The Church: Hospital or Armed Camp?

Neil Anderson in Victory Over the Darkness notes how Christians often view the church as a hospital.

"Sadly, one of the common pictures of the Church today is of a group of people with an assumed faith but little action. We’re thankful that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for us, but we’re basically cowering in fear and defeat in the world….We treat the Church as if it’s a hospital. We get together to compare wounds and hold each other’s hands, yearning for Jesus to come take us away.
 
But is that the picture of the church in the New Testament? No way. The church is not a hospital; it’s a military outpost under orders to storm the gates of hell. Every believer is on active duty, called to take part in fulfilling the Great Commission. Thankfully the church has an infirmary where we can minister to the weak and wounded, and that ministry is necessary. But we don’t exist for that. Our real purpose is to be change agents in the world, taking a stand, living by faith and accomplishing something for God."

The life of discipleship is hard and service to Christ requires a soldier's mindset. 

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 2:3)

“Wage the good warfare” (I Tim 1:18)

“Put on the whole armor of God” (Eph 6:11)

"Fight the good fight of the faith" (I Tim 6:12)

Scriptures for Meditating on Christ's Victory

When we are weary and discouraged and the battle looks grim--maybe we are thinking about our sin problems, or problems in the church, or the unresponsiveness of loved ones--it is good to focus and revive our faith by meditating on those scriptures which proclaim the truth of Christ's conquest.

Colossians 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to shame, by triumphing over them in him [i.e., the cross].

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

Colossians 1:13-14 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

I John 5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.


Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

I John 4:4 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

I John 2:14 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

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.

Christ the Victor

The Lord Jesus is pictured in Scripture as a Mighty Warrior leading the armies of heaven to put a final end to evil: "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war" (see Revelation 19:11-16).

But the victory is not primarily, or even first of all, a future event. Christ in his first coming was the Divine Warrior who conquered sin and the dark powers of evil by his perfect life and redeeming death and resurrecton. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:15).

To stand firm as soldiers of Christ, we must concentrate all our thought on the Captain of our salvation, leaning on him and not relying on ourselves. Christ is  in our midst, "a warrior who gives victory" (Zephaniah 3:17), and that is what we must set before our minds. Christ Jesus has won the war, won the decisive victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, and death itself. And now he is pressing the victory against the dark powers.

This is the real picture of spiritual warfare. This is the reality we must insist on when the father of lies calls us "losers" and "failures" and brags that he has the upper hand.

Christ has already conquered and now he sits enthroned at the Father's right hand, far above every rule and authority--far above Satan and all his foul spirits. And this is also is the truth about the followers of Christ: 

• Our sin and guilt are forgiven and taken away by his blood shed on the cross. 
• We are new people in Christ, children of God, saints (holy ones) of God.
• We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20-22; 2:6). 

This is our identity. This is our position. This is our authority in Christ. We must insist on these truths--say them aloud even--as we watch and pray daily against sin, temptation, and the devil.

The Battle for the Mind

The strongholds Paul has in view in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 are false ideas, Satan's deceptions, and the warfare is fundamentally a battle for the minds of God's people.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every though captive to obey Christ."

In context, the deception involved erroneous ways of thinking about Paul's gospel ministry. Paul was a true servant of Christ, he spoke and wrote under divine influence, but in Corinth as elsewhere he was opposed by other so-called ministers of Christ who considered themselves superior to Paul and sought to discredit Paul by elevating their own "credentials" and making Paul appear weak and ineffectual.

The real battle was not with these men, not with flesh and blood, but with the deceptive schemes of Satan working through human means. And so in 2 Corinthians 10-13 Paul wages war with weapons of divine power. One after another, he calls out the false arguments and self-important opinions and demolishes them with words of truth. He does this, not to secure for himself a better following, but to secure the minds of God's people under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (10:5).

Dr. Ed Murphy helpfully observes that, while the attack on Paul's apostolic legitimacy is specifically in view here, strongholds include "any form of reasoning, any attitude, and any way of thinking that 'exalts itself against the knowledge of God', or 'misbeliefs.'" Misbeliefs, writes Murphy, are "beliefs that are untrue about oneself, others, or circumstances. They can become demonic strongholds against one's life, family, church, etc. It is important to note that these ways of thinking can become strongholds within a church through carnal leadership (whether clergy or laity); but of course, the ultimate source of all such deceptions is Satan" (11:14-15). (The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare)

Those who are not yet Christians but sense the Spirit of God drawing them to himself may be held back by misbeliefs such as "God cannot love me. I am too sinful to be saved. I need to improve myself before I can become a Christian." All totally false! A Christian may be robbed of joy and peace by misbeliefs such as "I am worthless. I'm a terrible person. I will never change."

The deceiver loves especially to work the saved and unsaved to accept false ideas about the Heavenly Father's character, motives and attitudes.

The Lie: The Heavenly Father is cold, distant, passive, uncaring, too busy, impatient, rejecting, mean, cruel, manipulative, ticked off, and unforgiving.

The Truth: The Heavenly Father is warm, intimate, kind, compassionate, accepting, forgiving, filled with joy and love, always near, patient, slow to anger, gentle, protective, full of grace and mercy, and committed to my growth as His beloved child in Christ (N. Anderson). "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6-7).

False ideas of God and ourselves, mortared together and stacked high, can become strongholds which only supernatural weapons will destroy. These are principally the Spirit Himself and the Word of God. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord" (Zechariah 4:6). "And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).

Strongholds of Good & Evil

Stronghold is a military term meaning "a well-fortified place." Positively, a stronghold is a place of refuge, of protection and safety. David, the warrior-king, praised the Lord for being his stronghold. "I love you, O Lord, my strength. For the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" (Psalm 18:1-2).

Salvation through Christ, on the basis of his death and resurrection, is essentially a matter of being rescued by the grace of God from the stronghold of Satan and being placed into the stronghold Christ. "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).

Those who are "in Christ" are within the sphere of God's blessing and protection, seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) far above every power and authority, human and angelic (Ephesians 1:20-22). Those who are in Christ are held fast in the protective double-grip of God's grace: "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has them them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand" (John 10:27-29). God is my stronghold--that is the positive truth.

But Christians also use "stronghold" for something evil. Stefanos, my Greek missionary friend, spoke to me recently about some islands of Greece he considers strongholds of Satan, population centers where the dark powers are worshiped and the Gospel vigorously rejected. From this perspective, a "stronghold" is where the enemy's will is being done and where the enemy literally has a strong "hold."

While the normal Christian life is remarkable for its vitality and fruitfulness (John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23), the remnants of sin hang on, and sometimes the hanger-on is particularly stubborn. The Christian might find himself succeeding increasingly (though never perfectly!) against desires of the flesh in many areas, yet experience continual defeat with the hanger-on. Despite sincere, earnest, energetic and repeated efforts, even over a long period of time, the evil thought or craving or habit persists. Its sophistication and tenacity are uncanny, pointing to demonic influence, and warranting the appellation of "stronghold."

It needn't be a gross or notorious sin. It can be as commonplace as pride, covetousness, anger or envy, a private sin neither flagrant nor enormous in the eyes of man, and yet holding sway in the life under the influence of dark powers. James 3:14-15, "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic."

I believe many devoted Christians battle such problems, some bludgeoned by secret doubts and Giant Despair. "God has given up on me." "I'll never be a godly person." "I'll never walk with God again." "This is how it will always be."

A faulty understanding of salvation may be part of the problem. We need to know that salvation in Christ is more than being forgiven. It is more than being spared God's eternal judgment. It is more than knowing that one day we will be delivered from the very presence of evil in heaven. Salvation is all that--praise God! But there is more.

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). Jesus came to free us from sin's enslaving power and undo the damage done by the enemy...in this life. He has saved from the penalty of sin. He will save from the presence of sin. And he now saves from the dominating power of sin (see esp Romans 6). Jesus came to free the captives. "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). "So if the Son set you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1). 

The Lord Jesus does not accept the presence of strongholds as status quo. They are an offense to his glory and a challenge to his authority. He will not throw in the towel; nor should we. He who began a good work in us is determined to carry through (Philippians 1:6; I Thessalonians 5:23-24). But he will work us too, his dearly beloved, he will work us with a loving relentlessness so that we become persuaded that sin shall not have the mastery. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

But we must trust in God afresh if we would win out over strongholds. And this the Destroyer and Murderer will resist, for he is not satisfied to have us mired in sin; he wants to destroy our faith in God altogether. When Jesus saw that Peter was to be sifted by Satan and knew that Peter would fall into sin and deny him, he prayed that Peter's faith would not fail (Luke 22:31-32). Why? Because the denial, bad as it was, was not the greatest danger facing Peter. The greatest danger was the ruin of Peter's faith on the other side of failure. So Jesus prayed his faith would not fail, and instructed him to strengthen others when he turned again.

Is it not obvious how our faith in God is harmed when we have made solemn resolutions to God and ourselves, claimed Bible promises, prayed earnestly, and tried and tried to "kill" (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5) a tenacious sin, only to fail again and again? The very connecting tissue of our relationship with God is damaged. In time we lose the joyful confidence in God we had as young Christians. God's promises become suspect. We begin to think our sin is too great for God, or God is too small. We begin to question the reality of His power and goodness, at least as applied to ourselves.

The way forward begins just as the Christian life began--by grace through faith in Christ alone. We must continually believe, as we did at the first, that God is greater than our sin. God's grace is sufficient. God's power is made perfect in weakness. With God all things are possible. Nothing is too hard for him. "With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes" (Psalm 60:12).

Remembering Christopher

A high school friend asked about Chris, my older son, but I couldn't figure out how to be Facebook-brief about him. So I sent her a message with the following info.

Chris was born with a rare condition called lissencephaly and was not expected to live beyond infancy. He was a dear, dear boy, and we loved him so much. He experienced many simple joys and pleasures—lots of affection from mom and others, being tossed about by dad, music, walks outdoors in his wheelchair, long hot baths (again with dad), swimming pools, and as much activity as he could handle.

But his health condition was always fragile and life was a long struggle with many surgeries and hospitalizations during his 24 years on earth. When he left to be with the Lord three years ago, Chris was still much as he was as a baby, unable to sit up or roll over and totally dependent. His disabilities included profound mental retardation, blindness, cerebral palsy, severe seizures, and chronic respiratory disorder. He was fed by gastrostomy tube and required oxygen support. Chris lived with us at home for 13 years with the help of home-care nurses and attended public school until he was 21. His last 11 years were lived in two nursing homes.

As you might imagine, my feelings now are mixed; of course I miss him but now my dreams for him have come true—he is with Jesus and without pain, healed of illness and cured of disability and able to run and play and talk and sing and serve others as he was served on earth, and do whatever else they do in heaven. I can only imagine his joy now.

Quotations

It is the duty of all those who "love the Lord Jesus in sincerity" to testify to his divine person and glory according to the ability God has given to each of us, and this I have chosen to do, not in a controversial way, but in order to strengthen the faith of true believers, to build them up in the knowledge of Christ and his glory and to help them experience that which they have, or may have, of the power and reality of these things."--John Owen

This is the true and perfect glorying in God, when a man is not lifted up on account of his own righteousness, but has known himself to be wanting in true righteousness and to be justified by faith alone in Christ.--Basil the Great, Church Father (330-379)

I have a great need for God; I have a great God for my need.--Charles Spurgeon

I am not what I ought to be; I am not what I wish to be; I am not what I hope to be; but by the grace of God, I am not what I was.--John Newton

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.--C.S. Lewis

Doubts are not incompatible with faith. Some people seem to think that once you become a Christian you should never be assailed by doubts. But that is not so. Peter still had faith [as he panicked in the storm in Matthew 14]. His faith was not gone, but it was weak, doubt mastered him and overwhelmed him and he was shaken. Doubts will attack us, but that does not mean that we are to allow them to master us.--Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones