipitated a shift in the mindset of the church. First, Augustine, and later Thomas Aquinas, advocated the “just war” doctrine. Martin Luther would later argue that “political authority has been instituted by God to preserve peace, to protect the innocent, and to restrain and punish the wicked.”
Christian groups embracing pacifism are a minority: Quakers and Mennonites, along with some of the early Pentecostals are notable examples. Regardless of where we stand on the issue, one thing is clear, in spiritual warfare there can be no pacifism, neutrality, or conscientious objectors.
It would be easier if the warfare that we were engaged in was against flesh and blood. But we cannot see our enemy. But we can witness the devastation that he leaves in his wake. Are we prepared to stand up and fight?
Know Your Enemy
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:8–9 (NLT)
French poet, Charles Baudelaire, wrote: “The finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist.” Recently, I wrote “Do Not Be Deceived.” As we endeavor to understand our enemy, we must realize that deception is one of his greatest tools.
Satan, as an expert in deception, allows portrayals of himself in culture as a “cute” red-tailed devil, holding a pitchfork. Or, conversely, using special effects from Hollywood, he is seen as a hideous, grotesque monster. Neither portrayal does him justice. Paul reminds us: Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NLT)
We can gain a greater understanding of Satan’s tactics by examining how he confronted Jesus in the wilderness temptations. Satan is relentless, if one tactic does not work, he readily moves on to try another approach.
Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. Satan began by using an appeal to convert stones into bread to satisfy hunger. Jesus responded with the word of God. The Adversary continued by challenging Jesus to put God to the test, and finally, Satan offered all of the riches of this world.
This represents just a sample of the arsenal that Satan has at his disposal. After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways! 2 Corinthians 2:11 (MSG)
Know Your Weapons
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 2 Corinthians 10:3–4 (NLT)
A soldier would be pathetic if he did not know how to use his weapons. Or even worse, he doesn’t know that he has weapons. Yet today, many children of God are unprepared to meet the enemy in battle. Sadly, too many Christ-followers are unaware that they are at war.
Spiritual warfare requires spiritual defenses and weapons. You may have heard the expression, “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” In the same way Paul reminds us that spiritual warfare is different from natural warfare. He says, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons.”
Defensive protection, in the form of the whole armor of God is needed so that we may be able to resist in the evil day. We must take care, and not be negligent in taking up every piece of armament because the enemy will find out where we are vulnerable.
While the pieces of armor are defensive in nature, we must not neglect the understanding that our enemy is formidable. He is relentless in his pursuit of God’s children. Paul emphasizes: In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 (CSB)
The best time for training in the use of spiritual armor is before you enter the battle, but that is not always possible. We can anticipate attacks from the enemy from the moment we declare our allegiance to Christ.
DEFCON 1
The United States Armed Forces uses a scale from 5 to 1 to identify the defense readiness condition. DEFCON 5 is the lowest state of readiness, and DEFCON 1 means that we should be prepared for nuclear war. In the natural realm we have never been to DEFCON 1.
In the spiritual world, Satan knows that his time is limited, and he is like a roaring lion on the prowl. It is useless to contemplate neutrality, like some sort of spiritual Switzerland. There can be no conscientious objectors, or pacifists in this conflict.
In fact, as good soldiers, we must be prepared to lay down our lives. Victory is costly. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11 (NIV). But unlike generals who issue commands from the safety of their bunkers, our commander-in-chief leads us into battle. Remember, we are at war.
Steve Ekeroth