Phillip Johnson over at Pyromaniac has an interesting post regarding spiritual warfare. This has been an issue that I’ve thought about periodically since the publication of Frank Perretti’s “Darkness” books. I was in High School at the time and remember that it coincided with a period of much influence for Neil T. Anderson and Bob Larson. Sensationalism ruled the day and Satan was under every rock.

Yet, as Johnson points out, our battle is not as easy to spot as we would like to believe, quoting 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Or consider Paul’s admonition to put on the “whole armor of God” of Ephesians 6:10-19. Think about the metaphors that Paul here develops: “belt of truth,” “breastplate of righteousness,” “shoes of readiness for the Gospel,” “the shield of faith,” “the helmet of salvation” and the “sword of the spirit.”

Jesus warned for a reason to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Our battle is to know and love the Truth so much that we are not taken in by a lie, for false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Satan does not come dressed up in horns and pitchfork but as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:4). Satan’s primary approach is not outright attack but a subtle sorcery of words and deception.

Please do not misunderstand. Am I saying that demons are not real, that Satan is not a threat? Absolutely not. But what we miss is that the core of “spiritual warfare” is actually doctrine; it is knowing the Word, living by the Word, being transformed by the Word and loving the Word in all of life. Satan did not come to Eve initially with an outright lie, but with a subtle twist of words (Genesis 3:1-6).

Johnson has reminded us of the true weight of spiritual warfare. It’s one thing to think of demon oppression and territorial spirits. It’s quite another to think of “false prophets” having already slain a sheep for its wool and sneaking into the flock to devour any they can. Do we understand the seriousness of knowing the Truth or do we relegate “doctrine” to those “academic types.” Every Christian is a theologian. The question will be: are you prepared for the battle or will we end up a black eyed sceva (Acts 19:11-20)?

Read Phil Johnson’s post.
Read The Christian in Complete Armour (devotional version) by William Gurnall.
Read This Present Darkness by Frank Perretti (if you must).
Read Piercing the Darkness by Frank Perretti.
Read The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson.
Visit Bob Larson’s website.
Read Victory Over Darkness by Neil T. Anderson.
Read Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer.
I just got side-tracked by my favorite bands:
Buy Way Before the Flood by Black Eyed Sceva.
Buy 5 Years, 50,000 Miles Davis by Black Eyed Sceva.
Watch video of Black Eyed Sceva performing.
Read Black Eyed Sceva lyrics.
Visit Way Before the Blog.