Battle Plans

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. (1 Peter 2:11–12, NIV 1984).

My Musings – As Christians we are “aliens and strangers in the world” because, as Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My Kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36, NIV 1984). And it would not have been much of a fight. In addition to His disciples, He had “at [His] disposal more than twelve legions of angels.” (Matthew 26:53, NIV 1984).

But that does not mean we must not fight at all, for there is a “war [raging] against [our] soul.“ Yet, “though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4, NIV 1984). And we all have “strongholds” of “sinful desires, which war against [our] soul.”

“We do not wage war as the world does” because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV 1984). We are fully equipped to do battle with “the full armor of God…the belt of truth buckled around [our] waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with [our] feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…the shield of faith, with which [we] can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one…the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:16–17, NIV 1984).

In addition to all this, we do not go into battle alone. We have a powerful ally. More powerful even than “twelve legions of angels.“ For “[we ourselves] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in [us].” (1 Corinthians 3:16, NIV 1984). And that’s a stronghold that can stand up “against [all] the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” But “‘Not by [our] might nor by [our] power, but by [His] Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6, NIV 1984). For, it is “He [who] gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57, NIV 1984).

My Advice – So, what can we do in this war? “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse [us] of doing [or fighting] wrong, they may see [our] good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”