Tools of the Trade || How to Be Successful in Spiritual Warfare
Filed Under :
Spiritual Warfare
by Dakota
Monday, July 2, 2012“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
-Ephesians 6:11, 12
One of the most used analogies in Scripture compares the child of God to a soldier in battle. We are told in 1 Timothy 6:12 to “fight the good fight of faith” and 2 Corinthians 6:7 speaks of the “armor of righteousness.” It’s no secret that all Christians essentially are soldiers of the cross, but it’s still all too common to see genuine believers wasting their energy on battles completely extraneous to the real war at hand.
As a blogger, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stumbled upon websites totally dedicated to “debunking Calvinism” or “refuting Arminianism.” I actually saw one just the other day called “Debating the Bible” and, yes, it too was authored by a Christian. I won’t say these bloggers never have a valid point, or even that they’re wasting their time; I just can’t help thinking they could put their energy and God-given abilities to much better use than fueling fruitless debates nobody will ever win. When it comes down to it, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, our calling is not to fight against flesh and blood. It’s to stand for Christ against all forms of ungodliness, understanding that Satan himself is at the root of every sin and that to combat mere evidences of evil while forgetting its source is a wasted effort.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
-2 Corinthians 10:3, 4
Just as physical battles are won using physical means, spiritual battles require us to be equipped with “the whole armor of God” if we hope to be victorious. Eloquent sermons aren’t enough. Fun youth services and catchy worship music won’t cut it. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life,” and neither can we as Christians afford the mistake of fighting spiritual battles with carnal weapons that simply won’t work (2 Timothy 2:4). There are billions of lost souls in need of salvation and our only hope of winning them to Christ is to use the tools He has provided.
6 comments:
And I thank the Lord for the weapons He gave us that help believers in this unseen war. If not for Him, I wouldn't be able to discern the unseen enemies at my workplace that abound. It is sad when Christians fight among themselves. It is sad when Christians do not win souls because they are relying on themselves, not on God's power and not giving Him the glory due.
If I may share this with you:
http://offthebeatentrek.blogspot.com/2009/05/attacker.html
God bless and protect you.
Wow! Good words here, Dakota. Putting it up on Journezine July 10.
God Bless You Dakota.
Because God Is Beside Me I Will Not be Afraid. Thank you For This Post I am Grateful.
God Bles Your life in Jesus name Amen And Amen.
Hello! Thank you for following my blog :) Love new followers :) I'll have to follow you too.
God bless!
A Servant 4 Christ,
Lizzie
wow!!!! I am so glad that you followed my blog cause I am loving your blog. WOW I look forward to following you!!! :)
You have just a great following, I hope to get there some day!!!
xox Cindy from South Africa
wwww.cindy-saul.blogspot.com
Great reinforcement! The Lord always backs up His saints. We needed this word today, thanks. And I think the most important impression it had on me is the point of our being "soldiers" in this army of the Lord.
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