This article by Pastor Mike Spaulding was originally published on Capitol Hill Outsider: https://www.capitolhilloutsider.com/it-is-time-to-engage-the-enemy/
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
We are at war. No I’m not talking about the Military Industrial Complex’s insatiable hunger for profiteering at the expense of American men and women’s lives. I’m not talking about the escalating conflict between the various political factions and their comic stooges played out in the news cycle day after day. I’m not even talking about the globalists and their open borders agenda for the destruction of American national sovereignty. I’m talking about a much more devastating war with eternal consequences. The war between the fallen ones and our great God that is raging all around us.
This war has a goal. Satan and his followers seek to capture every soul that God has created for the purpose of dragging that lost one into the pits of hell. God on the other hand is seeking to save that which is lost, namely every man and woman born in Adam and that remains unborn in Christ. So you see, the consequences are indeed for eternity.
The enemy is shrewd and often uses sublime tactics to deceive and divert. Alcohol, drugs, pornography, materialism, ego, are all fueled in America by abundant access to the addiction of choice.
What Does It Mean To Be A Soldier Of The Lord Jesus Christ?
Christians are soldiers in the Army of God. Specifically we are called to:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.[1]
A key point in that passage is this – disciples/followers of Jesus are soldiers by birth, and the duty of every soldier is to obey his/her commander. Did you notice the context for obedience? It is our desire to “please” Jesus in our every action.
Here is a key point of fact that all Christians must come to terms with – soldiers in God’s Army are not pacifists. We are called to be “boots on the ground” people, to borrow a military phrase.
Here is a second fact that many Christians ignore – Intel is vital to an army’s success. What Intel do we need? For starters we need Intel about:
The enemy’s troop size.
The enemy’s troop movements.
The enemy’s strategies.
The enemy’s weaknesses.
The best strategies to defeat the enemy.
Many Christians don’t understand the importance of hearing Intel about the enemies of God and because of that they don’t want to hear Intel that is upsetting. Therefore a significant number of pastors muddle along determined not to upset the sheep and make it their goal to only lead them to graze in pastures of the sheep’s choosing. Talk about a recipe for disaster! Letting the sheep dictate the direction of the Church creates a false sense of security and is tantamount to feeding them false Intel.
Refusing to understand the times in which we live has led the Church into a swampland of confusing responses and an increased level of timidity when a bold biblical response is needed. False Intel is a lot like cotton candy. It dissolves quickly, is wonderfully sweet, and goes down easy. In other words it is not hard to chew, swallow, and digest. The problem is it will rot your teeth, elevate your blood sugars to dangerous levels, and provides absolutely no nourishment.
Far too much of the Church accepts false Intel because it makes them comfortable and happy, but that is deception. This deception allows for comfortable and happy sheep to return week after week for more and more cotton candy and they bring their checkbooks with them. All seems well in Wonderland.
But as Lewis Carroll so famously wrote there comes a time to talk of other things:
The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings.’[2]
If you know anything about this poem and its meaning then you understand that the walrus and the carpenter lured a bed of oysters to their demise by talking of grand things and all of it intentionally misleading.
Much of the church today has been lured to the sidelines by talk of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. The walrus and the carpenter are apt descriptions of many pastors today. How many are willing to concede that thousands upon thousands of pulpits are the source for fake Intel? If you cannot identify the problem you’ll never come up with a solution that works.
What is false Intel? It is not just refusing to tell the truth about America and the forces of evil that are hurling us headlong into massive social conflict. It includes the false Gospel of the “don’t worry be happy” Gospel hucksters, the “have your best life now” charlatans, and the “we’re all little gods” blasphemers. This kind of rotten false teaching is preached in many a pulpit week by week to a starving church. Little do these poor people understand that they are starving to death spiritually.
Seeking after and acquiring the best the world has to offer is no sign of God’s favor or success. The modern day Gospel hucksters preach wealth as a birthright of “The King’s Kids.” The Apostle Paul says this type of person has a depraved mind and is deprived of the truth.
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.[3]
Listen friends, if your pastor’s calling is better suited to a motivational speaker than a fearless soldier of Christ, please get out of that place and find a real God-centered family of believers where you can grow and live a faithful action-centered life of Gospel proclamation.
If your pastor will not publicly stand for Christ and denounce sin and warn of coming judgment then get out of that place and find a new body of Christ that is being faithful.
The enemy’s troops have already mobilized all across America. Yet week after week hundreds of thousands of Christians go to their holy huddle and never hear a word about the evil that has America in a choke hold. The enemy is using our education system, governments at every level, our civic organizations and more to push for a complete and total victory of evil over good.
The true soldier of Jesus Christ does not accept the fake Christianity that renders the faith a powerless and tragic meme. The true soldier will fight the good fight to the last breath because the eternity of the lost hangs in the balance.
The Soldier’s Mission
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 we read Paul describing some of the power of the soldier of Christ.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
How do we destroy fortresses, speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God? By identifying every system of thought, philosophy, and even theology that attempts to marginalize, obscure, or eliminate God.
Soldiers of Christ, it is time to throw off timidity and any concern for what the world might think of us. It is time for all who call upon the name of Christ to be fearless. You will need to be courageous because when you stand against the “lofty ideas” and so-called knowledge that is the antithesis of true biblical knowledge and does in fact present itself as an enemy of God, you will be attacked, and these attacks will come from people you consider to be friends and even from your family.
Let’s start with a very touchy subject – the government indoctrination camps euphemistically called public schools. How do we “square” God’s commandments to have “no other Gods before Him” (Exodus 20:3) and “honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12) with a government education system that teaches children there is no God and that parents are idiots?
The average government school student will spend about 14,000 hours in a classroom before they graduate. This includes a great number of students that profess faith in Christ and are being reared in a Christian home. Statistics suggest that among these Christian students, each spends on average 1 hour a day interacting with their parents, and less than 3 hours per week at church services and associated activities.
Is it reasonable for us to assume that the Christian instruction they receive during time away from the government schools, will outweigh the thousands of hours of anti-Christian perspectives they are bombarded with by the government school system as well as the media? What does God say about how He expects Christians to educate their children?
Are you prepared to tell your family, neighbors, co-workers, and friends that every belief system except Christian theism is a false belief system that will lead them to eternal separation from God their creator? If you are then that means you are prepared to tell them:
That abortion is murder and is the modern day equivalent to a blood sacrifice to Satan.
That transgenderism is only the latest sexual perversion that Satan has used to undermine Christianity. Already we are hearing the calls for legalized pedophilia.
That regardless of what laws Congress passes or the Supreme Court creates out of thin air, homosexuals and lesbians will never be married in God’s eyes.
That live and let live is not a recipe for the long term viability of any culture and history has demonstrated that over and over again.
That the righteousness of God when practiced by a people will exalt a nation but that sin allowed to flourish will destroy every people.
I am amazed at the number of people who declare they are believers but will state unequivocally that they could be wrong about Jesus and people like New Age heretic Oprah Winfrey could be right. I will say this as clearly as possible friends. God spoke to us in His Son Jesus Christ so that whoever will believe in Him will have eternal life. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we are saved. God has supernaturally preserved a record of all of this so that we would know for certain that Jesus is THE Christ. If you are not sure about Jesus then you don’t know Him in saving faith.
The faithful soldier of Christ has put on Christ. Our identity is Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 says:
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
A soldier of Christ endures hardship (Acts 9:16; 2 Timothy 2:3). A soldier of Christ recruits others (Matthew 28:18-20; the Gospels in their entirety). A soldier of Christ does not collaborate with the enemy (John 15:18).
I believe that the true Church of Jesus Christ – His body of born-again, blood bought, Holy Spirit empowered believers MUST get their feet on the ground, their hands “dirty” doing ministry among and to the lost, and begin to take action. We cannot sit back any longer. Will you join me and others who are taking the fight to the enemies of God?
[1] 2 Timothy 2:1-4.
[2] This poem was recited by Carroll’s characters Tweedledee and Tweedeldum in his 1871 book Through the Looking Glass.
[3] 1 Timothy 6:3-10
© Copyright by Dr. Mike Spaulding, 2019. All rights reserved.