Warring Against the Soul

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
The Third Sunday after Easter
 April 29, 2012
 “Warring against the Soul…”

Welcome to the third Sunday in Easter. We are a little more than halfway through this blessed season of the Church. I hope that you are having a blessed Easter season to date.

 In a speech delivered at Chautauqua, New York in 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “I hate war.” According to one source, “As Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson Administration, FDR visited the front lines in France (in WWI) after the United States had declared war on Germany and American troops were already engaged in combat. Thus the vision of war he reports was based upon that experience. FDR himself never served in uniform—his requests to do so were vetoed by the Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and President Wilson himself.” That being said, in this same speech, Roosevelt said he would “pass unnumbered hours thinking and planning how war may be kept from this nation.” As later events would prove, war became inevitable when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, propelling the United States into the inferno of WWII. Despite Roosevelt’s best intentions, it became impossible to stay neutral once this cataclysmic event had occurred.

Some think that there is evidence that the U.S. provoked Japan into an attack by applying certain trade embargoes, or that we needed WWII to pull us out of the Great Depression. Others think there is also evidence that the initial warnings regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor were ignored, perhaps purposely, in order that the heinous attack would galvanize public opinion in favor of war. Be that as it may, war came and we fought it, victoriously. In a similar vein, despite what some Christians may think about it or how distasteful it may seem to them, we in the Church are engaged in a war too. There is no doubt that we, like FDR, desire peace. Unfortunately, this is not possible, for it is true that we are locked in a rear-guard action with our ancient foe and nemesis, Satan.

We say “rear-guard action” because Lucifer is still fighting, even though he has lost. He would never admit it, but on the cosmic level Satan is defeated. He is vanquished. He has lost. Calvary determined that a long time ago. Why then, do we still talk of fighting a spiritual battle with the forces of darkness? If Satan has lost the war and his kingdom has been ultimately overthrown, why does he still fight? This is an excellent question. Simply, it is this: Satan does not want to believe that he has lost. Being the completely crafty and devious being that he is, he still believes there is some way he can win. Barring that, Satan would like nothing better than to take as many souls as he can with him to perdition. So, the battle continues and so we fight…

Consider two examples of militant language in both our Old and New Testament selections,. First, in our selection from 1 Samuel 2:1, Hannah proclaimed: ”... my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.” Also 1 Samuel 2:4: “The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.” There is language here of victory, even vengeance upon one’s detractors and enemies. In this case, Hannah, being barren, had suffered a great deal from those who had been blessed with children. Now, she proclaims victory in the fight. Those who afflicted her have been silenced.

In our Epistle, Peter tells us: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” Again the language of fighting and of struggle is apparent. In Peter’s mind, “fleshly lusts” not only taint one’s spiritual life, they actually “war” against the soul. The language used here is very strong. Peter does not say “fleshly lusts” merely afflict the soul, or tempt it, but they actually “war” against it. Some modern translations translate this as “waging war” against the soul.

Two things aid and abet our ancient foe in his fight against us. The first is his favorite; this is his ability to convince people that he simply doesn’t exist, that he is just a medieval invention born of superstition and ignorance. Thus, there can be no spiritual battle, because how can a battle exist if there is no enemy to fight? A corollary to this is the failure of the modern world to objectify and personalize evil. There are those who think that evil is not an external, objective force, but is rather some perversion or distortion of mankind's basically good nature. Since mankind is basically good, these people think, those who act in evil ways must be sick. Thus, we can treat evil with medication or with education. As in the corporate ethics classes which were popular a few years ago, some folks think mankind can “learn” to be good.

This, as we Christians know, is a grave error. The evil in the world comes from the fallen, unredeemed nature of mankind, aided by a generous dose of demonic suggestion and temptation. Thus, the cure for evil in the world is not just education, but regeneration. “Ye must be born again.” Barring this second birth, this regeneration and redemption of the “old man”, we cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven.

The second thing that aids Satan is similar to the first. It is simply the inability of most people, including Christians, to recognize when they are in the middle of a Satanic attack. Even for one who is spiritually aware, this can be difficult. We may be suddenly depressed, or despairing, or overly self-critical, or just plain sad. We may be in the throes of wallowing in self-pity, or we may be in bondage to anger, bitterness, or resentment. We may know that we are miserable, but the reason is not always so apparent.

It is at that point that we need to don our Gospel armor and fight back. A key piece of this armor is our helmet of salvation. That is, we must immediately recognize what is happening to us. Rather than taking it on the chin and blaming ourselves, or worse yet someone else, we need to know there is a spiritual assault going on. Many times this is enough, for knowledge itself is a powerful weapon. We recognize the assault, we acknowledge it and then we can relax. Why? Once having isolated the source of our torment, we can relax into the loving arms of God and let Him fight the battle for us.

How? Simply by using the most potent weapon any Christian can wield against the powers of darkness: prayer. Our dark foes hate it when we pray, for we have not only shifted our attention away from their efforts, but from the focus on ourselves. Instead of thinking how miserable we feel, we begin to think how great God is.We praise Him, we worship Him, and we glorify His Holy Name. Then, perhaps we do something even more hateful to our spiritual enemies: we ask for help. Through Christ, we ask for shielding and strength. Through Christ we ask for peace and rest. Finally, through Christ, we go on the offence and bind the spirit’s power in our life. Having put on the breastplate of righteousness and holding out the shield of faith, we can be bold in the Spirit. Thus, we can even command the demon to depart from us and return to Hell from whence he came. This is effective and it is efficacious. The forces of darkness simply cannot stand before it. Quoting the Epistle of James, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” 

Sounds pretty radical, doesn’t it. Sounds very fundamentalist, doesn’t it? Surely in 21st century America, we don’t speak of such things. Belief in the Devil is so childish... How foolish indeed!

Beloved in Christ, we had better think this way. We had better recognize that evil is external, evil is real, and evil is actively waging war against the righteous people of God. We had better recognize evil for the corrosive, corrupting force that it is. Finally, we had better believe that there is only one way to achieve true victory in this life. That of course, is regeneration, re-birth, and restoration to righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord. We Christians will win the fight, or rather, we will accept the victory that Christ has won for us. We are not called the “Church Militant” for nothing. We are active, we are engaged and we are winning the fight.

We know that sounds ridiculous. In a day and age when all conventional morality is called into question, when situation ethics seem to rule in most cases, and when Christians are being marginalized, it surely sounds ridiculous. Yet it is true. Our Enemy Below is furious. He is raging and fighting and plotting. He is, despite all appearances, desperate because he knows his time is short. Just as in the 1st century, when he maneuvered Christ onto the Cross, he thought he had won. Imagine Satan’s despair on Easter Morning! How mistaken he was! It is the same today…

Beloved, the path to victory is always difficult. We will have many tribulations before the final victory, but nevertheless, the victory is ours through Christ!! This is a grand and glorious thought. Yet, unlike some radical religious movements in the world today, ours should be a peaceful army. We thus a genuine oxymoron. We will follow our Captain of Salvation, Jesus Christ, to victory and salvation. On the way, we will wield our peaceful weapons: prayer, love, compassion and good will. We will submit ourselves to lawful authority, as befitting those who keep law and order. We will do our best to do right and thus silence our critics and our detractors. We will use our liberty in Christ, not as “a covering for evil”, but as faithful servants and soldiers of God. Finally, we will strive to “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN