Skip to main content

The Balance of Spiritual Warfare


As Christians there is a tendency to fall into two deceptions. The first deception is the fear disposition. When Followers of Christ discover there is an enemy known as the devil and legions of demons out to destroy them, they become overcome by fear. This knowledge of the powers of darkness and what they can do causes many believers to feel bereft of peace. While it is good to be aware of the enemy, it is also imperative to lift up the Shield of Faith against fear, and repel the flaming arrows of the Evil One. The Lord tells us not to fear, but to trust in Him. Christ's blood protects us when call upon Jesus's name. We have been given all authority over the devil. (Luke 10:19).

The other deception that many Christians fall under is the reckless faith disposition. This disposition is where a Christian believes he is invincible and untouchable; that no power of hell or person of Earth can do him or her harm because Christ defeated the power of Satan at the cross. It is true that the devil is defeated and that Jesus won the victory at Calvary. However, Satan now wages gurella warfare, and can do damage to a Christian under certain circumstances. Christians in the reckless faith deposition discard the Shield of Faith and say "nothing can touch me, I am safe!" and then bang! An arrow of the enemy hits the believer in the head. The opposite extreme has a believer discard the Sword of the Spirit and shout "retreat!" and then cower beneath the Shield of Faith in a state of fear.

The answer to these two deceptive dispositions is a balance of offense and defense spiritually. We should trust (have faith in) Christ and shield ourselves from the Evil One , and at the same time take up the Sword of the Spirit and take ground for the Lord. There needs to be a balance on the battlefield. Christians need to  take up both the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith to face the enemy successfully. The shield protects us in faith, while the sword hews at the demonic hordes. Christians were never meant to be completely entrenched in a castle for fear of the enemy or charging into the enemy lines without the protection of armor. 

As believers we should be aware, but not afraid; alert, but not always looking for the devil. We need to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in this spiritual war. Remember, never underestimate the power of Almighty God, but also never overestimate the power of the devil. If you put your trust in the Lord you shall not fail, but if you lower the Shield of Faith, the Enemy will fire his fiery shafts at your spirit and soul. Instead engage the enemy with the Sword of the Spirit and the Shield of Faith together. Remember to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), and you shall prevail against any obstacle the devil puts in your way.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Israel’s Conquest of Canaan: The Nephilim and Giants

  Christianity Today asserts that the conquest of Canaan can be a “stumbling block” for believers. This probably is because of a foolish idea of comparing it to a modern conquest happening in our world. The truth is that God had Israel conquer Canaan because it was ruled by evil giants, “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:33). These are Anakim or Nephilim, the children of angels and human women, “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God (angels) saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These w

Dispensationalism

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) was a man who did two things, he took 70th week of the Book of Daniel and stretched out to the End Times, and he was the father of  Dispensationalism , a belief system that God dispenses different peoples with separate blessings and covenants. According to Darb'ys doctrine of Dispensationalism, God dispenses different covenants. There are total of seven dispensations that divide the history of man: I. Dispensation of Innocence (prior to the Fall, "Do not east of the Fruit of Good and Eve, Eden), II. Dispensation of Conscience ( You must assuage guilt and sin with blood sacrifices.) III. Dispensation of Human Government (Multiply and Subdue the world, example the Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9, and Genesis 1:28). IV. Dispensation of the Promise (Dwell in Canaan, Jerusalem) V. Dispensation of the Law ("Obey the Law of Moses and the Prophets"). VI. Dispensation of Grace (The Church, Jesus Christ has come and died for our sins an

Jesus’ Name in Aramaic

There has been a trend to render Jesus’ name Hebrew, יֵשׁוּעַ , Yeshua. The problem is neither Christ nor his apostles, nor the Jews in 30-33 A.D. spoke Hebrew, they spoke Aramaic. A ramaic is the oldest language on earth and was the language Jesus spoke. In fact, the oldest Old Testament is the Septuagint a Greco translation around 132 B.C.E. (165 Years Before Christ)that was translated from Aramaic. The Masoretic Text, The Hebrew Old Testament most Bibles use, dates from 7th to 10th Century A.D. (Medieval Times).  This translation does not cross reference with the words of Christ in the New Testament which are Aramaic and Koine Greek.  If the Aramaic was what Jesus spoke, then by what name would have been called? Jesus’ name in Aramaic is Isho or Eesho, spelled ܝܫܘܥ . That is the name of our Lord in Aramaic! He would have heard his name in this dialect, “Hail Isho or Eesho!” as well as the Greek, Ἰ ησο ῦ ς , Iesous.  Aramaic is disappearing, only a few people are endeavo