Stand. Fight. Win.
When I was child, my church taught me to sing a song that said, “I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery; I may never fly over the enemy, but I’m in the Lord’s army. (Yes, sir!)”
I suspect few people sing that song anymore. The military metaphors of the Scriptures have fallen out of fashion in our soft times. But the Scriptures are clear that between the initial victory of Jesus over sin (Eph. 1:20–23) and the final victory of Jesus over death and hell (Rev. 20:11 – 21:8), Christians participate in Christ’s victory as “the church militant” and are called to wage war against the world, the flesh, and the devil (Ps. 144:1; Eph. 2:1–3).
In other words, to be a Christian means to enlist “as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3), aiming to please the one who enlisted us (2 Tim. 2:4). To do that, we need to know our marching orders, which consist of two basic tasks: the first is to stand, and the second is to fight.
The Call to Stand
Paul mentions our first call of duty when he writes, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand” (Eph. 6:10–13).
In other words, a spiritual struggle permeates all of life, with demonic forces working through various channels—including earthly rulers—to keep people away from Christ and to lead them away from the truth that sets the captives free (John 8:32).
Today that battle fiercely rages in the area of gender and sexuality. The powers of hell work through the mouths of many, and in the hearts of many more, to move God’s people away from the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). They want us to bow the knee to the rainbow flag, which is a rival religion, enticing many millions into hardened rebellion against the Lord.
But it’s our job to stand firm, Paul says, to resist, to hold the line, to not let anyone move us one inch from the truth of God’s Word. For if we redefine what God calls sin, how will people know what to repent of? And if people do not think they need to repent, then they cannot answer Jesus’s call to “repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Standing firm isn’t easy. In a progressive age like ours, it means we will be mocked and called names. People will say that we are bigoted or backwards, or that we’re on the wrong side of history. But we’re not. Jesus wins, and we win if we’re with him.
And here is what our Lord says to us, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11–12).
The Call to Fight
Paul goes on to say, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:16–17).
Most of the armor of God is defensive in nature, but not the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This we are called to wield so that we may fight back anywhere the powers of hell try to make their advance. We do this by fighting against evil, wherever it is found, and by fighting for those who have been deceived, in the hopes that they might be spared.
The fight against evil thus involves speaking the truth (Eph. 4:15), especially the good news that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:9–11; Rom. 10:9), and not speaking lies (Eph. 4:25)—whether that be softening the parts of God’s Word that are increasingly countercultural, or using transgender pronouns, or any other falsehoods we might feel obliged to promote.
But it also involves living like Jesus is Lord, too. Hence Paul says, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9). In other words, those who hate evil will not only speak against it but also act against it (1 John 3:18). We care for the needy (Jas. 1:27), we rebuke the wicked (Mark 6:17–20; Titus 1:11), and we push back against the advance of evil wherever we can, including the political arena (Ps. 2:12; 24:1).
In addition to fighting against the powers of hell, we fight for all those who have been taken captive by them. As Paul says elsewhere, “We destroy arguments and every proud opinion that is raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5), and, “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:25–26).
This is why Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 10:3) but against the powers that stand behind them. His words keep us from unleashing our anger over evil in ways that do not befit a good soldier of Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:19). The Lord’s victory can only be won on his terms.
None this leaves us in a place of escapist pietism, refusing to act when lives are at stake. Neither do we succumb to black-pilled defeatism. For we know the answer to Théoden of Gondor’s question, “What can men do against such reckless hate?” We can stand and fight, for we’re in the Lord’s army—and his army wins (Rev. 19:11–21).