Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior? Have you repented of your sins and made a commitment to walk a new way of life? If you have answered ‘yes’ to these two questions, then you are in the middle of the greatest battle taking place on earth right now. This battle is a spiritual battle, and you are under attack. You are under attack because when you become a Christian, Satan and his demonic forces, place you at the top of their hit list. I Peter 5:8 states “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Let’s analyze two main aspects of this spiritual war that we are in. First, we need to identify how it is that Satan attacks us, and second what we can do to neutralize his attacks.

In order for us to understand how Satan attacks, we must first understand his character (or lack thereof), and well as his mindset. Several Bible passages give indications of what makes him tick: He is covetous and wants God’s position, “For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; ……I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14) he is a murder, a liar, and incapable of telling the truth, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44), he has the ability to masquerade as a messenger from God, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (I Corinthians 11:14.) He is also a being that is literally insane. Anyone who thinks that they can supplant God has to be.

When you analyze these components of Satan’s character, you realize that rules are off limits to him. If he were a boxer, he would hit you below the belt. He will do anything he can to take you away from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Satan has almost unlimited avenues of how he can attack us. All of them are centered in falsehood. Let’s examine a few of them.

The Lie.

Genesis 3:1 states: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

This serpent in this passage of scripture tells several lies, but the one that is the most devious is in verse 5. Satan tells Adam and Eve that they can be like, or be equal to God. In other words, they have no need for God and that they are the only authority that they need in their lives. This attitude has all but permeated our society today. It is known as secular humanism. Secular humanism is defined as “An outlook or philosophy that advocates human rather than religious values.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2004, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. A person that holds this philosophy really has no basis of how to live their lives. If we only advocate human values, then the only determining factor of those values, are those which each individual holds. It then becomes an “I’m O.K., you’re O.K.” mindset. The Christian faith has defined laws and guidelines to follow. These laws help to maintain a decent and civil society. Secular humanism, or “the lie”, only leads to the eventual death and destruction of the society that adheres to its beliefs.

Music and Entertainment.

Western civilization and much of the rest of the world, have become enamored with entertainment, to the point that the average American spends between 5-6 hours a day on watching TV, movies, internet, and listening to music. Entertainment in itself is not a bad thing, and even if all of our entertainment was wholesome and virtuous, to immerse ourselves in any form of escapism is not healthy. The problem with our entertainment is that it has become so perverse. The following excerpt from Steve Bonta in the magazine The New American sums it up best: