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THE SILENT WAR IN THE CHURCH
A Winnable War We Must Not Ignore.
by Larry Cory
THE SILENT WAR IN THE CHURCH
CONCLUSION
There certainly is a silent war in the church. And we can be on either side in this war. Satan is very crafty; and we can be fighting on his side without even realizing it. We are told, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." (Ephesians 6:11) If we were not fighting in a war, we would not need to put on armor. Also, we are told to "resist the devil." (James 4:7) Part of the war that we are in is resisting Satan's attempts to get us to fight on his side.
If we are successful in this war, our goals for God's church will line up and be united with His goals. We will also be seeking above all else that there will be spiritual growth in our lives; that there will be unity among us; that we will be strengthened by God to live Christ-like lives; that there will be growth in loving and genuine relationships between us; and that we will be sharing the gospel message in an effective way with those outside of the church. If these goals have been replaced by other goals, we are losing the battle and Satan is winning.
Also, even when we are pursuing God's goals, we can expect opposition. Our enemy is totally opposed to what we are seeking to do. We need to be willing to suffer, if required, in the pursuit of these goals. Paul described his ministry as "sharing in his [Christ's] sufferings" (Philippians 3:10) Christians of the past that we honor today did not have an easy time of it. We should not be surprised when, in seeking after God's goal for His church, we meet opposition. "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (I Peter 4:12-13)
If we are individually successful in this war, though, we will experience growth in godliness and in our relationship with God. If we are successful as a church in this war, we will experience God's love as it is being expressed toward us by our fellow Christians—who have matured and are being strengthened to love others as God loves them. And we will also be growing in our love for others. We will be experiencing the type of loving and godly relationships with our fellow Christians that God designed us to have. Our relationship with our fellow Christians will be more like the relationships within the Trinity. God will be glorified as people see our love for each other. Also, the church will not be bogged down with interpersonal problems between Christians. That will free us to focus on reaching out to our neighbors and neighborhoods with the gospel message. Also, when people outside the churches get to know the born-again Christians within our churches, they will see Jesus and His love for them as they see our love for each other and for them.
At the start of this book, we quoted I John 1:4: "We write this to make our joy complete." I mentioned that there is joy when our car is repaired and is purring like a kitten and driving with full power. Complete joy comes when the church is purring like a kitten and filled with God's power as each of us experience God's type of love from each other. That means that we are fulfilling God's plan for all of us. Then, one day, we will hear these words from Jesus: "Well done, good and faithful servants." What joy that will bring us as we together know that we have pleased the One who died for us.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
