THIS MEANS WAR

by Ron Matsen

My blood boils when I witness an unchecked wrong going uncorrected and unpunished. When I hear of people being deceived by those who should know better, my anger fills me like a boiling torrent. If I hear of the ignorant willingly becoming both deaf and dumb, I want to stamp my feet and shout at the top of my lungs. As I helplessly watch the innocent suffer without the opportunity to cry out, I want to do something, anything, to stop their needless agony.

We are living in a time when absolute truth is despised and Biblical wisdom is mocked. Hardly a day goes by where I do not observe another attack on the universal moral foundation for all mankind that was set down by God. It is desperate times like this that drive me to take up arms and fight for what is right. But how should I proceed as a Christian?

Fight or Flight?

When our passion is running hot, we will often limit ourselves to just two reactions: fight or flight. If we feel that we have the necessary means to be victorious, we feel that we must FIGHT to gain the RIGHT. If, on the other hand, we perceive that the outcome of the battle may not be in our favor, we take FLIGHT and flee the face of our adversary.

One might think that Jesus is addressing this dilemma by saying,

Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

Luke 14:31-32

If you take that portion of Scripture in its context, you will see Jesus was actually speaking about the cost of being His disciple.

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:33

In fact, Jesus makes it clear that He does not condone war among men as a means for establishing what is right in the Kingdom of God. When questioned by Pilate at His trial, Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

The Deceptions of War

It has been said for millennia, “In war, the first casualty is truth.” In other words, he who is blind in battle will most likely lose. All humanity is embroiled in a war that has been raging since the dawn of time, where man is both the prize and the pawn in this deadly conflict. For mankind, it all began in the Garden of Eden.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ “ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1-5

There, we read that the Serpent first challenged and then contradicted the Word of God. He then offered false comfort that would come as the result of their rebellion. Because of the deception that was brought about through the seduction of Adam and Eve by the Nachash (the Hebrew word for “shining one”), mankind was plunged into a war that they did not start. We are told that God cursed the Nachash (later known as Lucifer or Satan), “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Thus, we have the seed plot for the story of humanity’s struggle with evil throughout generations. We still see this three-pronged satanic attack in play today: Question, Contradict, and Comfort.

Knowing Our Weapons

The early apostles knew what it meant to live under the threat of terror and war. During their lifetime, they would have seen many social injustices carried out by their Roman masters. Yet we see time and time again that the instructions given to the disciples of Jesus were to endure hardship for the sake of keeping themselves totally committed to preaching the Gospel. The apostle Paul writes:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-11

Paul told the Corinthian Church that they needed to see the spiritual roots of all conflict. Therefore, he instructed them in this manner:

“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, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

2 Corinthians 10: 3-6

Knowing Our Enemy

When in the midst of any conflict it is easy to vilify those who represent the opposition. In doing so we run the danger of hating the “sinner” who is committing the sin. This should not be our first response. The apostle Paul reminded the Christians in Ephesus that they were all once members of the opposition.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Again, Paul instructed Timothy that the real enemy is not a person committing the sin but their captor who is driving them to their own destruction.

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Knowing Our Battle

There is no doubt that we now live in a time when it seems like the world has lost its moral compass and is now groping around in the darkness of depravity. The question then becomes. “How then do we live?” I believe the apostle Peter answered that question by declaring:

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

1 Peter 2:11-17

In Paul’s last letter to his beloved Timothy, he gives this instruction:

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

2 Timothy 2:1-4

Knowing Our Victory

No matter how dark the world becomes, light cannot be held back by it. Early in the ministry of Jesus He speaks of the importance of standing on truth in a world lost in a lie.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

By the end of His ministry, Jesus promised His disciples that sometimes suffering would be the sign of success. Therefore, Jesus promised persecution.

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

Matthew 10:16-20

In the days that Noah lived, he could not change the direction of the world but faithfully continued to preach for one hundred and twenty years while he built the ark. In the days that Lot lived, he could not change the direction of the world but “tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds.”

Today, we need to understand that we cannot change the direction of the world, but we can stand firm and reflect the glorious light of the Gospel on the world around us. Here, and here alone, is where we are guaranteed victory in the war to end all wars.