Believe it or not the military began drafting men in 1940 to fill vacancies in the military because there were not enough volunteers. In 1972 I missed being drafted into the military by one number and the draft ended in 1973. God does not have a draft program; His army is completely made of volunteer men and women who have obeyed the gospel of Christ. Did you know when you were baptized into Christ, you were also baptized into His army? How often have you sung the words, “Soldiers of Christ Arise and Put Your Armor on” and never considered the implications? Every Christian is a soldier, and we are all commanded to put on the whole armor of God to fight the spiritual battle and “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Daily is the spiritual warfare (v. 12). Unlike the war in Vietnam or Afghanistan, there will not be any newspaper articles, no T.V. News broadcast, and no statistics on numbers of lost verses the saved.
Take note! Paul’s command was written to the church, that is every member. Paul commanded, “10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil.” (Eph. 6:10-11). Or, finally, “church”, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. “Church” put on the whole armor of God, that the “church” may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. This rendition does no harm to Paul’s command, it only clarifies who the “brethren”, and who the “you” is in this fight. This is not a “pulpit fight”, preachers only! This is a war for souls, every member must be in the fight because Satan is doing everything he can to destroy the church, one member at a time.
As a Soldier in Christ’s Army, You Must Know Your Adversary: Peter said, “Be [a]sober, be [b]vigilant; [c]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan is the enemy; He is coming for you and everyone you know and love. Make no mistake, the Lord’s army is on a collision course with a powerful enemy who is hell-bent on destroying the church. Satan is real, the fight for souls is real, and constant and the moment you feel safe—he will pounce and devour you. He is seeking your destruction.
Our commander and chief, our King, is the Lord. But like in any physical army if we refuse to be ready, to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), if we are not contending earnestly for the faith (Jude 3), we might just find ourselves contending with the Lord Himself. The world is really good at arguing with God. The phrase used more than any other when it comes to obedience to the Master’s commands, is ironically, “I don’t believe God would. . .”. As soldiers of the cross we don’t have the luxury of questioning our Supreme Leader and King over whether or not we must obey His commands. As a soldier let us never forget the Omniscience of our Leader, that He knows the beginning from the end (Isa. 46:10) and every command is ultimately for our good. The answer to the question of why did God command us is always the same, it is “. . . for our good always, that He might preserve us alive. . .” (Deut. 6:24).
Your brethren are not the enemy, that is the fight is not between brethren. Consider the last 13 months. Look at how “personal opinion” over how one should deal with Covid19 has turned Christian against Christian, brothers and sisters in the church against brothers and sisters. “My view is right, everyone else’s view is wrong”! Caring nothing for the other brother’s feelings on the matter some literally belittle and even condemn members who have a different point of view. Some have even condemned the whole church, and some have left the church. I ask you, WHO IS WINNING THAT BATTLE? It is not the church!
We have a mutual enemy—Satan, and he has been very satisfied with many in the church lately. We must remember a house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25). We must think like Abram who to avoid strife said, “Let there be no strife . . . for we be brethren” (Gen. 13:8). Brethren must focus on the real enemy, Satan, otherwise we will destroy one another (Gal. 5:15). The Lord’s enemy is the church’s enemy! The Devil is evil, but he is also wise. Satan watches for every weakness, cowardness, and gap in the front line, and when opportunity appears he wins a soul every time. Brethren we must fight, fight, fight together against Satan with a united front.
The Devil will, if we let him, use even our friends and even brethren to influence us to relax. When something is practiced or taught that didn’t originate with God, then it is of the Devil no matter who teaches it, and we must be vehemently against it. We must not sacrifice truth for friendships. Remember Paul rebuked Peter (Gal. 2:11-14). We must fight every false way (Psalm 119:104). I say fight! Fight against the vice and violence in our world. Fight against social infiltration in the church. Fight against contentions, fornication, Atheism, against fears within and against the law of sin and death as did Paul: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2).
I’m no prophet but I will tell you who is going to lose the fight for their own soul. Everyone who thinks that faith in Christ means a life filled with joy, peace ease and comfort! Paul’s picture in Ephesians 6:10-20 of the Christian’s life is a description of wartime and hard conflict not peace. What is God giving us armor for if our life in Christ is just happiness, joy, and peaceful contentment? Why do I need armor if Jesus is fighting the battle for me? Why do I need my waist girded with truth, why a breastplate of righteousness, why shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace? If being a Christian is all about being happy, and feeling good then tell me why do I need a shield of faith and a helmet of salvation? If casting all my cares on Him means He will do all the fighting then tell me why do I need the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God? Why should I have to be praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit? The Devil, the father of lies has deceived so many into believing the only part of the Bible we need to know is that God so loved us, that Jesus died for us and rose again. Satan has people fooled, believing that the Bible is unnecessary. Hear this! IT IS A SWORD! And its purpose: 1) to prick the hearts of men (Acts 2:37) and 2) to defend against all the false teachers as mentioned in the afore paragraphs. Brethren, bring that sword out of its sheath, that is open it, and put it to use cutting away every evil way of Satan (Prov. 1:10-15). “To be strong is our duty, to be weak is our sin” (Pulpit Commentary Vol. 20, 258). The bottom line of the armor of God is faithful adherence to the will of God. Those who are diligent in their efforts to serve the Lord are armed in Christ to stand, those who do not will fall in battle.
Therefore brethren, “stand against the wiles of the devil”, hold your ground fight like there is no tomorrow that we don’t lose even one precious brother or sister to Satan. Leave no door open to Satan that would allow him a foothold of opportunity to make any advances. Compromise nothing, fight against innovations or the doctrines of men. Expel indifference, apathy as if it is someone else’s fight. The dispirited, lazy army always loses ground. Be like Amos (Amos 7:10-17) who refused to bow to the pressures of the people and preached God’s message whether or not Amaziah, the king, or anyone else approved. Apostles “suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi” yet said, “. . .we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict” (1 Thess. 2:2). Never run from the battle, you have the most powerful weapon on earth—God’s word. Don’t shy away because you think it will not be well received, because if you do you are unfit for the Lord’s army (Gal. 1:10).
Understand this last point clearly, if you have not obeyed the gospel, hearing (John 6:45), believed (John 8:24), repented (Mark 13:5), confessed Jesus as the Christ (Matt. 10:32) and baptized for the remission of sin (Acts 2:38), then you already lost the battle for your soul. Only those “in Christ” are so armed to win against Satan. “Soldiers of Christ arise and put your armor on . . .”
In Love
David Scarpino