Weekly Blog - 14 April 2024 - Spiritual Warfare and Persecution
Spiritual warfare and persecution
As we engage in our calling to follow Jesus in our lives and advance the kingdom of God in all we do, the Bible is very clear that we will be entering a spiritual battle against real spiritual powers. This week in Arise’s weekly blog we take a look at what the Bible says about the spiritual warfare and persecution we can expect to face in our lives as Christians, and the many lessons from the Bible that equip us to cope with this and triumph through it.
Even though our message is one of love, hope and joy, we should expect to face opposition, and not be surprised when it occurs, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6: 12). This may even take the form of outright persecution, as Jesus warned “they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name” (Luke 21: 12). Most painfully of all, this opposition and conflict can sometimes come from fellow Christians, wittingly or otherwise, as we see in the life of the early church, and the tensions and divisions within it, even in New Testament times.
Spiritual and human opposition often tends to take the form of temptation; doubts in our faith, our calling or ourselves; division with others; setbacks and frustrations; the fierce opposition of institutions and systems, and outright persecution. Indeed, it is crucial to remember that when we engage in issues of social justice, development and environment, and deal with political and economic systems, inequality, power and injustice, there is an important spiritual dimension to those struggles. Thus, prayer is crucial as our first (and ongoing) action in all these areas, before we engage in the other kinds of action that Arise and many other Christian organisations help us to do.
Spiritual attack and mental health
As we have seen, the Bible teaches that we should be ready for spiritual attack and not surprised by it. It also gives us practical ways to deal with attack. In the face of temptation, we are encouraged, not so much to stoically resist, but to “flee” (1 Cor 6: 18) – to recognise the patterns of our weaknesses, and then avoid putting ourselves in positions where we face overwhelming temptation. When we experience doubts of all kinds we are encouraged to instead fill our minds with positive things, to “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3: 2). The more we dwell on the positive, the more positive we will be; the more on the negative, the more negative we become. One practical way of doing this is to worship and praise God in the face of negative thoughts. Other crucial areas for helping with negative thoughts and mental health is to get sufficient rest, enough sleep, to eat healthily, to exercise regularly and have time outdoors daily, all things explored in more detail in a recent blog from Arise on the balance between work, rest and health. Having a clear sense of purpose, direction and calling in our lives, that is beyond just ourselves and focused on helping others and on advancing God’s kingdom and building a better world is also key (Arise Manifesto, pg 3 – 20, 49 – 51).
In terms of doubting ourselves and our calling, the Bible also gives practical advice to never care what others think of us, for it is God alone we are serving, not others. As Paul says in the letter to the Galatians, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal 1: 10). We can also avoid doubt in ourselves by never comparing ourselves to others. Each of us has a unique calling, different from anyone else’s. Again in Galatians we are encouraged, “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load” (Gal 6: 4).
When we face setbacks, we are to persevere through tough times, not giving up easily, as James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1: 2 – 4).
Persecution
If we find ourselves facing fierce opposition from institutions and systems, or even physical persecution, the Bible tells us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. For Jesus powerfully exhorted us in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matt 5: 38 – 39). We are to “forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11: 4), no matter how petty or serious, and as far as it is up to us be reconciled with them. We should also not just forgive, but “pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5: 44), and pray for those in authority more widely whether they persecute us or not. We can flee from persecution, as Jesus said “when you are persecuted in one place, flee to another” (Matt 10: 23). We should stand in solidarity with fellow Christians where they are persecuted, and indeed support all people whatever their faith background when they face human rights abuses. Thus we should support our Christian brothers and sisters in every possible way and advocate on their behalf as part of our family. Thus, speaking of the church Paul says “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12: 26) and the Hebrews are commended because “Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison” (Hebs 10: 33 – 34) (Arise Manifesto, pg 62 – 64).
Conclusion
Facing temptation, frustration, set back, difficulties, challenges, and even outright persecution is all part of following Jesus and seeking to see his Kingdom grow. We shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. The Bible equips us with crucial lessons to help us navigate these challenges and push through them to victory. As Christians we know too that we are never alone when we face such things. God is always with us, and we have each other and our churches to support us, pray for us encourage us and cheer us on. Let’s look out for each other, and go forward together.
Find out more
Find out more about how God is at work in the world, and the role we all have to play in that work, in the Arise Manifesto. This report is Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.
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