Are you a passive Christian who hides your faith under a bushel? Many do because they do not want to be identified as religious zealots. They still walk in the deeds of the flesh, go to church, but do not apply sound doctrine. They do not know what it means to fight for Christ or their own convictions. They use the excuse that their religion is personal to them and not to be displayed before others.
Jesús said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.
We are all soldiers of the cross, and as such, we must be ready to fight and endure hardship. 2 Timothy 2:3. We must not run from the battle. Our faith should shine its light before the world so they can believe and glorify God. We should not opt out, however.
Some folks have questioned the need to fight. They have no interest in being soldiers of the cross or fighting against the rulers of darkness. Well, there is “Free Will” that has been granted to all of us, and that means you can opt-out if you want. In fact, millions have done just that. They have strayed from the truth to follow strange teachings that are not biblical.
According to the PEW report on trends in Christianity, the church is confused about basic doctrine. Here is statistical data that reveals how folks who believe that call themselves Christians.
Americans are conflicted about whether Jesus committed sins during his earthly life. About half of Americans agree, either strongly or somewhat, that while he lived on earth, Jesus Christ was human and committed sins like other people (52%).
Overall, roughly two out of five Americans have confessed their sinfulness and professed faith in Christ (a group Barna classifies as “born-again Christians”).
Why all the statistics? Simple, so you can see the condition of the church. Their beliefs are all over the place. 44% do not believe Jesus was God in the flesh. If this is not a great falling away from the faith, as Jesús said would happen in the last days, I do not know what is. They are false Christians who have run from the battle and the truth of God’s Word.
A false Christian is one who says he or she is a Christian but was never “Born Again.” The Church is slowly trending toward a unity that excludes personal faith and fundamental doctrines. Instead, they follow salvation by works, acceptance of open sin among members and a general lack of godliness. They are not the type to fight for their faith because they do not have any.
Jesus said that there would be a falling away from the faith before he returns. It is happening now in our lifetime. The Bible says it will continue. However, society will accept the false Christians, and things will go on as normal. No one will care that the salt of the church has lost its savor.
The apostle John, among other writers in the New Testament, mentions certain characteristics of these folk. He calls them anti-Christs. There is the Anti-Christ with a capital “A.” There were also many anti-Christs in the world at the time of the New Testament church with a lower-case “a.” The difference between these two is a lower-case “a” and an upper-case “A?”
They were simply pointing out that anyone who opposes, for example, the divinity of Christ, is an anti-Christ. There are many out there today who are anti-Christs in that they deny the deity of Jesus Christ, who is God (John 1).
These anti-Christs are not one person but a spirit of anti-Christ and so we know that there are many anti-Christs but it is the spirit of anti-Christ that lives within humans and not a specific person (2 John 4:3).
In 1 John 2:18, John makes a distinction regarding the anti-Christs as he wrote, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Anti-Christ is coming, so now many anti-Christs have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour.”
Here, John states that there are many anti-Christs and that “you have heard that Anti-Christ is coming.” John continues in verse 22, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the anti-Christ, denying the Father and the Son.” Here again, the identity of the lower-case anti-Christ is anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
The word, “Christ,” means the “anointed One of God.” As John says, whoever denies Jesus as the Christ, or as the Messiah (Hebrew word for “anointed of God”), denies the Father and the Son. This person and these people are those who are anti-Christ.” There are many anti-Christs out there today, just as there were in the apostle’s day. But the anti-Christs are not the same as the Anti-Christ, uppercase “A.” The world has no shortage of anti-Christs. It is these folks that we stand against and oppose because they are not true Christians. If they deny that Jesus is God in the flesh, they most likely also deny his virgin birth, his resurrection from the dead, his living a sinless life, and that he will return to judge the world. He will come, for the believer, as their King. For those who reject his gospel, he will come as their Judge (Rev 20). Either way, everyone will bow the knee and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. Both condemned sinners and glorified saints (Rom 14:11, Phil 2:10).
It is hard for me to believe that folks who call themselves Christians can be numbered among the anti-Christs. These could even be those who teach our kids in Sunday school, preach from the pulpit and influence church and political policies.
Yes, you can opt-out of the fight and become as one of those that have fallen away from true faith into a false sense of security. You will, however, still be attacked by evil forces and led by the Anti-Christ down the broad road that leads to destruction and eternal damnation.
It is much better to be a soldier of the cross, and fight the good fight of faith, win the battle, and glorify God in the process.
Fighting the good fight of faith simply means that we, as soldiers of the cross, will not consider Christ’s sacrifice as meaningless. Fighting the good fight of faith means that we will value what Christ has given to us as higher than any other thing in this universe, even higher than our very lives, and we will fight for it, no matter what.
Fighting the good fight of faith is to be steadfast in our beliefs, as a loyal soldier, with no compromise when faced with false doctrines, fake Christians and persecution from liberals that serve the god of this world.
Fighting the good fight of faith is about making a choice; a choice to pursue God’s will and a life of faith daily. It is about deciding to fight the temptations that constantly try to pull us away from God.
It is about faith, and the battleground for the fight is about preserving the faith just like Jude wrote, “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
The faith that has already been delivered runs from Genesis to Revelation. There is a battle going on; a battle for the truth, so we must strive to preserve what has already been delivered to the saints. As soldiers of the cross, we are to guard the truth and keep it from being polluted by evil forces.
Fighting makes us stronger in the faith. James wrote “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:3) so the testing of our faith, in fighting for the faith once delivered, produces a steadfastness for the Christian, so keep fighting the good fight of faith.
The very best possible fighting position that a believer could possibly take is on his or her knees in prayer because “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Ex 14:14); in this way, God receives all the glory
Here are five very important Bible verses that show the responsibilities of a soldier of the cross.
- 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (Never Give Up.)
- 1 Timothy 6:12 “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (Get Involved!)
- Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Know You Enemy.)
- James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (Stand Your Ground.)
- Deut. 3:22 “You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you so do not be like “those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb 10:39). (Do Not Be Afraid!)
We are to seek after the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is where we discover salvation and the hope of eternal life and the fellowship of the Spirit and the grace of God. We are ever mindful of its power and blessings that befall those that are exercised by it.
We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that we are the children of God and greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” John 4:4.
The battle is the Lord’s, and we have the joy of ruling with him until all is finished and peace is restored in God’s kingdom.
If you are a” Born Again” believer, you are a soldier of the cross, having the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” I Corinthians 6:19.
If the Holy Spirit really dwells in you, he is greater than anyone or any spirit, even Satan. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. He is greater than every demon, every storm, every trial, every attack, or depression. He is more powerful than any sickness, disease, or affliction.” I John 4:4 Are we in agreement so far?
If you are walking with the Lord, being filled with his Spirit, you have spiritual authority. Here are several Bible references related to the believer’s authority. I see them as God’s instructions to the soldiers of the cross:
Mark 16:17 …And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
James 4:7 …Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Luke 10:19 …Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Matthew 16:19 …I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
1 Peter 5:8 …Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Luke 10:19-20 …Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
1 John 4:4 … Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Revelation 12:11 …And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Mark 11:23 …Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Hebrews 4:12 …For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Acts 1:8 …But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
John 14:12 …“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
Luke 10:17-19 …The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”
Mark 6:13 …And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Ephesians 6:10-18 …Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Psalm 91:13 …You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Acts 2:39 …For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
Ephesians 3:16-17…That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.
Romans 10:17 …So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 15:13 …Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
It all boils down to believing God and trusting that what he said will come to pass in your life. Join me now, in these last days, before the return of Christ, in a glorious walk by faith experience where Jesus is Lord and we are his soldiers of the cross.
Until next time
John Marinelli, author & poet
johnmarinelli@embarqmail.com