August 29, 2008
Battle
Cry
Can
I talk about something that's not politically correct these days? Actually every
time I speak of the exclusive nature of the Christian faith I do that, but I
have something more specific in mind this morning.
Christians
are at war.
This
is not a war in the human sense. We're not (or certainly shouldn't be) out to
physically capture territory and kill enemies. We're not out to force anyone to
do anything against their will. We're not out to coerce others to believe what
we believe.
I
know the church at times has done all those things, but when they did so they
certainly were not following the ways of Christ. When the people of the church
have done those things, no matter how well intentioned they were quite simply
wrong. So if you have ever been on the receiving end of that kind of warfare
from a believer in Christ, allow me to apologize.
We
are at war in the spirit realm for the eternal souls of others.
Ephesians
6:10-12 NIV
Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so
that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.
We're
not battling Muslims, Buddhists, Satanists, atheists, communists, humanists or
any other religion or ideology. We are battling in the spiritual realm praying
that whatever "ism" or "ist" someone believes they would
come to freedom in the truth.
We
not called to kill them. We're not called to terrorize them. We're not called to
oppress them. We're called to love them and pray for them even if they
ultimately choose to reject Jesus.
That's
about as far removed from the ways of human warfare as you can get. Love your
enemy? Worldly wisdom says hate and dehumanize your enemy and then destroy them.
Even
our weapons make no sense from a human perspective.
Ephesians
6:13-18 NIV
Therefore
put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints.
There
isn't a rifle, missile or weapon of mass destruction mentioned in that list.
Even the swords and shields are only metaphors. We're to battle with truth,
righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. We're to fight with
prayer. It's certainly qualifies as unconventional warfare to say the least.
Conversion
at the point of a sword is not conversion. True conversion is a spiritual event.
We
need to recognize we are at war over eternal things. Yet, we must also be
careful that the battle does not allow us to stumble into prejudice, fear and
hatred. Such things have no place in the life of any Christian believer.
It's
time to set aside our own agendas and our own methodology. It's time to enter
into the battle wearing the spiritual armor of God and fighting spiritual
enemies.
Until
next time may you shower those who don't believe with love, blessing and prayer.
May
they see that our Lord is love and that His followers strive to emulate Him.
That's
the way battles in the heavenlies are won.
Darrel
Mason