Faith & Family

Arming ourselves for the coming battle

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Justin Bohner

June 6, 1944. The Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy in a combined air, sea, and land attack. This historic day would become known as D-Day, the decisive moment in World War II that essentially secured the victory of the Allied forces against the Axis powers. 

This key victory, however, did not mark the end of the war. It was not until May 8, 1945, that VE-Day, or victory in Europe day, was declared, marking the end of the arduous and costly war in Europe. From the perspective of the civilians alive at the time of WWII, a breath of comfort and relief followed the success of D-Day, but for the troops on the ground, a battle was still to be fought. Although victory was in many ways secured, the reality was that danger was lurking around the corner, and that the enemy was going to fight even more vehemently, knowing their defeat was imminent. 

For the God-fearing Christian, our D-Day was 2,000 years ago, on the single most important day in the history of the world: the day that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified on the cross of Calvary. It was on this day that the tide of the battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil shifted, and the ultimate victory was secured. The work of Jesus, his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension guaranteed that victory would happen. Now we don’t know when that day of final victory will happen, but what we need to recognize is that between the cross and the consummation of all things at the end of history is the gritty reality of spiritual warfare.

To many Christians, particularly in the West, the sales-pitch for Christianity is, “come to Jesus, ask him to be your Savior, and you’re in.” The whole incentive is going to heaven and not going to hell. But what we miss is the fact that between our justification here on earth and eternal life in heaven is war – war against our old sin nature, war against the twisted and fallen world in which we live, and war against the devil and his spiritual forces. These three enemies, what some have called the Unholy Trinity, are the spiritual Axis forces for the Christian. 

If an attack is waged against your soul, your family, or your community, it is going to come from one of these three places. Looking at things through this lens helps us to form a Biblical view of how we are to live, fight, and eventually die, in the cause of Christ. It forms a proper perspective on everything from politics to media, from sports to church. If we cannot recognize these foes and be on guard against them with the weapons and tactics God provides, we cannot properly wage the good warfare against them, advancing the Kingdom of God on earth.

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul gives a lengthy treatment on this very thing, this spiritual warfare. He describes the pieces of the armor that Christians must outfit themselves with, from the breastplate of righteousness all the way to the sword of the Spirit. These individual parts of the armor paint a beautiful picture of the ways in which Christ protects us from the assaults of our enemies. 

But the focus is not the armor itself, but rather the baseline battle tactic. Paul begins this passage on warfare with these arresting and powerful words: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). Before he speaks on the enemy, his tactics, and the armor provided by God, Paul calls us to find our strength and courage in the Lord himself. Why is this such an important starting point for us?

A tendency for us Christians is to look at the battle ahead of us, see the ferocity and craftiness of the enemy, and immediately begin to look inwardly at ourselves and wonder, “Am I strong enough to do this? Even with God-given armor, am I capable of fighting this fight in any sort of effective and victorious manner?” 

Paul starts here to answer these exact questions, and the answer is simply “no.” You are not capable of fighting this fight. Your strength will fail. Your courage will wane. Your arms will grow tired of swinging your sword and you will forget to raise your shield. You will die. That is why we must rely on the Lord and his strength. We must trust in Christ’s power and might. We must rely on him to fight the battles for us. Just as the nation of Israel was commanded to march into the land of Canaan and fight against the inhabitants of that land, they were to fight with the calm assurance that “the Lord fights for us.” 

So, when we look at the sometimes insurmountable odds that are stacked against us in the form of the world, the flesh, and the devil, we should smile, for the almighty God of the universe, the one who inhabits eternity and upholds the universe by the word of his power, has already planted the flag of certain victory 2,000 years ago. He has already secured the victory, and we are now marching through the fields of battle in the strength of his might, onward and upward to that glorious day of victory. 

Take heart Christian soldiers. You are on the winning side.