Gear Up

Day after day we pick up the fight. The world around us is opposed to Christ, the Gospel, the Father, the Word. And we're supposed to make a defense (1 Peter 3:15). And so we should.

So we gear up and step out. We have our training, our material, our arguments, our Scriptures, our testimony -- all that we need. The only thing is we tend to forget what we're fighting.

"No we don't," you may reasonably respond, "you just said it's the world." Yes, but I'm not sure that's clear enough. We see "the world" and think "those people around us." That's not what Scripture says.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:12)

Well, now, that's not exactly what we were thinking. In fact, if we suggest such a thing, we're labeled "conspiracy theorists" or the like. "You're overstating the problem," some might say. Maybe, except we aren't stating the problem; we're repeating the Bible's version of the problem.

We do need to do battle. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, even though it sometimes feels like it. They say all manner of evil against us for Christ's sake. They seek to rescind our freedom of religion. They dismiss our reasoning and make light of our faith. But it's all misdirection. God's Word says our fight is with "the cosmic power over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

We do need to make a defense, but we need to know against whom we defend. It's the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), the father of lies (John 8:44), the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). So gear up for spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-18) and count on God who works in you (Php 2:13). Don't bring just your wits to a spiritual fight.