We are in a Spiritual Battle

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). We are fighting an evil spiritual force which organizes and controls the darkness in this world. The problem with society is not abortion, pornography, or homosexuality. The problem is not those who actively or passively encourage such things, or the laws that permit them, or media bias, or public apathy. The real problem is the spiritual power of darkness. When you see darkness spreading in society, don't forget who rules the darkness. Ephesians 2:2 describes this spiritual force as "the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience". When you see people working against God's standard of right and wrong, when you see them treating other people unfairly in the process, don't forget who is at work in them. While Satan hates God's light, he's not pushing darkness into society just because he likes darkness. He has a larger purpose. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (I Peter 5:8). Satan's objective is to devour, to destroy people. In the recent Persian Gulf war, our enemy was not the average Iraqi soldier. He was fighting us, true, but he had little choice. Many Iraqis were forced at gunpoint to stay at the front. They often surrendered at the first opportunity. Our fight with them was an unfortunate consequence of our struggle with Saddam Hussein. Things are very similar in the moral battles that confront us. The people whom we often think of as our enemies are, in fact, victims. They are in the snare of the real enemy, and are proving it by the lives they live. But people (and society) don't really need Satan's help in destroying themselves. There is a second real problem. In Romans 1, Paul describes the downward slide people undergo when they walk away from God. Note, while reading this passage, how many of the consequences listed are things we consider "social" and "moral" problems. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them" (Romans 1:21-32). Did you see the social and moral issues of our day? Paul specifically mentions promiscuity (v. 24), homosexuality (v. 26, 27), murder (v. 29), and rebellion against parental authority (v. 30). In the words "unloving" and "unmerciful" (v. 31), we can see abortion, spouse abuse, and child abuse. "All unrighteousness", "wickedness", "evil", "strife", and "malice" (v. 29) cover the rise in crime, violence, gang activity, and related issues. According to Paul, these social problems are part of the downward spiral of sin. When people walk away from the Living God, there are not only spiritual consequences; there are also moral and social consequences. Abortion, pornography, homosexuality, child abuse, and the like are not really social or political problems. They are not even just moral problems. They are spiritual problems. When we look at these issues, we often confuse the symptoms with the disease. The cause of the disease is man's sinful nature. Abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and the disintegration of the family are symptoms. They are effects a society causes within itself when it moves away from God. We try to persuade people that Christian morals and values are the best foundation for a society. We push for the election of candidates and the appointment of judges who will move our country back toward that foundation. A moral code plus the Supreme Court cannot turn back Satan's attack on our society. Neither can they reverse the consequences we face as a society which has turned its back on God. Moral persuasion and political action are completely inadequate responses to spiritual problems. Moral persuasion is inadequate because sinful people who know right from wrong remain sinful people. They still sin, and their sin's poisoned fruit still destroys society. Political action is inadequate because legislating morality can only state publicly a moral standard. It cannot create in people's hearts either the desire or the ability to fulfill that standard. Colossians 2:23 says that decrees "are of no value against fleshly indulgence." This nation will never be morally sound until the people in it are spiritually sound - something that mere politics is helpless to bring about. If we change the spirituality of our nation, that spirituality will in turn transform the country's morals and politics. However, if we only change the morals and politics, the spiritual problems remain, and the moral and political changes cannot last. "Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation" (Psalm 146:3). Princes, presidents, judges... they can't save us, and they can't save our society. "Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?" (Isaiah 2:22). I might add, why should we think he can fix our society? When we think that this country's nonbelievers are going to follow Christian ethics because of the ideas of the Founding Fathers, we need to think again. When we think that nonbelievers are going to act like Christians because we manage to get the right people elected, we need to think again. Only those who are Christ's can really live like Christians. Against the social manifestations of the spiritual problem of sin, we often raise up, not the transforming power of the Living God, but merely the social power of politics. It's not enough. While we are fighting our legal battles, while we are trying to out-debate our human opponents, our real enemy is fighting a spiritual war, and our society is rebelliously marching further away from God. If we continue to respond as if the problem can be solved in the courts and the media, we are going to remain ineffective while our society continues its moral decline. We simply cannot solve spiritual problems with political strategies! When I was growing up, my family kept a large garden. With experience, we found that most weeds were pretty easy to kill. Dandelions? No problem. Crabgrass? Not much problem. Only one weed commanded our respect: bindweed. It has a long, skinny root that is easily broken, but a small piece of root can re-grow the whole plant. Whenever we spotted it in our garden, we dug it up very carefully, trying to get all of the root. Then we marked the spot, and watched it for a couple of weeks. If we left any of the root behind, the weed would be back. So it is in our society. If we eliminate pornography, abortion, homosexuality, and child and spouse abuse tomorrow, they will be back. They will be back because the root, the spiritual problems, will still be there. So that there is no misunderstanding, let me point out what I am not saying. I am not saying that we should stop doing what we are doing. I am not saying that we should abandon Operation Rescue. I am not saying that we should quit striving to see Roe v. Wade overturned. I am not saying that we should refuse to provide alternatives to those who are considering abortions. I am not saying that we should stop trying to pass laws against pornography and abortion, and trying to see those laws enforced. I am not saying that we should ignore media bias. I am not saying that we should quit proclaiming that homosexuality is not a legitimate lifestyle and that the only "safe sex" is abstinence outside of marriage. I am not saying that we should idly sit by while gangs take over our streets. I am not saying that our actions are wrong. What I am saying is that our perspective, our focus on our actions, is wrong. Our actions are not enough to solve these social problems; adding more actions won't make them enough. A Porsche without an engine may look impressive, but it won't go anywhere. A farmer who doesn't plant seed is going to have a very poor harvest, no matter how well he plows and waters his fields. So it is with our lists of actions to take in response to these social problems. The part that's missing is so fundamental that without it the other parts, though good in themselves, are wasted. Since society's problems are spiritually rooted, our primary responses must also be spiritually rooted. Out of that spiritual root will grow the secondary responses of political action, legal action, social action, and everything else. But unless our responses are spiritually based, they cannot change society (or even individuals) in any way that really matters. We all agree that God is far more powerful than any political program. In practice, however, we often look to politics, rather than to God, for the answers to the problems of our society. We seem to think that we need political power to influence politics. The truth is that Christians can have a profound effect on the political scene precisely because Christianity is a spiritual force rather than a political one. Spiritual solutions are always centered on what God does, not on what we do. This is where our usual perspective on social problems fails. We think and act like God Himself does nothing. Instead, we need to look at what God does about the social problems that surround us. First, He transforms individuals. "Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (II Corinthians 5:17). God radically changes the natures of people who come to Him, making them new creatures, changing them into something completely unlike what they were before. The only way you can have a healthy society is to change the basic nature of people. This is exactly what God does. He transforms people who are spiritually dead and decaying into people who are spiritually alive and healthy (see Ephesians 2:4,5). Second, God builds a new society (called the church) out of these transformed people. God's Son rules this society; Satan does not. "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13,14). We were part of Satan's kingdom, living in darkness, but God delivered (removed) us from that kingdom and placed us in another one, the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ. For this new society to be any improvement on the world's nations, it must be made up of transformed people. Why? Because you cannot build a healthy society out of sick individuals. You cannot build a just society out of unjust individuals. You cannot build a moral society out of immoral individuals. God must use transformed people to build His transformed society. This new society doesn't look like the world's societies. Its most unique - and most visible - characteristic is the love that its members have for each other. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34,35). Even the pagan, antagonistic Roman world recognized this love between believers, and marveled. They couldn't understand this kind of love. This love is possible only because God transforms people, enabling them to love, rather than act selfishly. In fact, this love is a litmus test of whether God actually has transformed a person's life. "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death" (I John 3:14). In this new society, all the distinctions that divide people socially are nullified in Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). Race, socioeconomic status, gender... all these divisions are healed within the church, resulting in one unified, loving society. Third, God infiltrates His transformed people throughout the world's untransformed societies. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus told us part of God's purpose for doing this. "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." God intends us to be salt and light in the world. A lamp gives light, but what does salt do? Among other things, salt was the world's first preservative. God puts His people in the world's societies to keep the societies from becoming too rotten, and to show His light in the darkness. Salt also creates thirst. God wants our lives to make others desire to know Him. As Paul put it, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (II Corinthians 5:20). And fourth, God fosters orderliness in secular society. "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same, for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil" (Romans 13:1-4). God establishes civil, secular authority to reward good and to punish evil in society. Governments act as guardrails - they forcibly keep people from careening too far in the wrong direction. If the government fails to live up to God's intent, He is just as capable of replacing it as He was of setting it up in the first place. Once we have seen what God is doing, we have the proper perspective to see what we should do. Pogo, the comic strip character, said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." If we want God to change society, we must first let Him change us, so that we are no longer part of the problem, but rather part of the solution. This begins with coming to Him for salvation. At this point, He rescues us from Satan's kingdom, places us in His Son's kingdom, and makes us into new creatures, transforming us from what we were into what He intends us to be. But letting God change us also means coming to Him day by day, moment by moment, walking with Him and letting Him continue to transform us. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (II Corinthians 3:18). As we spend time with God, as we see what He is like, His Spirit transforms us into His likeness. Once we are no longer part of the problem, the rest of our society still must be transformed. However, as we stated earlier, we ourselves cannot change society. God must do it. Whenever we see the need for God's power, that should be our call to prayer. We must pray more than just, "Lord, please end abortion and fix our society", though such glibness and shallowness too often mark my prayers. Nehemiah sets us a better example. In Nehemiah 1:1-2:9, he prayed with a seriousness that makes most of our "praying" look hollow. He prayed persistently, for four months (from Chislev to Nisan is approximately from November to March). Then he took political action, asking the king to send him (Nehemiah) to be the answer to his own prayers. If our prayers are to have real impact, they too must be serious, heart-felt, and persistent, not the shallow, bland junk we so often pray. Too often, we of the "instant" age become discouraged when we don't see an immediate answer to our prayers. While Jesus said not to use meaningless repetition in our prayers (Matthew 6:7), He also told the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) to show that we should not be disheartened in prayer. Rather, since we know that we have a Father who cares and is listening, we should keep on praying. We need to pray in general, for the health of our society. We also need to pray about specifics. "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Timothy 2:1-4). Paul seems to have in mind praying in some detail, for the government as a whole and for specific individuals within the government, with the intended effect that we be able to live lives free from social upheaval. This passage also shows us something of God's priorities. One of God's purposes in creating peaceful, orderly societies is that people be saved! In other words, social peace is not God's ultimate goal; saving souls is. We recently had a presidential election. Many Christians felt that, in terms of moral and social issues, the wrong person won. However, I would rather see us elect the wrong person and pray for him than elect the right person and think that our job is finished for four years. We need to pray for specific moral battles going on, for legislation that is being considered, and for relevant court cases. We need to pray for elections and for the appointment of judges, for the Lord to put His men and women into place. We need to pray for God to guide His church in response to the needs and problems of society. We also need to pray for those who oppose God's standards of right and wrong. "But I say to you, love you enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:44,45). We are to love and pray for those who oppose us, who fight us, who ridicule us and our positions. After all, God acted that way to us when we were His enemies! As an added bonus, our prayers and attitude may lead to the salvation of our opponents. They must be saved and transformed for there to be any fundamental change in society. The church of God wins its battles not by destroying its opponents, but by converting them. In warfare, a unit that is out of communication with its commander is nearly worthless. So it is in spiritual battles. Prayer is both speaking to God, pleading for Him to intervene with His power, and listening to His orders, finding out what He wants us to do. God isn't overwhelmed by these social and moral problems. He knows exactly what He intends to do about them, and He knows exactly what He intends for us to do about them. We need to listen - God is far better at strategy than we are. His plans are much more effective than ours. If we are serious about mending society's problems, we must listen to God. Then we must do what He tells us. You can't pray seriously, persistently, and in detail about these issues for very long before God will give you something to do. He will not allow us to pray and remain inactive. We don't know what God will ask us to do. It may be something political. It may be to picket an abortion clinic. It may be to serve as a role model for someone who would otherwise join a gang. It may be to lead someone to Christ (each person's transformation makes a real difference in the battles against social and moral problems). It may be something nobody has thought of yet. No one can tell you what to do; that's God's choice. Whatever He asks you to do, we urge you, do it. Due to the unfortunate character of our times, we must add this caveat. We are commanded to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). God does not ask us to hate anyone, much less to use violence, whether verbal, emotional, or physical. We cannot fix our society on our own. But as we follow God and rely on His power, He will use us as His instruments to transform our society into what He wants it to be. As David said, "Oh give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we shall do valiantly; And it is He who will tread down our adversaries (Psalm 108:12,13)."

 

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