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Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a battle which you never wanted to be part of? A fight in which you had friends, family, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ whom you love on both sides of the conflict? A while back just such a situation happened involving a cherished Christian institution that my family has supported. Sin had occurred, which led to more sin and miscommunication. Faster than one could imagine, issues were taken to Facebook and email and the people involved were either condemned or acquitted in the court of public opinion based on the scant information provided by those who were upset. Once quick conclusions were made, battle lines were drawn, and social media was weaponized to fight for the “truth.”

Is this how God wants us to fight? Does God even want us to fight? Who are we supposed to be fighting against? These are some questions we as Christians need to be contemplating, for our culture at large is in the midst of moral upheaval. The definition of “truth” seems to have changed, and our country is in the middle of a culture war.

God does want His people to fight, to fight for his kingdom. That is why the Apostle Paul calls us to “share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus“ (2 Timothy 2:3).

God does want us to take sides- His side. Yet, God’s side is often different from any of the human sides in most conflicts that we encounter. When most of us see conflict between people, we don’t comprehend that it is just the superficial manifestation of a deeper spiritual battle. When we fight, we often don’t really know who the true enemy is! But God’s Word reveals our true enemies. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but … against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

When you hear of conflicts on the nightly news you can count on the devil and his demons being involved. Yet, our greatest enemy is our own sin, and our sin nature. The Bible often calls this the “Flesh.” It is the selfish, carnal desires that we are all born with, and it is here in the hearts of people where our conflicts begin (James 4:1-2). When we look in the mirror, we can rightly say that we see our own worst enemy.

Interestingly, we have this in common with all those we call our human enemies- that we all have rebelled against God and are destined for eternal punishment in Hell. The only hope we have is forgiveness in Jesus. This opportunity is available to both us and the people we consider our enemies. When we repent and believe in Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection, we are forgiven from all our sins and are granted eternal life in heaven as God’s children!

Herein, though, lies the cosmic battle, the real war behind every human conflict; it is the battle for the human soul. God is looking to redeem the souls of mankind and the devil is fighting to keep men and women deceived and hating God. We are either fighting for God or fighting for Satan.

Unfortunately,  we as Christians can do both. Just look at the Apostle Peter- one moment declaring God’s truth that Jesus is the Messiah (Matthew 16:16-17) and a few verses later uttering the message of the devil rebuking Jesus for predicting his own death on the cross. Jesus sharply responded to Peter’s rebuke saying to him: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:22-23).

How often have our words, our social media posts, been a hindrance to Jesus? In the situation I refered to at the beginning of this blog post, as Christians battled other Christians with their words, the thought came to me that I hoped that these same persons don’t fight pro-abortion groups like this, for they will make people hate Christians and the cause of Christ.

The truth does need to be spoken (many Christians today err by failing to speak the truth for fear of offending people), but spoken in love. We must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

We need to be careful not to judge others (Luke 6:37; Romans 14:13) for we often do not know the whole truth of a situation and may never know it this side of heaven. Be slow to come to conclusions for Proverbs 18:17 says: "The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him."

We should give the other person the benefit of the doubt, assuming a good motive, until proven otherwise, for that is what we would want others to do for us. Finally, be aware that our own sin often clouds our judgment, (Luke 6:41-42), so we need to pray that God reveals the truth of the situation to us.

So how do we fight for God’s Kingdom without becoming a tool of the devil? It is definitely not through debates, since arguments "only ruin the hearers” (2 Timothy 2:14). It is rather through love, compassion, and mercy. Jesus gives our battle plan in Luke 6:27-28: "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” 

The Apostle Paul adds in Romans 12:19-21: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, … To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’”

In Biblical times, carrying a pan of burning charcoal on one’s head was a public act of repentance. When we show kindness and extend forgiveness to our enemies we break the revenge cycle and open the door for the Gospel to change an enemy into a brother or sister in Christ.

We need to remember that we were once Jesus’s enemy. We need to remember that that person who has hurt us is someone Jesus died for. It was through loving his enemies that Jesus broke the power of sin and death, ultimately defeated Satan, and is redeeming a myriad of former enemies to be his beloved bride, the church!

So, when someone you love betrays you, remember Jesus was betrayed. When your blood boils upon seeing politicians promoting measures that take the life of the unborn, remember that God is looking to save unborn babies and the souls of pro-abortion activists. When you hear reports of our brothers and sisters in Christ suffering at the hands of Muslim extremists- pray. Pray that they and that we will remember the words of the Apostle Peter:

 “…if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." (1Peter 2:20-24)

 Remember also Jesus own words in Luke 6:22-23:

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven…”

A true Christian fights with love. Like our Savior, we love those who hate us in order that their souls might be rescued from the control of Satan and eternal damnation. We find the power to love our enemies by entrusting ourselves to our heavenly Father who judges justly and through remembering that Jesus bore our sins on the cross, that by his wounds we are forgiven.