Most of the time when I sit down at my computer to write, I feel a kind of optimistic hopefulness. I love the stimulating awareness that the Living God is at work doing incredible things to bring His Kingdom to life right here and right now. That’s a good feeling, to say the very least. But today is different . . . 

A More Difficult Day ~
Today feels hard, and I’m not enjoying the challenge of writing, given the kinds of things I’m seeing and feeling today. Though I’ve never claimed to have prophetic gifts of any kind, I’m feeling a kind of kinship with some of those prophets God sent when His people had allowed idolatry to permeate the nation. Evil practices and demonic ideas were spreading like a virus, and the spiritual leaders were doing virtually nothing to counteract it. Like those men, I love both the God we serve and the nation I’m blessed to be a part of, and today, I’m freshly aware that love can bring painful stuff along with it. 

In thinking about the current moral and ethical state of our country, my first inclination today was to catalog some of the more atrocious things going on. But since complaining rarely ever accomplishes anything, and most of us get a fresh dose of that garbage every time we turn on the news, I won’t belabor it. Instead, I’ll move on toward the point I’d like to consider with you, which to say in simple terms is that God is serious about what He says and expects us to be as well. Unlike some of His image bearers, God doesn’t talk just to impress Himself with how well He can do it. When the Living God delivers a directive or admonition, He actually expects us to do what He says. And if God expresses an opinion or judgment about something, its validity isn’t dependent on our acceptance, agreement, or approval. His judgments are universally right and eternally immutable, and He expects us to embrace them and respond accordingly. 

Intended for Us ~
My reason for getting into all that is that we 21st Century ‘Social Media Christians’ are prone to read things that God directed us to do and instead of seeing a behavior to practice, we see a potential meme to post on Instagram. And in much the same way, we’re likely to see warnings or judgments about things to avoid or situations to prepare for and think they don’t apply to us. But the truth is that while the Scriptures were not written to everyone, they were definitely written for everyone. We may not be living in Corinth, Jerusalem, or Rome, and we may not be camping at the foot of Mt. Sinai, but the principles for life that God ordained and the judgments He declared transcend time, distance, and cultural evolution and apply to us just as they did to those who got them firsthand.

And in light of all that, there’s an issue I want us to consider that we find in a couple of passages familiar to all of us. They highlight an observation Paul mentioned a couple of times, and they lead to his well-known discussion about Roman battle armor. But before we get to the armor itself, it’s important that we consider Paul’s rationale for bringing up the subject at all, which he made quite clear in his second epistle to the church at Corinth. He said:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10:3–5 NKJV)

 And later, to the believers in Ephesus, he added this:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) 

The Message is Clear ~
It doesn’t take years of study in the doctrinal implications of the Pauline Epistles to figure out what Paul is saying here. In no uncertain terms, Paul is warning us that following Jesus is not going to be like a Sunday afternoon stroll through a nature park. He says that we have an enemy that is totally committed to the annihilation of Jesus’ Church and the total elimination of its influence in the world. And Paul is as serious about it as war itself. He isn’t like so many in our world who say shocking, outlandish things just to get attention. Paul was Jesus’ personal representative, called, ordained, and commissioned by the risen Son of God, Himself! When he says the Church is at war, we’re at war. 

Refusing to take that reality seriously and not to be prepared both offensively and defensively is to invite disaster. With these comments, Paul pointed that out as he offered the rationale for the armor: 

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 NKJV)

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV)

Objective Clarified ~
The objective for applying the armor is to enable us to stand, and that means more than just the ability to remain erect. Standing suggests first, that the warrior survived. The threat of war is not just theoretical, it is lethal. So the armor’s function is vital. And it’s at this point where the preachers, teachers, and commentators move on to the various pieces of armor and what they mean . . . But can we just put that on hold this time and consider a few thoughts about how this warfare works in our world here and now, how vital it is that we take it seriously, and how important our role is in it?

• • The Spiritual War – It’s not primarily a conflict between the devil and certain individuals. It’s much, much broader than that. The war is between God’s arch-enemy, the one called Satan – and/or the devil – and the Church of Jesus Christ. And we must remember that the “Church” is not a building, nor is it encompassed by or limited to any of the multiplied thousands of religious institutions, denominations, or organizations scattered around the world. Satan is after the people who make up the collective “Body of Christ.” That means that anyone who is a genuine follower of Jesus is a target, but the goal is much larger than that.
  • The Weapons Employed – They’re not ballistic – no bullets, no bombs, no lethal drones. The enemy’s weapons are designed to work from the inside out. His methods are to plant the destructive power deep inside, through the eyes and ears of his targets. He attacks with words, images, ideas, and emotions. With them, he corrupts the mind, weakens the spirit, perverts truth, and alters perceptions of reality.
  • The Objective of the Enemy – To prevent the mission that Jesus commissioned His Church to fulfill, which is to multiply His followers, to bring the values and principles of His Kingdom to life here, and to combat evil and all the misery and death it perpetrates. Ultimately, Satan wants the death of the Church, but incrementally, his goal is to weaken, divide, deceive, misdirect, confuse, and intimidate Jesus’ followers to the point that they are individually powerless and collectively ineffective and irrelevant.  

Considering a Possible Cause ~
When we fail to take this spiritual warfare and our role in it seriously, we don’t feel compelled to obey God’s directive to “suit up” and prepare for battle. And perhaps that’s exactly why we’re seeing unbridled evil parading unchecked through our streets. Maybe that’s why we have so many filthy-mouthed personifications of human depravity running for public office. And it could be one of the reasons why sexual debauchery is heralded as entertainment while moral virtue is shunned like some kind of disease.

Everyone is concerned about the war in Iran – and we see people having convulsions over gas prices. But the fact that we’re murdering over a million innocent babies a year hardly raises an eyebrow. It’s time we look more seriously at the war that God’s most concerned about. The directive is clear. Suit up for battle and stand . . . before we’ve lost it in this country for good.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • If God expresses an opinion or judgment about something, its validity isn’t dependent on our acceptance, agreement, or approval. His judgments are universally right and eternally immutable, and He expects us to embrace them and respond accordingly. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • We may not be camping at the foot of Mt. Sinai, but the principles for life that God ordained and the judgments He declared transcend time, distance, and cultural evolution and apply to us just as they did to those who got them firsthand. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • Paul isn’t like so many in our world who say shocking, outlandish things just to get attention. He was Jesus’ personal representative, called, ordained, and commissioned by the Son of God Himself. When he says the Church is at war, we’re at war. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • Satan is after the people who make up the collective “Body of Christ.” That means that anyone who is a genuine follower of Jesus is a target, but the goal is much larger than that. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • While Satan ultimately wants the death of the Church, his incremental goal is to weaken, divide, deceive, misdirect, confuse, and intimidate Jesus’ followers to the point that they’re individually powerless and collectively ineffective and irrelevant. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 

Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 

                    Click here for a “Look Inside” preview at Amazon.

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