The war that Christians find themselves in is not like any other war that you can read about in history books.  It isn’t like anything that is studied at West Point or taught in the military…because it is a spiritual war.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) — 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

 The war that I am talking about you are engaged it at this very moment.  Sure, you cannot see the bullets or hear the bombs necessarily…but, that doesn’t make this war any less real.

It’s being fought in your home.  That’s why Christian marriages are falling apart at a record rate, and why Christian children are rebelling against the authority of their parents.

It’s going on in your mind.  That’s why even ministers and leaders are falling prey to the trap of pornography and adultery.

It’s being fought in your heart.  That is why all of us have to wade into combat each day to do the right thing rather than the wrong thing.

If you don’t believe there’s a war going on, just check your news feed on social media and you’ll see the results of this war in things such as murder, rape, prostitution, abortion, terrorism, drug addiction, and child molestation.

These are the rotten eggs that are hatched by this terrible war.

Notice that Paul says in v.12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”

Every Christian has been drafted.  Every Christian has to fight.  There are no deferments, no exemptions, and no conscientious objectors in Christ’s army.

If you are a Christian you better get ready to rumble; you’re in the army now.

Let me tell you something.  When you give your heart to Jesus you don’t necessarily get into a life of fun–you get into a fight.  God not only puts salvation in your heart, He puts a sword in your hand.

When Paul came to the end of his life he said in:

2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV) — 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

He exhorted Timothy, who he was discipling:

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) — 12 Fight the good fight of faith…

I say again, the problem is we’ve got too many soldiers that have gone AWOL and too many Christians have waved the white flag of surrender without firing a shot.

And honestly, some of you reading this perhaps have no idea what I am talking about because you have never become engaged in this spiritual war.

Could it be that you have gone the way of the world?

The devil isn’t going to cause any problems with you…The reason why you haven’t run into the devil is you’re both traveling in the same direction.  The moment you turn around and go the direction God has called you to, I promise…you will run into him.

You cannot straddle the fence in this war. You cannot be like Switzerland; you cannot be neutral.  You’re either on one side or the other.

C.S. Lewis once said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.”

So at every waking moment you had better be on your guard, because there is a war that’s going on and the stakes are high!

In the next blog post we will talk about how to identify your enemy!