We are in a battle

We are in a battle! We see that in a literal and physical way with the recent brutality of the Iranian regime, and other places of the world, like Nigeria, where Christians are in the front line of persecution.

We see it in the “culture wars” when as Christians we feel under attack because of our views about gender and sexuality, amongst other things. We see it in the political realm, as our Government seeks to legislate the liberalisation of abortion, and assisted suicide.

We should not be surprised that in many ways we feel under assault. Jesus taught His disciples that in this world we would have trouble (John 16v33). We are “aliens and strangers” in this present age. The world hated and crucified Christ, so we should not be surprised when we are called to follow in His footsteps.

Our ultimate enemy, of course, is the devil. We wrestle not with flesh and blood but spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. And we should not be ignorant of the “schemes of the devil” (Eph.6v10-12). Sometimes he will terrify us with direct opposition or physical persecution. At other times he will, in the tradition of Balaam, seek to seduce us with immorality or the deceitfulness of wealth, status and respectability in the world.

The challenge of Scripture is to “stand firm”. In other words, whatever challenge we face we need to be clear about our Biblical and moral convictions and not to compromise. This will require courage and commitment, and we need to be ready to make sacrifices.

But we also need to be aware of the devil’s schemes as he might use the heat of the battle to raise the temperature so that we turn our guns on one another. It is interesting in Ephesians 4v27 that we are warned against giving opportunity to the devil in the context of anger. There is nothing the devil loves more than to sow contention amongst God’s people. Ephesians speaks of the unity between Jew and Gentile. It is the united people of God which is the temple where God dwells by His Spirit, and where His blessing is enjoyed (Ps.133). Anger does not produce the righteousness that God requires (James 1v20).

This does not mean, of course, that we need to sink into a unity of the lowest common denominator. It does not mean that when we differ with other believers in the culture wars, or in politics, or in doctrine or practice, that we simply shrug our shoulders as if these were matters of indifference. Rather, we are exhorted to speak the truth in love. We want unity within the local church, and between churches and believers, that is sufficiently robust to survive forthright argument. It is a superficial unity which simply brushes disagreement under the carpet, or which surrenders to views which are simplistic at best or unbiblical at worst. If we really love our fellow believers, then we want to challenge wrong ideas; we want to grow up into maturity together in the Lord.

But our robust argument must never become intolerant in a way which threatens unity. It is clear in Romans 14 which side of the argument Paul was on. But he saw very clearly the danger of causing others to stumble. His priority was to pursue peace and mutual edification (Rom.14v19).

We need to be clear where the battle lines are, and when and where we must take a stand. But we must also take care not to be deceived by the devil and regard our brothers and sisters in Christ as the enemy.