When you have been in spiritual warfare and the culture wars any length of time you will inevitably come to points in the battle when you ask, “what in the world is God doing?” We know that God is in control of His creation and has called us to pray and stand for him, yet some times we are tempted to think very hard thoughts against God or even want to give up.

If we affirm with the Bible that Jesus is Lord all, then why do we seem to be losing important moral battles? Hate crime laws are almost certain to be signed into law that will be used in an attempt to silence the church. Our Federal tax dollars are being spent on wicked overseas abortions and funding immoral “kill to heal” research on human embryos. Obama’s healthcare reform has a backdoor effort in it to give radical feminists and the abortion industry everything they want.  

Our biblical principles are taking a beating in the culture right now. So the question remains. What is God up to? More importantly, what are we supposed to be doing as believers? Let’s look at the Bible for some help.

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First of all, this struggle with God’s providence is not unique to us, even though it feels like it sometimes. The inspired prophet Jeremiah put it this way, “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind. (Jeremiah 12:1-2; NKJV)

Jeremiah was frustrated with the way God was working in Israel. Wicked people doing evil things seemed unstoppable. They even talked like they were true believers and as if they were intent on doing the Lord’s work even though they had no intention of submitting to God’s revealed will.  Sound familiar?

But, Jeremiah knew that God was still at work even in the midst of setbacks. “But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, And You have tested my heart toward You.” (Jeremiah 12:3a; NKJV)

God works in mysterious ways as he administers his inscrutable providence. Jeremiah realized that even in the midst of setbacks God is at work among his people revealing their faith and character. Yes, this is a test. Will we remain steadfast, immovable and abound in the work of the Lord even when it is difficult?

The Art of War

God is always most concerned about his people and is constantly working all things together for their good and His own glory. When we read the scriptures we see some predictable historical patterns.  

First, God graciously saves and delivers his people. Then there is a honeymoon filled with blessings. Then God’s people become complacent and backslide into various sins and idolatry. So God sends prophets to call his people back. The prophets are killed. So foreign enemies, drought and wicked kings etc. are sent to afflict his people. After suffering, sometimes for long periods, the people cry out to God for mercy and they repent. Then God sends a savior to rescue them. The people are blessed and the cycle starts over. 

This tells us a lot about human nature and God’s providence. This pattern is most vividly on display in the book of Judges where we see a downward spiral of Israel after taking up residence in the Promised Land.

In the midst of the historical narrative recorded in Judges the Holy Spirit gives us some important insights into the reasons for this process. Why didn’t God make it easy for his people to follow him? Why didn’t He simply destroy all the surrounding pagan nations that would be a constant temptation and thorn in Israel’s side? Here’s why.

“Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan  (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),  namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. Judges 3:1-5

God left enemies for his people to overcome and in the process Israel was being tested. Would they remain faithful and live a life pleasing to God or would they be tempted to intermarry and worship foreign gods? Would they stand up and fight and learn the art of war? God wanted Israel to be able to defend itself and the way he taught them was through the attacks of the enemy. You learn by doing. Ultimately, Israel failed the test and the kingdom of God was taken away from them (Mathew 21:43) and they were dispersed.

Pneumatic Warfare

Now God is training his church in the art of spiritual warfare. It is not a physical, carnal struggle or a battle of flesh and blood. Rather it is an unseen, spiritual, theological and moral struggle for the souls and minds of men and nations.

God could have destroyed all our enemies fully and finally at the cross. We know that death, Hell and Satan were all defeated in principle on the cross and by Christ’s resurrection . Christ’s full and final victory is absolutely secure, yet for God’s own purposes there is still a spiritual warfare to engage and holy history to be made.

We do not fight for victory but from Christ’s victory. In this we as believers have the highest possible honor. We are invited to co-labor with Christ as he subdues all of his enemies under his feet.

Can’t We Just Be Positive Christians?

But what if someone does not like all this talk about war and prefers only to discuss God in terms of his love and mercy? While this is understandable, it is not an accurate representation of who God really is.

Hear God’s Word. “The Lord is a Man of war, the Lord is his name.” (Exodus 15:3)    “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.”  (Psalm 24:8) “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” (Revelation 19:11) After use of familial terms, the second most common metaphor used in the New Testament for believers are military terms.

Mankind bears to some degree all of God’s image, even the glorious martial facets of his nature. Of course, sin has distorted God’s image and that is why we need God to renew his image in us through the gospel.  But we are called to embrace and reflect the totality of God’s character. To deny one aspect of God’s nature is a denial of God’s unity and simplicity. It is heretical to deny any attribute of God or to juxtapose one against the other. God is not schizophrenic or inwardly conflicted, but always acts perfectly in accordance with all his entire nature. For example, God’s justice is a holy, loving, merciful expression of all his perfect being.

For our own good and His own glory God allows enemies to attack us and even apparently succeed for a season to test our faith and courage. Theoretically, we could all be glorified and enjoy the eternal joys of heaven the moment after we are saved by faith in Christ. But this life is a proving ground. Will we stand when it is hard or will we compromise and adopt the ways of the world? Will we lay up treasures in heaven or simply live for the pleasures of this world? Will we reflect God’s image as a spiritual soldier?

All of life is intended to drive us to Christ, even our greatest victories and our most crushing failures, so that in all things he has the preeminence. This world is not and never will be heaven, but it is the perfect place for God to prepare you for it. One of those necessary preparations is to develop courage and tenacity to stay in the fight and persevere to the end.  

Cowards Go First

For years I have threatened to print up tee shirts that say, “Cowards go first.” Then under the words have a picture of Dante’s Inferno. Why?

It is axiomatic to “begin with the end in mind.” So what do we know about the ultimate end of this life? At the end of time when the final judgment is being meted out by our victorious King Jesus we read these words, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8; NKJV) 

I never cease to be surprised by this list. It is not one that I would have created and therefore reflects my defective perspective on what is important to God. The very first kind of person mentioned that deserves eternal wrath from God’s point of view is not the murderer, the sexual deviant or even the one who is involved with satanic witchcraft, rather it is the coward.

The Greek word for “coward” here infers being timid and fainthearted. Remember Revelation was written to the Churches in Asia Minor who were suffering terribly for their faith.  So Christ graciously gives them the greatest incentive to remain faithful and not to give way under persecution and apostatize.

While we are nowhere near the kind of persecution that many others have experienced for Christ, we still need the same bold, spirit-filled life of a first century martyr. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would make us witnesses for him. The Greek root for being a witness is martureo.  To be a Christian is to be a faithful witness to Christ unto death. No cowards allowed.

Only courageous Christians are admitted to heaven the true land of the free and home of the brave. Hell is the eternal abode of spiritual and moral cowards. We experience a foretaste of heaven when as Christians we courageously overcome the world the flesh and the Devil. We get a foretaste of Hell when we live fearful, cowardly lives.

By Grace through faith in Christ

Of course, who can say they have always been a fearless follower of Christ? We can only have true spiritual courage, verses false, fleshly bravado, by the grace of and the power of the Holy Spirit. We must repent of carnal thinking and worldly perceptions and ask God to open our eyes to the glory of His Son sitting at his right hand. By fixing our eyes on Jesus, not our enemies or circumstances, we will be enabled to run our race and fight the good fight of faith. 

May God grant us the fullness of the Holy Spirit to boldly stand in our day. May he strengthen us to do his will as we faithfully make use of the means of grace in His Word and Spirit. By faith we declare with God’s help we will make no excuses and offer no apologies. We purpose to fight for Christ’s glory and kingdom, no matter what the enemies of Christ say or do. The battle belongs to the Lord, but faithfulness in the fight is our holy and blessed obligation.