I ended my last post by writing about how we are fighting against an enemy we cannot see in the coronavirus. Many in the media have compared this fight to a World War and claim those battling on the front lines are not soldiers but rather doctors, nurses, and first responders. I think that is a fairly accurate assessment because at the end of the day, the coronavirus is taking many people’s lives and these deaths are taking place all around the world.
I understand how serious the fight against the coronavirus is. We are not only battling against a virus but against time. That is why our national government has taken precautionary measures such as stay at home mandates and social distancing requirements for broad numbers of the population. They’re trying to flatten the curve by staying ahead of the curve.
Again, I think that’s the right move because after all, many more deaths would result if these laws weren’t in place. But it is at this point that I want to diverge into a topic that is even more serious than the coronavirus. With the coronavirus, we’re talking about a matter of life and death. I want to talk about a matter of eternal life and eternal death.
As followers of Christ and fishers of men/women, we’re always in a war. The fight for the souls of men and women has been raging since time began. At the end of the day, each person has to make his or her choice on who Jesus is. Peter got it right when he answered, “You are Christ, Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Our job is to help people make the right choice and then to disciple them when they do (Matt. 28:19-20).
But we’re not only fighting for the souls of men and women. We ourselves are constantly fighting against the world, the flesh, and the devil. First John 2:15-17 speaks of our fight against the world, Galatians 5:16-26 of our fight against the flesh, and Luke 4:1-13 of our fight against the devil. But we also have to make war against sin. Jesus was tempted in every way like us, but the difference is he did not sin (Heb 4:15). When we are tempted, Jesus provides us a way out (1 Cor 10:13).
In a famous sermon on declaring war against sin, John Piper says, “I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings — and I see so little war. Murmur, murmur, murmur. “Why am I this way?” Make war! If you wonder how to make war, go to the manual. Don’t just bellyache about your failures. Make war!”
How do we make war and what again are we battling? We’re not battling against flesh and blood (other humans). Ephesians 6:12 says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The fight starts in us and with us. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “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.”
How do we take captive every thought? By renewing our mind in God’s Word and not conforming ourselves to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1-2). This act is called transformation and it is something we cannot do without the grace of God working in us and upon us. Most of the time, these acts are called spiritual disciplines or community practices which allow us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No my friends, war is nothing new for the Christian. What we’re experiencing with the coronavirus is a small glimpse of the eternal battle against an enemy we cannot see.
Jesus says we will continue to hear of wars and rumors of wars but tells us in the same line to not be frightened (Luke 21:9). This is because unlike the world, we have a hope that will not disappoint (1 Thess. 4:13-18).