We are at
war. When Satan invaded the Garden of Eden to attack Adam and Eve, he launched
a war that continues to this very day and will continue until the second coming
of Christ, and even then he will be released at the end of Christ’s thousand
year reign to deceive the nations once again (Revelation 20:7-10). But until he
is thrown in the lake of fire and brimstone, the war will continue. The soldier
of Christ is called to endure and suffer
as God’s will is advanced against the tactics and schemes of the Devil. Yes,
Satan is a defeated enemy and doesn’t do anything the Lord doesn’t allow, but
he is still a formidable foe who ages war against Christian missions, prayer,
and the genuine proclamation of the gospel around the world. His goal is to
keep people in the dark and away from the good news of the gospel. His goal is
to keep people’s lives so messed up they simply don’t have time to think about
eternity or the things of God. One must understand that Satan’s warfare is waged
in the invisible realm, however it often becomes visible in the form of false
religions, cults, starving children, terrorism, homosexuality, sex slavery
abortion, child abuse, video games, etc…
Please do not
be deceived, the problems in America are no worse than they were in the days of
Paul and Timothy. The Roman Empire was guilty of some extreme atrocities, to
include homosexuality, abortion, and pedophilia. Did Paul not tell us that “in
the last days difficult times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1)? Paul was
referring to his time and ours, the “last days” began at Pentecost and will
continue until the second coming of Christ. So as it occurred in the first
century, so it does today. Sinful people will be sinful and crooked. We
shouldn’t be surprised that sinful people abort babies, or murder each other, or
have affairs, or that Islamic terrorists blow people up and cut off heads. We
shouldn’t be surprised because Satan still “roams about on the earth and walks around
on it” (Job 1:7).
While
imprisoned in Rome and suffering for righteousness sake, Paul gave Timothy some
vital instructions about how to endure and respond through wicked and immoral
times. He didn’t say to retaliate, to seek revenge, to publicly rebuke, or to
seek political retribution. The moral issues of our day are certainly bad, but
the answer is held in the gospel, not in the entangling of ourselves with the
divisive issues of the day. Paul told Timothy “no soldier in active service
entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the
one who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4). Translation, if
certain affairs are counterproductive to a Christian soldier’s singular mission
of making disciples and proclaiming the gospel, then it has become distracting
and unproductive. That is why Christians must be cautious and use discretion
when responding to the moral issues of the day. They will always be before us,
but sometimes there is only once chance to reach a person’s soul and to demonstrate love.
The warfare
of the Christian soldier requires the same concentration as that of the
military soldier. Time is short and God’s mission must be our priority.
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