“Statements like ‘you have no place here,’ or ‘I command you in Jesus’ name, be gone, Satan,’ have worked their way into popular evangelical sermons and media, and down into the homes of Christians. Should we be giving orders to fallen angels? Should Christians rebuke Satan to fight their sin? In short, no” -Cripplegate
Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
The third front in our three-front war, according to the common saying, is “the devil.” In the Old Testament he’s called Hasatan, the adversary; in the New, ho diabolos, the accuser (literally, the one who throws things through you). The biblical description clearly presents him as a person, someone who makes accusations (Job 1) and seeks “whom he may devour” (1P 5.8).
So we’re fighting a three-front war—something no one’s likely to win without divine power. Let’s take a look at the first enemy, the world.
I wrote some on this just a few posts ago, focusing primarily on definitional matters. Here I’d like to focus on how to fight so as to win. I think a key biblical source on this question is John’s first epistle.
The Right Family
The Scripture often uses military language for the Christian life. Most famously, I suppose, Paul describes the “armor” (lit. “panoply”) of the Christian warrior, supplied by God for both defense and offense (Ep 6.13-17). Christians who take a more pacifist approach to life (e.g.
“…spiritual warfare rages over who appears to make people most satisfied: God or Satan. Thus, sounds of human gladness in God taunt Satan’s ears. Saints have understood their joy as a polemic: ‘You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound’ (Psalm 4:7).” - Desiring God
“We tend to think of spiritual warfare as something extraordinary to the Christian life, but it is part and parcel of living under the lordship of Jesus…. We daily contend with a spiritual foe who appeals to our wayward desires through the philosophy and values of this fallen world in which we labor (James 1:14).” - Ligonier
“Central to understanding the complexities of Halloween and its implications is the recognition that our world is not just physical; it’s a spiritual battlefield as well.” - DBTS Blog
When the biblical fundamentalist movement was in its heyday, evangelicals often complained that the movement was afflicted with a misplaced militance. It seemed to be at war with fellow believers. Today, some of the same evangelicals are caught up in a misplaced militance of their own.
They’re constantly emphasizing battle against American culture and government.
“David’s story feeds into Jesus’ proverb: ‘all who take the sword will perish by the sword’ (Matthew 26:31). Jesus was telling Peter who began fighting to defend him from being taken to the cross. It was a time when lots of people thought it was right to use violence to fight for independence.” - Mark Horne
