The Battle Is Already Won

By Rev. John Dreyer

When you get up in the morning, you probably have a regular routine as you get ready for school or some other activity of the day. As you set out about your routine, how do you see your day? What’s on your mind? Perhaps there are exciting things that you’re looking forward to or perhaps you’re dealing with a particular struggle or crisis in your life that’s been plaguing you. In many ways our circumstances in life affect our attitudes, and sometimes we find ourselves just not knowing what direction to go in life. When

The stuff of this life tends to greatly influence how we view the world around us and may seem more real than the greater life God has given us in Christ as His baptized children. Let’s be honest, life is not always easy and sometimes we have no choice but to confront some tough situations in our day.

Our culture, how we were raised, our experiences, and our encounters in life tend to play a big role in how we see the world. How we see things is key to the biblical understanding of our daily Christian life. This is called a Christian worldview. Worldview is the lens through which we see life. Our Christian worldview not only teaches us how to see our circumstances but also gives them meaning, especially during certain times of struggle or suffering—even when the stuff of life is more than we can bear.

In our Western culture, because we value independence, we try to “solve” our problems and have a hard time dealing with ongoing struggle or suffering. The psalmists had a particular worldview of life that is found throughout the rest of the Bible. In Psalm 77, Asaph cries out to God, his hands stretched out in prayer. Asaph does not find comfort in his situation. In fact, He feels abandoned by God. But then, boom! in verse 10 he switches to a very positive note. He says he will appeal to the right hand of God, he will remember the works of the Lord and His mighty acts of redemption. But how does this help Asaph’s problem? Just knowing these facts about God doesn’t seem like it would be enough to remedy his situation.

Ah, but it is. In the worldview of the psalmist, the meaning of life and our perspective is not known through our struggles or sin. Rather it is understood only from God who is the author, giver and sustainer of our life, from whom all good things come (even when we think they are bad things). As Christians, we are allowed to see these struggles and even our sin through the lens of Christ, knowing who we are before the gracious God of redemption. This is how suffering and struggles can strengthen our faith and trust in God.

When the devil tempted Adam and Eve, he went after the very umbilical cord of their life. He didn’t just pick this sin or that sin. He wanted to turn Adam and Eve away from God and His promise. The devil said to Eve, “You can be like God.” Sin is a faith and relationship problem in the Bible. It is when we do not fear, love and trust in God above all things. When we sin we are saying, “I am my own god. I am the one who gives meaning to life. I am the one in authority. God is insufficient or God has failed me.” And this is ultimately what leads us to follow other worldviews, rather than to look through the lens of Christ.

If you have been to my breakout sessions at Higher Things summer conferences, you might have heard me say that when you learn to do an exorcism, you learn what it means to be a Christian. Sometimes we only view exorcisms as combating the devil, appearing as an unending battle like in Ephesians 6, which talks about the armor of God. Indeed, it references an ongoing battle depicting spiritual warfare. But in the Gospels, exorcisms address more of our spiritual wellbeing rather than simply a battle scene.

Let’s consider the movie version of an exorcism. You go into the room. The possessed person is lying on the bed. Is there spiritual warfare going on in that room? The answer is clearly yes. But we know as baptized Christians, that the battle has already been won. The exorcist does not go into room as if it were a battle scene but enters in as a victor, declaring the battle won in the Gospel. In the same way It is like a pastor walking up into the pulpit with all confidence in order to preach the Law and declare the Gospel, the victory won. Your pastor is also armed with the Sacraments for the forgiveness of your sins—a tangible reminder of that victory. We don’t have to be present at an exorcism to understand that the devil’s main goal to turn us away from a “fear, love and trust in God above all things” and toward despair in our sins and struggles. The devil would wish you to look through a different lens than that of Christ.

As baptized Christians our identity and life is founded in Christ’s victorious death upon the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Will you still struggle in this life, see your repeated sins, and be faced with your failures? Indeed you will, but you need only remember that you are a baptized child of God. All of heaven is behind you.

Rev. John Dreyer is the senior admission counselor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also is a regular breakout speaker at Higher Things conferences.