Spiritual Warfare and Society I. Introduction A. We are at war 1. The enemy is unseen and seems to be pervasive 2. He hates us and everything we stand for, and will stop at nothing to harm us 3. We cannot invade one single country and get rid of this enemy 4. He strikes at his own whim and our efforts against him have often seemed futile B. Does this sound like America's war against terrorism? 1. After all, we hear constantly that we are at war against terrorists! 2. They seem to live among us here in America and abroad 3. They are spread out around the world 4. They have engaged in multiple attacks C. Yet such is not the war that I am describing 1. The war I am describing is the spiritual war that we are right now fighting! 2. We must recognize that we are indeed at war and learn how to fight against our enemy D. As we will see, our enemy is pervasive, and we must be constantly on guard-- we will see in society many of the weapons that our enemy uses against us! E. Let us then spend some time discussing spiritual warfare and society II. Discerning the Enemy A. Just as with physical warfare, it is of the highest importance to establish who precisely is your enemy and where he operates 1. After all, how can you invade an enemy if you do not know who he is or where he is? 2. Is this not part of the problem with our war on terrorism, that it is difficult to discern exactly who is our enemy from who is not, and where those enemies happen to be? B. As Christians, we do not have to wonder who our enemy happens to be and where he operates 1. 1 Peter 5:8 2. The devil is our adversary! 3. Such is what the word Satan means-- Adversary 4. Peter also indicates where he operates-- he "prowls around", walking around the earth (cf. Job 1:7) C. The Bible also indicates who our enemies are not 1. Ephesians 6:12 2. Paul begins this verse by establishing that our struggle is not with "flesh and blood" 3. Our enemies, then, are not our fellow man; we are to love our fellow man and teach him the Gospel that will lead to his salvation (1 Timothy 2:4, Matthew 22:39) 4. This is teaching us clearly that the Christian's struggle is not to be directed in terms of physical warfare against "infidel" nations! 5. This makes sense in view of John 18:36-- Jesus' Kingdom is spiritual, not physical 6. Sadly, Christendom for 1700 years attempted and still attempts to impose Christianity through physical subjugation of other peoples 7. Whenever one picks up physical arms and attempts to wield them in the name of Christ, he has violated the truths regarding the nature of our struggle and the Kingdom for which we strive! D. Paul continues and describes the nature of our enemy in Ephesians 6:12 1. Paul lists two main features of our enemy 2. "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness" a. this feature of the enemy explains how it can be that we are not to consider our fellow man our enemy when our fellow man seems to act as our enemy b. we are told in John 14:30 that Satan is the ruler of this world, and in 2 Corinthians 4:4 is deemed the god of this world c. it is because of Satan that we are in this "present darkness"! d. Paul here refers to the reality that the majority people are servants of Satan (Romans 6:16, 20), and therefore act in ways hostile to God and His followers (Romans 8:6-8) e. the people themselves are not our enemies; the one whom they serve, Satan, is our enemy, and we are to hate him! f. he is the one behind the evil that is so pervasive in our world g. he is the one behind the societal trends that reject godliness and glorify sin! 3. "against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" a. not only do we contend with how Satan works on the earth, we also contend with the evil powers in the heavenly places also! b. whether real or perceived, many worship and act in the names of religions positing other gods c. evil spirits factor heavily in both the Old and New Testaments 4. We can see, then, that our battle is against many powerful forces! E. We should be able to easily perceive how society works with our enemy 1. When society buys into sin, society works against us 2. Especially in terms of sexuality, violence, perception of money, power, etc., society flaunts God's will and does the will of Satan 3. Therefore, while we are to love our fellow man, we are to consider the influence of Satan that pervades society to be hostile to us and to fight against it! III. Our Armament A. Just as in physical warfare, we must have proper equipment to be able to be successful B. Ephesians 6:11-17 describes equipment necessary for the Christian C. The whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) 1. Armor that has gaps in it will not work as well at defending the wearer as one who is fully covered by armor! 2. Therefore, it is imperative for the Christian to trust in God fully (Matthew 6:33) and to strengthen every weakness, lest Satan find a way to grievously wound us! D. The Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14) 1. The belt fixes one's armor on securely, and provides the place to maintain the sheath of the sword 2. The truth of God indeed stands firm and will keep one's armor attached well (cf. 1 Timothy 3:15) 3. Notice, however, that the truth in and of itself does not protect-- it can only keep one's protection in place a. the truth is only as useful as it is believed and acted upon (1 John 2:4) b. one's main defense against evil, then, will not be the truth per se, but the truth acted upon in one's life E. The Breastplate of Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14) 1. The breastplate protects the chest and upper thighs, the most critical section of the body save the head, and the easiest to penetrate 2. Doing that which is right through obedience to God is indeed one's main protection in the faith (1 Peter 2:12) 3. When one is doing what one ought to be doing, Satan will have little opportunity to successfully attack you! F. The Shoes of the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15) 1. Shoes and greaves on the lower legs are essential to protect the parts of the body which allow free movement 2. For one to use one's legs as God desires, to go and preach the Gospel (cf. Romans 10:15), they must be protected against the evil one 3. Hence, one's obedience and preparation to preach (1 Peter 3:14-16) allows one to proclaim the Gospel of Christ without being compromised by hypocrisy, the tool of Satan G. The Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16) 1. A shield represents the first level of defense-- with a shield one can deflect or slow an oncoming object, rendering it either entirely useless or significantly minimizing the damage 2. Our faith is our primary shield against Satan and his fiery missiles! 3. Our strength in the faith will lead to our ability to defeat Satan and all his wiles (cf. Hebrews 5:14) H. The Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17) 1. While the head has the natural protection of the skull, a helmet assists and reinforces that protection 2. Our salvation, or our hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8), is that layer of protection that keeps us going and motivated to continue to fight against the power of evil 3. Many times we may feel tired, and desire to give up, but it is that hope of salvation that must keep us going to the end I. The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) 1. The sword is the primary weapon 2. It is important to note that the sword of the Spirit is the only "offensive" piece of equipment mentioned; everything else is defensive 3. While our truth, righteousness, readiness to proclaim the Gospel, faith, and hope of salvation do much to protect us against the enemy, none of these are actual weapons with which we can fight the evil one 4. The only weapon against Satan is the Word of God! 5. That Word is described in Hebrews 4:12 as living, active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart 6. Therefore, the only way that we can attack the evil around us is with the Word of God; no other armament in our arsenal will be effective J. Prayer (Ephesians 6:18) 1. While not normally mentioned as part of the armor of God, and not having any equivalence to any physical piece of armor, prayer is tied to this same context 2. As any expert in military affairs knows, men with armor and weapons an army does not make; in order for an army to be effective, they must be disciplined and motivated 3. A soldier who is not in communication with his superiors, deriving important information and encouragement from them, is not going to be very successful at defeating the enemy 4. The same is true for us spiritually: how can we expect to win this war against evil if we are not communicating with our Heavenly Father constantly and receiving the encouragement that only prayer can supply (Romans 12:12, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2) K. The Strength of God (Ephesians 6:10) 1. It is critical that we remember that spiritual warfare between ourselves alone and Satan is not an equal fight-- we have no hope of victory in that circumstance! 2. As Paul begins to speak about our spiritual warfare, his exhortation is for us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might! 3. His might has defeated sin and death and will have the final victory against Satan (1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 54-57) 4. We can only have hope of victory through Christ Jesus, not through our own feeble attempts IV. Our Enemies' Armament A. We have been told in Ephesians 6:16 of the fiery darts of Satan, and it is good for us to consider how our enemy is armed B. Our enemy is armed with temptation to sin 1. The desires of the eyes and flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16)-- all these Satan uses to induce us to sin 2. He makes sin seem pleasurable and those who engage in sin often are more at home with people in the world 3. Our society provides plenty of artillery, glorifying those who are wealthy and greedy, advocating the exposure of those who are physically attractive and alluring, rationalizing and justifying that which is abominable to God, questioning His existence and promoting beliefs hostile to Him 4. It is always easier in the world to stand against God than it is to stand with Him C. Our enemy is armed with persecution 1. 1 Peter 2:12, 1 Peter 3:14-16, and 1 Peter 4:3-5 speak of the unjust hostility that people of the light must suffer in this present darkness 2. It is easier and more desirable for the darkness to swallow light than it is for the darkness to become light! 3. Therefore, not only will Satan tempt Christians to sin with their own temptations, he creates a hostile environment for Christians to keep striving against those temptations! 4. People would rather condemn that which exposes their sin than to repent, and that is why Christians for generations have suffered and will suffer until the Lord returns from those who speak evil against them without cause D. Our enemy is armed with hypocrisy and weakness 1. It is not only from without that Satan finds artillery, but also from within! 2. The cause of Satan is helped greatly by Christians who are spiritually weak and have no desire to become stronger, and especially from Christians who profess Christ yet act in worldly ways 3. Those from without easily perceive that hypocrisy, and many a soul has justified and rationalized his or her current condition by pointing to the hypocrisy of Christians 4. Such, of course, will not be sufficient rationalization on the Judgment day indeed; yet that does not absolve us from the responsibility of becoming stronger in the faith and remove the hypocrisy from our lives! E. Our enemy is armed with prescience and deceit 1. Our enemy knows us better than we know ourselves and knows when we are weak 2. He preys on those who have become complacent, those who are spiritually intoxicated in some way or another (1 Thessalonians 5:6-7) 3. When you are strong, he will leave you alone; when you are weak, he will prey upon you, just as the lion goes for the weakest and not the strongest prey (cf. 1 Peter 5:8) V. The Battle Plan A. No military expedition will be successful without a battle plan-- if one does not have specific goals and means by which those goals are to be reached, one's fighting will be in vain B. As Christians, we must know our battle plan and the plan of our enemies if we are going to be successful in our spiritual war C. Our enemies' battle plan is simple: discourage and discredit those who do right so as to induce them to fall, never to rise again, and to keep in darkness those souls still in darkness (Hebrews 3:12-13, 1 Peter 5:8) D. Our battle plan, as revealed in the Scriptures, is twofold: endure and convert E. Endure 1. As we have previously mentioned, the battle will be the Lord's, and it will be won on His power and His power alone 2. It is not expected of us that we ourselves will vanquish Satan; we are expected to endure (Matthew 10:22) 3. Such is why our armament is geared so heavily toward defense and not offense: our primary concern is that we continue to stand and press on 4. This message is emphasized in Ephesians 6:11, 13, 16, 18; 1 Peter 5:9, and in many other places 5. Weakness, illustrated by gaps in our armor, not renewing our armor, not communicating with our Superior, and not strengthening our armor, will lead us to be attacked sorely and open us up to defeat 6. We must stand strong to prevail! 7. We must constantly be growing and developing in the faith, reminding ourselves of what God has said and continually learning more and doing better in the faith (2 Peter 1:12-13, Hebrews 5:12-6:2) 8. To endure we must be ever mindful that we are at war and that our enemy desires to destroy us, and be sober-minded and always ready as we ought (1 Thessalonians 5:2-8) 9. To endure we must receive constant encouragement to continue in the fight, and such is gained through prayer and association with brethren (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Hebrews 10:24-25) 10. Our endurance is of the highest priority F. Convert 1. The only way that we can weaken our enemy is to go out, preach the Gospel, and convict souls of God's truth 2. Every soul that no longer serves evil but serves God is one fewer soul that does Satan's bidding and strengthens his work on earth (Romans 6:12-13) 3. We must likewise raise our children in the instruction and admonition of the Lord, that they also may serve God and not Satan (Ephesians 6:4) 4. We work in vain to defeat Satan by working to change earthly laws or any other such thing; Satan's army and artillery can only decrease when souls are converted to the Lord and work on His side 5. To do this, of course, we do not use our own wisdom or words but the Word of God, the only weapon able to convict the soul of the truth of God in Christ Jesus (Hebrews 4:12) VI. Conclusion A. We have seen today the spiritual war waged between the forces of righteousness and the forces of evil B. This is not a physical battle, nor can it be won through physical means; it is entirely a spiritual battle! C. Our enemy is Satan and the work of Satan that man does; man himself is not our enemy! D. God has provided us with plenty of defense and sufficient offense to counteract the weapons of Satan, and we have full confidence in Christ Jesus of the victory E. Our battle plan is to endure and to convert F. We can see also how society plays into the hands of Satan and how it does his will, and how society is responsible for a climate hostile to the practiced Christian life G. Invitation/songbook H. Let no one be deceived-- the war is on! I. There may be no physical location of this battle, no physical memorial, no weapon to grab to use in fighting, but the war is indeed raging and raging strongly J. Whose side are you on? K. Are you fighting for Satan, living according to your own will and hostile to God? 1. If you are in this condition, you are fighting the losing battle! 2. One can read in Revelation 20-21 a vision of how the end will come and all of Satan's forces will be defeated and cast into perdition 3. No one wants to fight on the losing side, nor do you really want to lose your life-- be saved today, obey Christ Jesus, and join the right! L. Are you on the Lord's side? 1. We would ask you today how you are faring in the battle 2. Do you accept that you are fighting a battle against sin? 3. Have you conformed to the world to the point where you see no problem with the way society advocates many things that lead to sin? 4. Are you fighting diligently against the forces of evil, sober-minded, constantly renewed in the faith, growing in the faith, encouraging and being encouraged by your brethren in the fight, and communicating with your Superior? M. We ask you to consider these matters as we stand and sing