Holy War! Series

Ephesians 6:10-20

Holy war

How do you view Christianity? How do you view the the Christian life? How do you view your life as a Christian? How do you view your role as a part of Christ’s church? I have come to realise that different Christians view the Christian life differently.

Some people see the Christianity as like a hospital. The church is basically a hospital. We take in people who are sick in sin and Christ heals them, and the purpose of the church is to be like a spiritual hospital. And in one sense, that is true. Christ came not to the healthy but the sick. He came to heal us of our fundamental problem - sin. But – is that all church is – a hospital? Is that all you see the church as?

But there are other ways of viewing the church and Christ. Some see Christianity as fire insurance. You believe a few theological truths, such as Jesus lived, died and rose again for our sins, and that’s about it. When you feel like it, you come to church and do a few other Christian things, like get married in church and so on. But mostly, Christianity is fire insurance, to make sure that after you die you’ll go up instead of going down. But is that all there is to Christianity? Sure, for true Christians – there is fire insurance for the future. But is that all there is to being a Christian? Fire insurance

- but it doesn’t really make much difference to your life now?

Others have other views of the church and Christianity. Some see Christianity like a social club. You can come along every now and then, when there’s nothing better to do on on a Sunday. Sing some songs, hear some lessons to help with living life such as how to raise your kids, how to have a good marriage. It’s also a good chance to meet other people, make friends with nice people. A good place for the kids to meet other kids in a wholesome environment. But overall, church is like a social club. And it’s certainly true that in some ways church is like a social club. Like minded people meeting together for a common goal. Good opportunity to make friends and get good advice for life. Yes, church is that. But – is that all there is to church, to the Christian life?

Then there’s another image of the church. The church as an army. The Christian as a soldier. The image that as Christians we are in a cosmic battle, in a battle in our own individual walks with Christ. But not just in a battle as a lone solider, but as part of the church army involved in a larger, cosmic battle. A battle for the purity of the church - purity in doctrine, in behaviour. And a battle not just for those in the church, but a battle for those not in the church now. A battle for souls. Souls – people who don’t yet know Jesus. This view of the church - the church as an army, the Christian as a soldier, is the view that Paul gives us today.

Our verses today, Ephesians 6:10-20, are about a spiritual battle. They are about holy war, that if you are a Christian you are in whether you know it or not. If you don’t know you are in a battle, that may be a sign you are losing the battle. So pay attention please, as we go through these few verses and as we learn about this spiritual battle. Let’s have a look at these verses.

You will notice the first word in verse 10 is “finally.” That means Paul is about to finish this letter. That means that the section we are looking at is actually the conclusion to the letter of Ephesians. They are Paul’s conclusion and summary of Ephesians. And now that Paul is finishing this letter to the Ephesianshe is telling us these things that Ephesians has been talking about, will be no walk in the park. The Christian life is not a life of ease, but Ephesians tells us it is a spiritual battle, a holy war.

Let’s have a look at what this holy war is like and how we are to engage in battle in this war, the most important battle. The first thing we will look at from verses 10-12

is the nature of the battle. Secondly in verses 13-18, we will look at how we are to fight in this battle and what our weapons of warfare are in this cosmic battle. And thirdly in verses 18-20, we will look at the example of Paul and what his priorities in this battle were.