Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare: The term brings to mind all kinds of strange ideas that range from “prayer warriors” to “casting out demons” to literally standing face to face with Satan, being a “general in God’s army,” to ‘our church is the special forces in God’s army,’ etc., etc.. All of which are either partially or totally false. Moreover, where some people find this in Scripture is beyond me. Actually, spiritual warfare is a whole lot like regular warfare in some ways: For a very long time nothing happens – then all of a sudden events occur – then nothing perceptible happens again. Moreover, wars are not won in the flash, glitz and glitter of the demonstration of power and force (This is why the “Shock and Awe” campaign in Iraq was a failure). Rather, wars are won by logistics, discipline and training. That is why history records many instances of small, disciplined forces defeating much larger, yet less disciplined forces time and again. An excellent example of this is the battle of Cannae in 216 BC in which Hannibal defeated a far larger Roman force in the space of one day. An excellent Biblical example of this is Abraham’s excursion against the four kings after they defeated the five kings of Canaan and took Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his household captive. A careful reading of the passage reveals that Abraham’s servants were trained in war. Along with Mamre, Aner and Eschol, Abraham and his servants pursued the four kings and defeated them in a night battle. Without doubt, the forces of the four kings were far larger than the force Abraham and those confederate with him could assemble. However, training, discipline and (most of all) the blessing of the LORD carried the day. Thus, there is a lesson for the child of God: That proper biblical training and a disciplined life are necessary in the spiritual war that we all are engaged in. In short, if you don’t know the Scripture, how can you possibly use the primary weapon the Lord has given you, which is the Scripture? If you are not willing to live a separated life, how can you be confident in what faith reveals to you from the Scripture? How can you be confident that the Lord is actually guiding you in all that you do? Moreover, since this spiritual war centers around the salvation of souls, if you don’t walk the talk, will those whose souls you are fighting for ever listen to you? Will you have credibility in their eyes if you act like the world, but talk like the Bible? You know, it is not enough for a soldier to talk all about weapons and tactics and war – if he never trains for war with his weapons using the tactics he was taught. Worse yet, even if he is trained, what if he never shows up for the battle? In either case, the soldier is a waste of time and effort to the country he is supposedly fighting for. It should not be a shock to realize that it is the same for the born-again child of God. With these things in mind, we should understand that spiritual warfare is also very different from regular warfare. After all, who ever won a battle by fleeing the battlefield? But that is exactly how Joseph won the battle against Potiphar’s wicked wife. By fleeing fornication Joseph won a significant victory that enabled the LORD God to use him to save his entire family from starvation in a famine that was, at that time, years in the future. Even though for the moment it seemed that Joseph had lost (after all, it got him thrown in prison), actually victory was assured and (from the point of view of man) God’s plan would go forward. Thus, I leave you with the above thoughts to consider. I pray that the following articles provoke you to consideration of your own effectiveness in the war everyone is engaged in. In Christ, Paul W. Davis


General Articles

Lessons

Issues of Covenant

Introduction What Kind of War Some Hard Questions
Complacency Kills The Television Doing It By the Book
Counting the Cost (A Memorial)   A Parallel
When “I’m Sorry” Isn’t Sufficient    
The Effects of Television    
     

Passing the Torch

Discernment

Visual Arts

Hypocrisy Lord of the Rings: First Letter “The Passion” Religious Movies and Faith
Asymmetrical Warfare Lord of the Rings: Second Letter Emotional Appeal and Preaching the Gospel
The Hidden Hypocrisy    

Satan and the War

   
A Tactic of Satan – Stealing Time