We often hear and repeat the scripture Ephesians 6:10 in sermons and bible study; "Put on the full armor of God." Then it goes on to identify the various parts that comprise the full armor. Do we really understanding the deeper meaning of this directive from Paul to help us defend against Satan? What Paul is telling us is that we are in a war and we need preparation and training if we are to survive. The war Paul is describing is not one of flesh and blood, like Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, but a war with enemies in high places, and against principalities. Matthew Henry says, " our enemies in, this war, are wicket spirits who's chief goal is to provoke, exploit,and deceive us into to spiritual weakness such as : pride, envy malice, lying,discord, envy pride, sloth, glutton, lust, discord, strife,disputes, slander, gossip,arrogance, angry tempers, and unrepentant impurity,immorality and sensuality.(2 Corinthians 12:20)
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul warns us by telling us that He is afraid that the serpent will deceive us as he did Eve in the garden. He tells us that Satan, by his craftiness, can lead our minds astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Later in the chapter Paul reminds us that Satan can and will disguise himself as and angel of the light. Therefore, we should not be surprised that his servants also will disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, but their end will be according to their deeds. Paul found it interesting that some people would,"tolerate being enslaved , and being taken advantage of, and they would look up to those who are leading them a stray.
Paul is telling us that we are in a war unlike any war ever fought. In this war land, oil, gold, timber, are not at stake, but our souls, and our eternity is at risk. Paul tells us not to take this war lightly for we fight against a very devious, manipulative opponent out to destroy us. In this war the Lord is the Supreme Commander, Paul was the Commanding General of God's Army direct by The Lord to prepare us for war as his soldiers. today the church should be the "War Room", Christ the supreme commander, the Pastors the front line Officers, the Deacons the NCO'S and the "Scriptures" are the " Battle Strategy."
If the Christian's enemy is more devious, complex, and has our souls are at stake how are we prepared and trained to fight this war? I was in the military during the years when the military draft was still active. I remember being at the draft office getting my physical and taking the military oath " I Lawrence Cormier do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me Go." This pledge must be memorized by each service member! Does the Christian arm have such a pledge? Do we pledge to serve the Lord with all our being?
When I received my orders to go to Vietnam, I was not given a book to read, and a few lectures and sent to the war zone. No, I like many other soldiers, had to go through extensive physical, emotional, and psychological training. When we arrive at "basic training", we immediately had our individual identity take from us by having our heads shaved and given uniforms so that we all look alike. This is a not to subtle way of teaching us, that in war you don't survive as an individual, but as a team. This is the military equivalent of being on one accord. There are hours on hours of marching, physical training to develop the ability, and attitude of following directives and working as a team unit.. In the earthly military there are between 8-18 weeks basic training, and then advance training in one's specialty. We are indoctrinated about the military, it's mission and our role in this mission. We are given the Code of Conduct to memorize and live by during our military service. The Code is as follows: I pledge:
* To defend the USA and it's way of life
* To avoid surrender and to evade capture at any cost short of death
* To reject favors from the enemy
* To help fellow prisoners stay alive
* To avoid collaboration with the enemy
* To maintain personal responsibility for all actions
* To trust the U.S. Government to care for your love one's and work towards your release
* If captured give name, rank, and service number
* I will never forget that I am an American
* I will never surrender of my own free will
* I am prepared to give my life
A similar Christian oath my be something like this: I pledge to:
* To defend the Christian way of life
* To avoid surrendering to the temptations of Satan
* To reject participating in gossip, false witnessing, and conflict
* To help fellow Christians by mentoring and modeling Christian behaviors
* To evaluate my behavior against the Word of God and not my fellow man
* Will not allow my Christian liberty to be a stumbling blocks for others
* To never allow my own self interest to compromise my compassion to/for others
* To help the poor and those who can't help themselves
* I will never forget that I am a follower of Christ and should act accordingly
* I will study the scriptures so that I may know the mysteries of God's word
* I will trust that the Word of the Lord is true and can direct me in all my ways
* I believe that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me
* I am prepared to give my life for my Christian beliefs
* I will strive to understand the difference between the Letter of the Law versus the Spirit
of the Law.
As a basic recruit you can be stopped at any time and be expected to recite this code without error. In basic we have a duty called night "fire watch". You are to stand guard of the barracks with strict orders to stay awake, and not to allow anyone to enter. Many times a higher ranking person comes in the middle of night, confronts you, and demands entry into your barracks. He begins to yell at you, threaten you will all types of punishment if you don't allow him to enter. You stand and cite the code, he does not let up he is in your face yelling but you can't allow him entrance. At the time you have no idea that this is a situation that has been set up to test you. The Sgt says, "let me in, or I will kick your...., if you don't let me in I will see that you are on you way home tomorrow". I would say my name is Cormier, Airman Basic and my service number is 12345678. It is a very scary time, but over a period of time it prepares you for the real thing.
Do we have a Christian equivalent to this type of training? In some churches new converts are introduced to the "Apostle Creed" which is the Christian Soldiers Code.
" I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate , was crucified , dead and buried, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life everlasting. Amen.
The Christian equivalent of military fire watch for the Christian can be how one handles the small temptations and fiery darts that Satan throws at us daily. The
In the 3rd century church the training of new believers was called Catechumenate, derived the Greek term Katecheim, "to teach or instruct. In the famous document "The Apostolic Constitutions which followed the Apostolic tradition of having the Catechumenate Training last for a period of 3 years. It was used to protect new believers from false teachings, false prophets while they developed a strong solid spiritual foundation.
In some of our current churches there are such classes as Christianity 101, What Christians Believe, The Essentials of New Life, etc. I don't hear the Apostle Creed read aloud much any more.
After the new soldier is finished with basic training they are give test and from these test they are give MOS, AFC, or areas of specialization. Each specialization has a set determined time of specific training that can be as little as 2 months to a year. This would be equivalent to the Christian identifying and developing their spiritual gifts. In the military the more dangerous your job duties the tougher the training. Those who will be on the front lines undergo hundred of hours of real war/battle situations which include obstacle courses, crawling under razor wire under live fire, gas exercises, hours of weapon and self defense training. Some troops are exposed to virtual capture and torture exercises. All this training is to prepare you with real life experiences before you come face to face with the real enemy.
When Christ chose his disciples he did not choose men of high education, he chose men of experience. Matthew Henry says, " What they lacked in in the gifts of nature, they more than made up in the gift of grace. Because of their professions they were diligent, honest, accustom to hardship, hazards, harsh weather, patience, waiting, and toil. Moses who was called out from keeping sheep.
I guess what I am saying is that the earthly soldier is well trained and prepared to fight in the war. After reading what soldiers go through, preparing for war, do you think we are really ready for the war with Satan? The Christian boot camp/basic training should start immediately when we enter the doors of the church. The sermon/teaching should be based on telling the people that God loves us and sent his Son to die for our sins, and that we should repent and accept His gracious gift.
There should be 6-8 weeks of training based upon the teachings of the New Testament. I suggest that more New Testament Teachings because that is the scriptures that are directed at the New Covenant that included we who are Gentiles. The Old Testament was not intended to include Gentiles, except for the prophecy that when Christ comes we could be grafted into the family that once only consisted of Jews.
I think each new Christian should learn the history and importance of repentance, and baptism, prior to the actual ceremony of baptism. I fee that the first communion should come after baptism and a in depth education of the meaning and importance of Baptism and the taking of the Eucharist/communion. In our modern churches we only have two holy practices and those are baptism and communion, but we give more attention to pastors appreciation, women's day, and other man made traditions.
Each member of the Christian army must be taught by people matured, grounded and knowledgeable of the scriptures. The teachers must teach the entire NT even if there are parts of scriptures that conflict with their specific domination. In Hebrew 5:11-14 we read " Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which are the first principal of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that used milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, (mature) even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The oracles of God are the divine utterance of Christ. His divine revelations and His counsel. These preachers had either forgotten or strayed away from the Lord, and what the Apostles had taught them. They had polluted the gospel and was using the oral traditions of their elders rather than the word of God. The same thing happens in church today because I hear it, and I hear scriptural illiterate people say amen to it. I am reminded of the people of Berea in Act:17:10-11 "The people of Berea received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether those things were so. How many of us go home after church and double check on what the preacher said in the sermon? We will need this information to fight the war! This is a personal war. We can get support from the group, but ultimately we have free will and have to make choices.
In the military the people who teach are trained, and many times have years of first hand practical experience in what they were teaching. Thus, so it must be in the Christian army, that those who teach and trained be knowledgeable and mature in "Oracles of God". The first thing that John the Baptist taught, as did Jesus was "Repent Ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This is the New Covenant of Grace.
How do we as Christian soldiers train ourselves for the fiery darts of Satan? We have faith that the Lord will do what He said He would do. We look copy what Jesus did when He was tempted by Satan. Jesus always dealt with Satan with "It is written!" We must learn that no matter what we hear, read, feel, see, Jesus keeps His promises as is written. Every day we are faced with the challenges and temptations of life. The way we deal with these temptations and challenges can either be Christ like or carnal. All new Christians should be given the same information as Christ gave when He preached the sermon on the mount. Christ presented 8characteristics that would cause them to be "blessed". This was His first sermon recorded, so it must be important and foundational. Christ knew that the OT ended with a curse (Malachi 4:6), the NT gospel begins with inherited blessing. 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 2. blessed are those who mourn, for they should be comforted. 3. Blessed are the gentle/meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 5. Blessed are merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 6. blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 7. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 8 Blessed are you when people insult and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Christ said this is the charter needed to be successful in the Christian work and walk. All of us need to make a check list of these characteristics and a list of the fruits of the spirit and check them during our days, weeks, and month. we need to be attentive to our walk and readiness to be a good Christian soldier.
Every day of our lives we are faced with warfare training situations, but are often unaware of them. When our spouses make us angry and upset how do we handle it? Are we honest when we do business, or do we rationalize why we take short cuts and bend the truth? How do we handle our anger? Do we return anger with anger? Are there people that we just refuse to forgive? When we receive too much change do we return it, or do we tell ourselves it's a blessing? When have we helped a senior citizen, or a poor family instead of going out to dinner and spending $50. How many times have we stopped at McDonald's on the way to church and stepped over someone who was hungry and thirsty? How often do we gossip, and help foster conflict? Do we think that people who do not worship like, or think like us are going to hell? Do we respect and understand the Law of Liberty (Romans: 14:1-23) or are we under the yoke of the law? Are we hypocrites whose public life is holy, but private life is full of unconfessed sin? Facing and conquering all these things are similar to military maneuvers which prepares and strengths one's faith and maturity. In our Christian walk it the little things that add up that steal the joy of our salvation. Unconfessed sin can make a Christian soldier non effective and at risk. Christ wants us to confess so that we can lay our sins,out in the open and remove them from their hiding place of denial and rationalization. Confession is for our benefit, because He already knows about it. How can we repent if we never take a honest look at our short comings?
I wrote this essay just to generate thinking and conversation. I just thought it would be interesting to contras and compare the training of the earthly soldier and that of a Christian soldier. I know that most of the time my writings seem like the ramblings of ????? I am now a elder so you will have to excuse me because of my age! And please excuse any grammar and/or spelling errors. Amen!
Phenomenal. This is really challenging to all Christians. It takes Christianity from a noun to a noun, adjective and action verb. This is what we need.
ReplyDelete