Wage the good warfare

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. – 1 Timothy 1.18-20

There is not doubt that we are in a battle. Is has been raging since the church was founded. The warfare is talked about all throughout the New Testament. A lot of folks like the idea of being on a fight. The excitement of a war gets some folks fired up and some folks take it a lot more literal than we read about.

The foundation of it all is the understanding that we do not fight this war against flesh and blood. Our weapons are not swords and bowl and rifles and such. Our warfare is a spiritual battle. Our weapons are spiritual to pull down strongholds.

We tend to focus our warfare against people though. We think that we must war against people who are captive to their sin and in the snares of Satan. Instead of wanting to lead them them to freedom we seem to just want to kill them all.

I love the way the new hymn ‘O Church Arise’ puts it.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev'ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—
An inheritance of nations.

Our warcall is love
Our enemy is Satan
Our sword makes the wounded whole
Our attitude in faith and valour
Our outcome is secure
Our Captain’s prize is sure