“As we move farther on in the Christian life we may expect to encounter increased hostility from the enemy of our souls. Although this is seldom presented to Christians as a fact of life it is a very solid fact indeed as every experienced Christian knows, and one we shall learn how to handle or stumble over to our own undoing. If Satan opposes the new convert he opposes still more bitterly the Christian who is pressing on toward a higher life in Christ. The Spirit-filled life is not, as many suppose, a life of peace and quiet pleasure. It is likely to be something quite the opposite.
Satan hates the true Christian for several reasons. One is that God loves him, and whatever is loved by God is sure to be hated by the devil. Another is that the Christian, being a child of God, bears a family resemblance to the Father and to the household of faith.
A third reason is that a true Christian is a former slave who has escaped the galley, and Satan cannot forgive him for this affront. A fourth reason is that a praying Christian is a constant threat to the stability of Satan’s government. The Christian is a holy rebel loose in the world with access to the throne of God.
Satan never knows from what direction his danger will come.” ~A. W. Tozer, Man: the Dwelling Place of God
A common misconception among Christians is that becoming a believer will enable you to live a “better life.” To their own deception and disappointment the “better life” is misrepresented by and large. With all certitude, placing your faith in Christ will result in a better life, a life beyond our limited vision and overflowing with untold good things. However, the mistake comes when people portray that life in a false light. The better life, the “more abundant life,” that Jesus proclaimed was available through him was not an ease of living, worldly prosperity, get-your-way, peaceful lifestyle that some have made the goal of the Christian religion out to be.
Being a Christian, first and foremost, results in enlisting yourself in the greatest army in existence! At once, when faith takes hold and confession is made, and the heart is surrendered, the person is outfitted for an all out war with the spiritual forces of darkness. They are placed among the ranks of God’s holy army and are a soldier of the faith. Such recruitment inherently places a bounty on the person’s head by the enemy. He or she now faces an onslaught of attacks due to their allegiance to the Father of light and his Messiah.
While one might think that the severity of the battle will subside as spiritual growth is pursued and achieved, the reality is quite the opposite. With more ferociousness does the devil assuage war on those who have not remained complacent but who are striving for mastery of their skill. They are the prime targets that receive the most dedicated bombardment and rampaging by Satan and his minions. They are the ones that pose the greatest threat to the adversary’s kingdom and the stability of his regime.
One who decides to rise to the higher life in Christ and who desires to lead others into spiritual enlightenment ought to expect hardship and fierce conflict with the devil’s forces throughout their lifetime. Jesus did not promise his followers that they would be exempt from the war, but that he would enable them to excel at it. They were not destined to have a life of passivity but a life of victory!
When a believer recognizes they are amidst the most colossal warfare to ever take place, they must choose if they will stand and fight or shrink back in fear. We have not received a spirit of cowardice, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7). In addition, we have been outfitted with the complete armor of God and ride into battle with unbreakable assurance. Our foe is great, but the one we fight for and who lives inside us is greater (1 Jn 4:4). We are holy rebels commissioned by Jesus and with the power of the throne of God, and the devil trembles when we come at him for he knows his defeat is inevitable. Whenever the believer fights and engages the enemy with the power and authority of his position in Christ, it decimates Satan’s forces and confirms that he is destined for doom—no place is safe for him and nothing can stop his demise. We are holy rebels and every fight reminds Satan that his government has been overthrown, he no longer reigns, and his days are numbered! ~JW
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
Another great article! Even though we are “behind enemy lines” I personally don’t “expect hardship”. One thing I’ve learned about expectations is that they always fall short. 🙂
Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [ in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same ( identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you
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In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].
Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy- armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,
And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm- footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God