The General Patton of Spiritual Warfare

OK, some people have noticed my avatar as General Patton.  Yes, I am a Patton fan.  I have read most of his biographies, and have read his Patton Papers.  At West Point, all of his personal books and papers were available to peruse and it was really cool to see how he thought.  There were margin notes in his books, and it was like talking to the man himself.  But I think we all need to realize that we are engaged in spiritual warfare everyday with the powers of our enemy. Many times I think that Christians are more like Teletubbies than warriors.  As a soldier, I surely cared for my soldiers under my command, not by being soft and loving and in touch with my feelings, but through hard training, practice, and discipline.  In combat, that training paid off.  Under stress when the bullets were flying, we were able to steadfastly execute our mission with no loss of life (except for the enemy, of course!).  Talk about authentic relationships.  When your life depends on each other, you take each other very seriously.  Trust is a key factor.  I think we have a lot to learn as Christians from the bond of soldiers, that band of brothers. 

³ For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, ⁶ being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 6

Is “Jesus loves you” the gospel?

I have been studying several sermons in the New Testament from Peter and Paul.  And it is interesting what they cover.  Look at Acts 13:13 – 44.  In verse 23, Paul introduces the gospel of Christ.  And in verses 26 – 44, he explains it in detail.  What does he cover:

• Message (there’s that word again) of salvation
• Historical, prophecies fulfilled
• Innocent man, sinless
• Fulfilled prophecies again, he was dead
• Resurrection and appearances and witnesses
• Good news (message) as promised by God
• God fulfilled his promises in the resurrection of Jesus

More Old Testament proofs of the gospel of Jesus Christ:

• Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed (message)
• Not by the law of Moses
• Call to action – some will not believe
• People begged to hear again
• Some were saved

We have seen the various points of the gospel as Paul proclaimed it to the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles.  This was a complete message of sin, sacrifice, resurrection, redemption, and judgment.  For the Jews this was the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation and forgiveness.  But there was a warning, too.  Believe, so that you will not be one of those God speaks who hear yet not believe. 

Look at Acts 17:22 – 34.   What does Paul say in his sermon to the Greeks in Athens?

Starting in verse 24, Paul has to explain from the beginning the God he is talking about.  Paul didn’t have to explain who God was to the Jews; they already knew God through the Scriptures.  He just had to demonstrate through the Scriptures that Jesus was he Messiah they were looking for.  But in Athens, a city full of religions and idols, Paul has to start from scratch.  He doesn’t start with Jesus; he starts with creation.  He defines God for them and explains who God is and what He has done, and why God has dominion over the world and over human beings.  What does Paul say first about God:

• God made the world and everything in it
• Lord – sovereign over everything
• God doesn’t need anything
• God gives life
• God created mankind from one man (Adam)
• God is sovereign and providential – He determines history
• Man should seek God, but instead feels his way – this word literally means to grope around in the dark or as if blind. Man should seek God, but cannot find him due to the fact that he is blind.
• God is not far from us

Next, Paul uses two Greek philosophers’ quotes to make his point.  He makes the point that we are all God’s offspring.  As such, since we are not metal or stone, then neither is God.  We are made in God’s image, even as their own philosophers state.  

Now comes the gospel.  Paul laid the groundwork so that his audience was on the same sheet of music as he was.  God overlooked sin in the past because He was patient.  NOW, however, God commands all people to repent.  Why?  Because judgment is coming.  Judgment through Jesus Christ through whom God will judge the world.  By Christ, whom he has raised from the dead.  Paul speaks the same gospel message of sin, sacrifice, redemption, resurrection, and judgment as to the Jews. 

So what is missing out of these two sermons?  Nowhere do I read that Paul told his hearers that God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life.  Neither do I read that Jesus loves you, and if you invite Jesus into your heart, you will be saved.  Why is that?

Because quite honestly, that is not the gospel.  I think Paul explains pretty well the gospel in the two examples.  And neither one of them say anything about the love of Christ.  The talk about sin, death, Jesus, redemption, resurrection, and a command to repent.  Notice that in neither one of these sermons, Paul doesn’t state anything about an “offer” either.  Jesus commands everyone to repent.  The gospel is not offered to anyone to accept or refuse.  It is a command. 

If we compare the sermons of Paul and Peter to those of most modern day churches, I think we would find a huge disconnect between them.  Could it be that a lot of modern day Christians, pastors included, do not know or understand the gospel?

The God of Tolerance

¹⁸  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you:  ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. John 15:18 – 20 ESV. 

It is amazing to me how many people of other faiths, political persuasions, and opinions declare their desire to be tolerant of others, while at the same time bashing Christians for their “nonsensical” beliefs, bigotry, or intolerance.  Quite frankly, this is to be expected.  Our message is one of hard teaching.  We hold to the Biblical accounts of literal creation, not that the creation story is metaphorical.  We understand that man and the world is fallen, that basically man and the world is evil, not good.  This is total depravity.  We teach that God created man, and that we are separated from God by this rebellion called sin.  We teach that man cannot work for his reconciliation with God.  Man is spiritually dead, not sick, not asleep, and definitely not potentially divine.  It is totally up to God to effect that reconciliation.  It is only through the God-Man Jesus Christ that this reconciliation can come.  All other religions and paths to God are powerless and rebellion against God.  God will come to judge mankind and the world someday.  Those that trust Christ and His work of atonement for our sin and rebellion will live with God in His Kingdom forever, while those that accept another path or refuse to accept God at all are sentenced to an eternal, physical, and conscious punishment.  Quite frankly, these are hard teachings.  They are insensitive, intolerant, divisive, and offensive to many.  They don’t make sense to the human mind. 

Christians understand this yet make no apologies for our beliefs and doctrines, at least Biblical Christians don’t.  This is a long passage in 1 Corinthians that Paul writes, but he understands the offensive nature of the message of the Cross. 

Sin’s Grip on Our Lives

I was reading one of my news/blog websites, and came across this response to a blog about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which has the potential to threaten our free exercise of religion as Christians.  I may write about that proposed law later, but I saw a response by a gay man who claimed to be a Christian.  He said:

We are all entitled to have a relationship with God. Mine DOES make me feel good, special, and full of love. I struggled with faith for years until I fell in love. I saw God in the eyes of my boyfriend. I knew then there must be something out there besides chance that would allow for such glory.

You don’t have to understand. You have taken a different path than mine, which is ok. Living in the USA with all of our differences has created these complexities on how to stay inclusive in such reclusive times.

We all have sin, but being gay is not one of them. This is from my heart….

You can cite science, or scripture, or opinion…

but my heart will not change.

My heart went out to this individual because it seems obvious that he is comfortable and happy in his relationship with God and with another man, but my heart aches because it clearly demonstrates the tight grip sin has on people’s lives and hearts and minds.  His comments clearly show what we all struggle with, namely the love of self rather than the love of God, despite what we may say or do.  I want to look at some of the things he has written and show that, without condemning him as a gay person, he is worshipping the god of self rather than the God of the Bible. 

Misusing Scripture to make a point

One of the churches in my area is doing an all-church study for the next four weeks in order to unite the church around its vision and mission.  A noble cause.  There are four sermons, four small group studies, and a DVD from the pastor to facilitate the discussions.  A very professional and well-built piece of curriculum. 

However, in the first of the group studies, one question lists some scripture verses and asks the participants to discover the benefits of having God in charge of our lives.  This would not be so bad if the Scriptures were not taken out of context in the worst possible way.  Now, I am not one to criticize what any church is doing for the most part.  But I am (or have become) a real advocate of correctly using Scripture not just for proof-texting but to support doctrine within its historical and grammatical context.  In other words, I really hate when some people or churches pull a scripture out of context, and/or use a different Bible translation in order to make a point that the Scripture obviously does not say.  That is Biblical fraud and misrepresentation.  So when I saw the group study, I really got upset.  Here’s why, using a few examples.

Who Saves Whom?

I know a church that is doing an all-church small group study based on the Purpose-Driven Church, and applying it to their own church.  Tomorrow I will have several Scripture verses and their meaning based on the Purpose-Driven interpretation.  They shocked me. 

I used to be a very seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven disciple.  I still think we need to speak in a language that people will understand.  After all, King James, Shakespearean English doesn’t go over too well with most people in Missouri.  I love the Puritans, but have to be conscious of the language barrier for many people when I am quoting Edwards or Owen or Sibbes.  However, after reading a lot of the seeker-sensitive stuff over the years, I have really come to the conclusion that, again, it is theology that determines one’s ecclesiology.  In other words, it is what we think and believe about God that determines how we do church.  Let me explain with some quotes from Rick Warren, George Barna, and an individual from Granger Community Church.  I then want to compare those with another theology, that of Reformed theology, and show Biblical support for the Reformed view of God rather than the seeker view of God. 

The Bible is full of errors?

I was talking with one of my colleagues on a trip I took overseas to Europe, and we got into a discussion about religion and the Bible.  Everybody seems to bring up those topics when I am around.  He point-blank asked me how I could believe in the Bible since it was so full of errors.  He claimed it was a good book, and that Jesus was a good teacher, but the Bible was so full of errors that it couldn’t be more than a decent guide book.  My first response was simply, if the Bible is so full of errors, please show me one.  We were at a business dinner, and no one had a Bible, but he could not remember any errors nor could he name one specifically.  Since he is a PhD researcher, I didn’t mind asking him some hard questions in order to encourage him to prove his thesis.  So I asked him why he considered claiming the Bible was full of errors if he could not substantiate his claim.  We talked for a few minutes, and he said he would have to get back with me.  He is a very sharp individual, but as with many people, I think he succumbs to many of the popular secular myths about the Bible and Christianity.

However, he brought up a good question, and that was, How can we believe the Bible, believe what it says, if it contains errors?  If the Bible contains errors in its geography, history, and chronology, then how can we be sure that it doesn’t contain errors in its theology?  If it is wrong on some details about history, then how can we be sure it isn’t wrong on some details about salvation?  And quite frankly, if the Bible is full of errors, then how can it be a decent guide book for life?  How can it help us if it is wrong?  What criteria would we use to differentiate the good from the bad, the true from the false, the wrong from the right?  If the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then what kind of God do we serve that cannot keep His word from error?  These are serious questions we must ask ourselves, because these are questions others are asking us. 

The Bible claims to be the Word of God.  2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 states ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. There are numerous Scriptures in the Old Testament that refer to the word of the Lord, the words from the mouth of the Lord, the oracles from the Lord, etc.  There are not just a few Scriptures that claim the Bible is literally the words of God, but hundreds, if not thousands.  The Bible claims for itself to be the word of God.  Peter, in 2 Peter, claims to have heard God himself anoint Jesus, but even claims that they have something more sure than their own testimony:  ¹⁹ And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  The Bible claims that it is the word of God, is sure, is truth, and if the Bible is itself truth, then by definition it is without error! 

But we should also remember that those who are not born again will not fully comprehend nor believe the Scriptures and their truth.  My friend is an intelligent person (extremely intelligent in some areas, with hundreds of patents, published papers, and other awards), has read the Bible, but does not believe what it says.  I am sure he understands much of it, but he doesn’t hold that it is the authoritative infallible word of God.  Why not?  Because the Holy Spirit has not changed his mind on the Holy Scriptures.  Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John 3 spoke to him about being born again, but Nicodemus didn’t understand.  Jesus asked him, ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? Paul in 1 Corinthians 2, says the same thing.  ¹² We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ¹⁴ The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.   So my friend is not able to understand and accept the divine revelation of the Bible because he is unregenerate.  Someone who is unsaved will not be able to fully accept and understand the things of God because the Spirit has not opened his mind to spiritual things. 

If the Bible is full of errors on history or geography for instance, then logically we would not be able to trust what it said about theological matters. Additionally, we may use archaeology and history and the science of language to substantiate and demonstrate the accuracy, truthfulness, and consistency of the Bible. We may also show clearly that the Bible claims for itself inspiration, infallibility, and authority, as the very Words of God, which the Bible claims are themselves truth.  However, I can only pray that the Spirit will open the heart and mind of my friend to prove to him that the Bible is indeed the Word of God.  I cannot prove to him that the Bible is truth, nor that it is the Word of God.  How can I do that to a mind that is set on the things of this world rather than the things of God?  I can’t.  I must pray and depend on the Spirit of God to move in this person, while at the same time being a faithful witness in showing him the worldly proofs that substantiate the details of some of the Bible’s content.  Ultimately, I am commanded by God to be a witness, but I must depend on God to change my friend’s heart. 

Saved by faith, kept by works?

I think it is a popular conception that we as Christians are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus alone.  But what happens after that?  With all of this popular talk of backsliding, obedience, and losing one’s salvation, it seems to me that many Christians hold to the doctrine that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, but kept secure by works and obedience. 

I was talking with a friend last night at our small group meeting and we were talking about salvation by faith through grace, and he said yes but we also have to obey.  Obedience is part of that.  If we don’t obey, then are we really saved?  Of course we are!  Romans clearly states that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not by any work unless anyone would boast.  But how are we kept?  Can we be justified one minute and lose our salvation/justification/redemption because of something we do or not do? Do we have to be obedient to God through the law to maintain our right standing with God?  I would submit that the answer is definitely NO. 

I think Paul clearly explains this a couple of places, but one good one is Galatians 2:17- 3:3. ¹⁷ But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

¹ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Remember, we cannot be justified through the law.  Paul clearly states this in Galatians and in Romans, among other places.  So if we can’t obtain our righteousness through works of the law, then how can we maintain our righteousness through works of the law?  Paul states above that he dies to the law so that he might live for God.  He clearly explains that the life he lives in the flesh he lives by faith in the Son of God.  He still lives in the flesh, as we all do.  We are not physically changed or wisked away when we are saved.  And yes, life transformation must take place through sanctification as we walk closer to God.  However, as Paul states, neither he nor do we nullify the grace of God as we live our life in the flesh.  If we as justified sinners could nullify the grace of God through our life in the flesh, then Christ died for no purpose. 

Again, in Galatians 3, Paul continues his train of thought and asks the Galatians, ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  We were saved by grace through faith in Christ, by the work of regeneration through the Holy Spirit.  However, and Paul asks a rhetorical question that gets to the heart of what we are talking about now.  We began by the Spirit, but are we being perfected by the flesh?  The answer is no, of course not.  We began with the Spirit, and we are being perfected by the Spirit.  Otherwise, again, we would nullify the grace of God and Christ would have died for no purpose. 

Now, many will say that this breeds antinomianism.  And yes, actually, if you preach it right it does.  Paul had he same questions in Romans.  But the results of our salvation and sanctification are different than the cause of our salvation.  The cause of our salvation, and the maintenance of our salvation, is completely in God’s hands.  Because we are saved, and because the Holy Spirit does His work in us, then we should show fruit in terms of good works and growth in Christ.  There are so many Scripture passages that explain that if God starts a good work in us, He will finish it.  That is very assuring to me. 

NOTE:  For some reason, I can’t seem to comment on my own blog today, so I wanted to answer Beaconlight’s question about antinomianism.   

Hi Beaconlight; Good question, and it looks as though I wasn’t not really clear here.  Shame on me!  Typing too quickly and not developing my thoughts.  Tim Keller once said in one of his podcasts some time ago that if a person preaches grace and gets the same reaction Paul got, then they were on the right track.  When Paul preached grace, people then took this to the extreme and, as in Romans 3:8, make statements like then we should continue sinning so that grace may abound.  Romans 6:1 and 6:15 address this issue.  This is antinomianism.  Paul encountered people who saw grace as a license to sin and still be saved, as many still do today.  Forget the law, we can live as we want and still be under grace, some may say.  Paul explains in Romans 3 and 6 that if you continue to sin as you did when you were under law after you are under grace, then you don’t understand grace.  Paul said in Romans 6;1-2, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  He also said in Romans 6;15, 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

My point was that grace, when preached and explained correctly, may lead one to make this assumption that we can sin and still be in grace, because humans can’t fathom the concept that God would provide us grace free of whatever we could do to earn it.  That doesn’t mean we don’t preach it!  Preach the gospel, and the Holy spirit will use the words as He sees fit. 

However, our attitude should be that we do good works because we are accepted by God, not that we do good works in order to be accepted by God.  Good works are the fruit of our salvation, not the cause of it.  Antinomianism says that faith = justification – good works, but Protestantism says that faith = justification + good works. 

Is Your God Too Small?

I remember playing with my younger daughter Krista one day.  We were playing a combination of horses and dinosaurs.  We had two play mats, one for the dinosaurs and one for the horses, and neither one could cross over to play with the other, so it was like two games at one time.  Unless daddy wanted to aggravate Krista and then…  Anyway.  She was playing with a baby horse and asked me, “Daddy, where do horses come from?”  OK, she was only 4.  No time for the birds and the bees yet. I said to her, “Horses come from other horses.  Just like babies come from mommies and daddies.  God created horses, and mommy and daddy horses make baby horses.”  “In their tummies,” she asked?  “Yes, in there tummies.”  She was cool with that, for a minute or two. 

Then she asked THE QUESTION.  “Daddy, where does God come from?”  OK, now it got serious.   I said, “Well, God didn’t come from anywhere.  God has always been alive.  That’s why He is God.”  If you know my daughter, she just won’t quit.  So she pops another question.  “Daddy, what is God like?” 

In Remembrance

Today marks the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001.  These were not the first attacks on U.S. soil by terrorists, because, as you may or may not know, any American Embassy anywhere in the world is technically and legally considered part of the United States.  So an attack upon one of our embassies is an attack on the United States.  These attacks were planned by terrorists over a period of years, and the planning spanned several presidential administrations. So these barbaric acts of war were not a Democrat or Republican thing; they were a religious thing.  Yes, it is true.  If anyone has seen or read the transcript of the latest two videos released by bin Laden, you will notice that they are laced with religious overtones, and in fact are primarily based on the faith of Islam.  “It remains for us to do our part. So I tell every young man among the youth of Islam: It is your duty to join the caravan [of martyrs] until the sufficiency is complete and the march to aid the High and Omnipotent continues,” bin Laden said. 

And look at these quotes:  “As for our own fortune, it is not in this world,” he said. “And we are not competing with you for this world, because it does not equal in Allah’s eyes the wing of a mosquito.”  “The condition of Islam at the present time makes one cry … in view of the weakness, humiliation, scorn and enslavement it is suffering because it neglected the obligations of Allah and His orders, and permitted His forbidden things and abandoned jihad in Allah’s path,” he said.  In the video released a few days ago, bin Laden implored the West to abandon democracy and to embrace Islam.  This is not a culture war, per se, nor is it a war strictly based on ideology, economics, or forms of government.  It is a conflict that is religious at its very core. 

How does this relate to Christianity or theology?  Well, a lot.  I haven’t worked all of this through my mind yet, but it seems to me that this conflict is due in part to the weak and secularized Christianity being professed in this country and the West today, but it is also due in part to the spiritual struggle between the powers of Satan and the powers of God.  First, one of the reasons Islam is so at odds with the West in general is the secularization and decadence that has come upon the West and the United States over the past several decades.  Islam is a very legalistic religion, with an impersonal god and a works-based salvation.  They are very strict about right and wrong.  So bin Laden and his radical Islam see the West and the US as very secular, anything-goes, that in some respect comes with the freedom we enjoy, but is also a result of a weak Christian faith in many people who profess to be followers of Christ.  To do the will of Allah, they must oppose this secular, democratic, culture.  On some level, I think the Christians in this country and especially the West have not preached a real gospel that is based on grace.  With grace, we are not legalistically bound to work for our salvation, but through truly changed lives we love God and love our neighbor as best we can through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The greed, sexual promiscuity, perversion, abuse, exploitation, and other sins that Islam sees would not go away, since those are part of the unregenerate human nature, but through grace and new nature, those things would not be important any longer.  Perhaps if we had the Spirit of Christ, then Islam would see things differently.  The problem is we have a lot of professing Christians without the life change. 

The second aspect of this religious war is the spiritual aspect.  Any “religion” that is not reflective of the gospel must be from our enemy.  It is obvious that Islam is completely different than the gospel, therefore it is a false gospel.  The conflict between Islam and the West, and the world, is a spiritual conflict whether people see it as that or not.  It is what it is.  This may offend some people, and I am sorry about that.  But the fact remains that we live in a world in which the physical is not all there is, and there is a significant spiritual component.  Read Job.  Read Ephesians.  Read any of the gospels.  Perhaps this is why Paul uses a lot of military terms in his epistles, because he wanted Christians to know that we are involved in a war, not always in physical conflict, but certainly in spiritual conflict.  I should be careful when I say this, but I think we as Christians need to develop a better sensitivity to the spiritual aspect of our calling, and realize that we have weapons to fight this war, and we should use them.  We are at war.  Are we soldiers, or are we pansies?  Soldiers and officers that I knew could be very caring and devoted, yet still do their duty when the need arose.  These are not by any means mutually exclusive.  Our advantage is that we know the outcome of the war; it’s the individual battles that we are called to fight.  Muslims are not the enemy, but I would suggest that Islam is.  False gospels should be defeated with the Words of God.  Satan is our ultimate enemy, and we have the weapons that can and will defeat him.  Are we using them to bring the good news to the dead and oppressed?