For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIVUK
I write these lines with a very heavy heart. The reputation of the Body of Christ and of the Gospel has taken a serious beating recently. One of the most popular charismatic churches in the Western world – Hillsongs from Australia – has been beset by financial and moral scandals.
Worse, the Southern Baptist Church, already struggling with a white supremacist and slavery-supporting legacy, is now beset with serious and pervasive sexual abuse scandals and poor handling of these which allowed abusers to keep their positions within the church, while victims were silenced.
There is no way any of us can look on this with any sense of satisfaction and say, ‘Well, that’s not my church.’ The world sees no difference. Just as the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church in Ireland and Australia seriously adversely affected the reputation of the Gospel, we can expect these scandals to do the same.
The searing verdict God gave to the Israelites in exile through Ezekiel applies here:
‘Therefore say to the Israelites, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
Ezekiel 36:22-23 NIVUK
Is there any verdict more painful for any Christian than that the Lord’s name could be being profaned because of our actions?
Even though these situations are astonishingly painful, there is no way we can sit on our high horse and condemn those who gave fallen. Paul gave this message to the Corinthian church:
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NIVUK
So there is no place for feeling self-satisfied and smug, just because we haven’t had our face blasted across the media due to a serious moral scandal. Paul states that we are tempted with the same temptations. We walk the same tightrope.
The only difference is that, by the Grace of God, we have not fallen.
Or is it that our fall has not been detected?
And if it is, that is something to bear in mind. The fall of a Christian who is not famous might not have the same devastating effect on high numbers of believers. However, it can easily destroy the faith of those close to the person who has fallen.
Jesus’ teaching on this is stark:
‘If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung round their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!
Matthew 18:6-7 NIVUK
So how do we avoid stumbling and taking other people down with us?
We put on the Armour of God.
By putting it on, while recognising the existence of the spiritual world, with its angels and demons, we recognise that the Armour of God is really something more mundane. It doesn’t turn us into a latter-day Van Helsing or an accomplished demon-hunter or a ghost buster.
What it does is give us the tools we need to survive when the going gets really tough.
If you were reading these words expecting that I would turn you into some renowned expert on the spiritual realm or a famous exorcist, then I’m sure you’re deeply disappointed.
If you were hoping I could give you a spiritualised excuse for your sin (‘The devil made me do it’) so you could evade responsibility, then I’m sure you’re deeply disappointed.
I would never have done that anyway.
I’m quite amused by the story of the over-sized woman who went to her pastor and said, ‘My doctor says I’m clinically obese and I have to stop eating so much. Pray for me, Pastor. Cast out of me the spirit of gluttony.’
So he placed his hands on her and began to pray. After a few minutes he said to her, ‘Sister, I have a word from the Lord for you.’
‘What is it, Pastor?’
‘It’s a verse from the Word of God. Mark chapter nine, verse 28: “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”’
Why on earth would the Bible provide a spiritual get-out clauses for our sin, when it teaches so clearly that we are responsible not the devil (James 1:13-15) and that sin should be confessed and repented of (1 John 1:8-10)?
If, however, you’ve read these words as someone who is beaten down by suffering; if every day is a struggle for you; if temptation is an uphill battle for you and if you’ve fallen more times than you care to remember, then these verses are for you.
This is your escape route.
Choose your side in the battle. Choose God. Recognise that the battle is His and so is the victory. You can’t add to it. You can't subtract from it. You just have to enter into it.
Choose the right battle. Take on satan. Don’t get entangled with those who have been hoodwinked by him.
Choose to obey your Heavenly Commander and adopt the right tactics. Choose to defend yourself.
And defend yourself with the very best weapons from His armoury:
· The Belt of Truth – so set aside lies and live honestly and truthfully (Colossians 3:9).
· The Breastplate of Righteousness – set aside snap, and often completely incorrect, judgements on people and situations; seek instead to be just and fair.
· Feet Fitted with Readiness – prepare yourself to tell others about the hope you have with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
· The Shield of Faith – use your trust in the Lord to defeat the doubts and temptations that spring into your mind.
· The Sword of the Spirit – get to know your Bible well and use it to fight back against despair, anxiety and stress.
· Prayer – never stop praying. It is your secret weapon that will lead you to victory in Christ.
That is what these weapons are for. They help us to stand and withstand against trouble.
But there are two more points of which we must be aware:
These words were spoken about the church in Ephesus in Revelation:
Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 2:4-5 NIVUK
We cannot be so battle-hardened that we forget the reason why we fight – we fight for love. We fight because God loves us. We fight because we love God. If we lose the vigour that comes from a fight driven by love, and simply battle out of routine or duty, then we may grow weary.
If this happens, then we must repent.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7 NIVUK
If we seek to follow Christ overcome sin and temptation, then the horrors of the fall will be undone. We will live forever in unimpeded fellowship with our God.
There can be no greater incentive than that.
Spiritual warfare is not necessarily what we think it is. I’m not denying the existence of angels and demons and the spiritual realm. It’s in the Word of God and is the lived experience of many millions of people.
But we need to be reasonable here. These verses have nothing to do with casting out demons or performing exorcisms. While I don’t dispute that it can happen, we need to stop seeing demons under every rock or using the spiritual realm to take the fall for our obscene behaviour.
That will not do.
It’s also done tremendous harm to the call of the Gospel that could lead to restrictions to our freedom to call people to repent. If that happens, we will have no-one to blame but ourselves.
Instead, we must accept that the Armour of God is about taking a stand and withstanding trouble.
So if you are in trouble right now, take heart. Your God has given you the means to succeed. And one day, the victory will be yours, if you stay faithful to Him.
Questions
1. What lessons have you learned from the painful fall of Christian leaders?
2. How will these verses help you when you are tempted to give in or give up?
3. Trouble happens to us all. How will these verses help you to be better prepared for it?
We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Live by the truths of the Word and guard our hearts and minds.