ARE WE AT PEACE OR ARE WE AT WAR?

          It may be asked: “What difference does it make how we view life?"  And I say, the difference between sleeping and waking!  Our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan know that there's a war going on (because they're in the middle of it)!  Ask them if there's a difference between peace and war (and recognizing the difference)!  When you know there's a war going on, and you're in the middle of it, your adrenaline flows!  You're passionate!  You're willing to make sacrifices for the good of the cause!  The one thing life never is in battle is the very thing it is in daily life (for so many people)----boring and purposeless.  But when life is viewed as a war, then life becomes filled with great choices and great purposes!  To borrow the words of Moses “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” (Deut.30:19).
 

Moses' challenge to God's people reminds us that we need to check the Scriptures in order to have a correct assessment of what life is about!  It is in the Scriptures, where men and women get understanding and wisdom!  The Scriptures are quite clear that spiritual warfare is what life is about!  From the fall of man in the garden to the judgment at the last day, the pervasive theme of the Bible is warfare!  Granted, this is not the view that most people have of the Bible, but there's no mistaking this emphasis!

Sometimes the idea of warfare is stated explicitly, and sometimes it's just implied, but it’s always there--the grand theme of warfare and battle!  Even the metaphor that likens Satan to a roaring lion (1 Pet.5:8), implies conflict and struggle, and thus the need for resistance and protection!  Indeed, the most important event in the history of the world (the incarnation of Jesus Christ), occurred because of spiritual warfare!  God invaded enemy occupied territory!   And so we are all involved in this conflict, like it or not.

          On the other hand the Lord's church has not exactly made it a habit to think of life in this way!  The average Christian has not yet realized that he or she is living life on a battleground.  Threat and danger are not in our thinking.  We need, but we don’t heed, the unfashionable words of Jeremiah: “They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace! When there is no peace.” (Jer.6:14)  In other words, we're comforted and soothed by the words of peace, but the reality is, we are at war!  It's not unlike the debate that has been going on in our country these days.  Some are of the opinion that war hasn't officially begun until we are attacked by weapons of mass destruction.  Others believe that war begins when there is a "clear and present danger" that such weapons will be used.  Concerning spiritual warfare, it is the view of the Scriptures that the very threat of temptation and sin involves us in spiritual warfare.  This means there can be no peace (in the absolute sense) as long as we live on the earth.  Paul said that “peace” is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5:22), but this means peace with ourselves, and with God, and with our neighbors; not peace with the devil, the world, and the flesh!

          So, we are at war!  There are three aspects of this spiritual warfare that I want to touch on briefly.  First, we need to wake up to the reality of spiritual warfare!   Listen to this from Romans 8:13:  “For if you live after the flesh, you will die: but if you through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, you will live."  Now there's a word you don't hear much of anymore!  "Mortification" is a word that has all but disappeared from our vocabularies!   But it’s a good word!  It means “to put to death”.  And that’s the business of a soldier----to kill; to put the enemy to death!  So this conflict is real!  Because it’s real we need Christians who will stand up and fight for what's right; who refuse to “go with the flow” (Rom.12:1-2)!  The truth is, if we live in a world where the flow is going to Hell, then it’s absolutely imperative that we refuse to "go with the flow"!   Wouldn't you say?  Is this a negative view of what it means to be a Christian?  I suppose it could be understood in negative terms, but understanding the reality of spiritual warfare is ultimately positive in that it means life instead of death.  So yes, there’s a war going on!  And it's bigger than anything they're showing on CNN!   If there's a war going on then we need to think and act like it.  We need to be negative toward such things as rebellion, lawlessness, selfishness, godlessness, and impurity.  Those who are spiritually minded are opposed to the principles of the flesh (Gal.5:16-26).

I read a story one time about a British officer, near the beginning of World War Two, in charge of a brigade in North Africa who received the following communication from his superiors:  "War declared!  Arrest all enemy aliens in your district."  In a matter of days, the officer sent back this reply: "Have arrested seven Germans, three Belgians, two Frenchmen, two Italians, an Austrian, and an American.  Please say whom we are at war with."   We need to know whom we are at war with!   We need to have our eyes opened like Elisha’s servant:  “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kgs.6:18)     The fiery horses and chariots (in this verse) are the angels of the Lord  That’s whose side we're on, and we better know it, simply because it's there.  May God open our eyes to the truth. We face a bold and powerful enemy in the world today ----THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS!

We face a bold and powerful enemy in the world today... THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS! Peter said: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet.5:8).

Peter said: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Pet.5:8).Jesus spoke of “the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).  James mentioned “the demons” in (Jam.2:19).  Who is the devil?     Well, he's the devil!   Forget about red tights and pitchforks.   Such a view of the devil means we're sadly underestimating our enemy.   The devil is a personality, with a mind and a will!   He uses the world (which involves temptation from without) and the flesh (which involves temptation from within) to bring us into a kind of  “counter-discipleship” with God.   Paul gave us clear instructions as to how to deal with him in Ephesians 6:10-18.  We need to take this seriously.     We have an enemy and we are at war.  We have to understand this or we're finished.     He's on the offensive....and his goal is to "chew you up and spit you out"!   He's a seasoned warrior, and his first order of business is to deceive you into thinking that there is no war or threat to your soul!

          Last of all, we need to recognize the reality of spiritual evil!   Evil is at work in our world!      President Bush speaks of the "Axis of evil.”  But that doesn't describe the half of it. Our problem is, we either don't believe evil exists, or we misunderstand it.  One thing is certain though, as you read the Bible, we realize that evil is alive and well.  Malcolm Muggeridge once said that “sin is the only Christian dogma that can be proved just by reading the daily newspaper."  Sin and evil presuppose two things the world disbelieves in: (1) a Divine will that has the authority to issue moral and spiritual laws, and (2) a human soul that has the capacity to receive and obey moral and spiritual laws.  But these things are not real to us, and so evil is not real to us.  It's interesting (and it would be funny if it wasn't so sad) how evil is so misunderstood.  Some view evil like they view Dracula-it’s nothing but a myth; an exaggeration.  Some view evil as cruelty (i.e., if they haven't killed anybody lately, then all is well).  Some view evil as only the dark side of good.  Some view evil as mere ignorance that can be fixed through education.  Others view evil as a thing; even as a second god.  But none of these views are correct.  Satan wants us to either not believe in sin, or he wants us to misunderstand it.  Either way, a disconnect is created between God and the human soul.  The result is, we are deceived.  And that's what evil is----it's disharmony with God's will.  It is God's will that all things be in harmony with their Creator.  Wherever that harmony fails to exist, evil has been at work.

          So this is what's at stake.  The salvation of your soul hangs in the balance.  If you fail to see life as spiritual warfare, if you fail to recognize the enemy, and if you fail to believe or understand the reality of evil, then you're going to have difficulty being the soldier God wants you to be.  And that's what Satan wants!   He wants you to fight for him.

          Listen to the words of someone who looked at life as a battleground:  “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim.4:5-8).  Readers, the war is good.  It is good to fight with the Lord against sin and evil and the devil.  Ultimately, the victory will be the Lord's, and it will be yours because "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4).  I invite you to enlist in this good fight!   I invite you to join the ranks of the faithful!     Each of us has a contribution to make in the struggle against the kingdom of darkness!   Come, join the battle!

Brian Giselbach

(Note:  The author of this article wishes to thank those who have written articles and preached sermons that set out many of the thoughts and ideas represented here, and from which I freely borrowed. The sources are numerous, and many are long forgotten. May readers benefit from these words in their own spiritual struggles against evil.)