In last months blog I wrote on the topic of “What the Church Doesn’t Talk About” that leads us into today’s blog being “Why the Church Doesn’t Talk about Spiritual Warfare.” I believe there can be many reasons for this and I want to look at three reasons why I believe the church does not want to talk about this. In reflecting on this in my experience, it may be better for me word this more directly in regards to the American and European church.
#1 The Church is Unaware of the Enemy
As I write this I am at the age of 28 years old and have grown up in the church my entire life. I have had the opportunity to travel across the U.S. and visit many different churches, attend many Christian conferences from hundreds to thousands, been on a fair amount of mission trips thus far and research many different ministries around the world in my desire to understand more of the worldwide church. Repeatedly I have been perplexed and confused as to why spiritual warfare is a topic that much of American and European church seems to be unaware of this invisible reality.
I have spoken with believers and have even taught on spiritual warfare a number of times and again and again those I am teaching have either never heard of spiritual warfare in most cases or have heard of it, but no grasp of how it affects the church today. To be clear, over 95% of those I have taught on spiritual warfare are indeed Christians, a majority of whom have also grown up in the church, yet no nothing of spiritual warfare. This foreshadows reason #2, but primarily illustrates to me that the church is simply unaware of our enemy Satan.
When I use the term church I am referring to not to the building, but the body of Christ made of Christians. Naturally, this also includes the church leadership being pastors, elders, deacons, a ministry board, those on staff at a church and however else this fits the context of the structure of the church/congregation you are a member of. In last months blog, I specifically addressed church leadership in urging that this is a topic that needs to be addressed because then the congregation no longer is unaware of the enemy, but becomes aware of the enemies tactics. One of the definitions for the word aware uses the word alert. In other words, for the church to be aware of the enemy means to also be alert of the enemy. This is important!
In the book of 1 Peter, the Apostle Peter writes to encourage Christians to maintain a life of holiness in the midst of the pressures created by the non-Christian, and often anti-Christian, atmosphere in which they live and shares three key ideas in his letter. In chapter 5 Peter gives advice for Elders and young men. Peter identifies himself as an elder of the church and by doing so Peter is identifying himself with them in their responsibilities and with the charge that he gives them in this passage. He then address the younger individuals in the church that they must accept the authority of the elders as they were the spiritual leaders of the early church. Peter then addresses them both and there are two verses I want to highlight in his exhortation to them.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.
Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT
As I stated previously, to be aware means to also be alert. Here Peter is exhorting the early church that they need to be alert! That they need to watch out for our great enemy, the devil. In taking a step back and examining 1 Peter as a whole, in comparison to many other letters and books of the Bible it is comparatively a short letter and book of the Bible. It then leads me to pose the following thought and question. “Of the many things Peter could have written and included in his letter to the early churches in the Roman occupied provinces, why did he specifically address spiritual warfare?” Because it was important for the early church to be aware of our enemy Satan because if they were not, they would be at risk in being devoured by Satan. The same applies to the church today! If we are not aware of our great enemy, the devil, we put ourselves at risk in becoming devoured. It is important that as the church we stand firm against him, and be strong in our faith.
In a book I referenced in last months blog being “The Devil Goes to Church: Combating the Everyday Attacks of Satan,” the author David Butts writes the following…
Real Reality
The Bible teaches, from beginning to end, of the existence of the invisible world, the world of the spirit. A world of angels and demons, yet a world that we touch daily as those who have been given, not merely a body, but also a spirit. This invisible world is a tough sell for many of us today. We tend to focus on that which our senses tell us is real. Things we can touch, taste, smell, hear, or see, are those which seem to be real to us. An invisible world of the spirit seems a bit unreal or mystical.
Because of that, even we who firmly believe that the Bible is God’s Word can become practical deists. We can go through life believing Bible stores, but never expect to see the reality of them in our own lives. We can firmly defend the supernatural events of Scripture, but deny that they are impacting us today.
One of the things I love about the way God’s Word presents the things of the spirit is the way it shies away from the mystical or unreal. It presents the unseen world as simply a matter of fact. There are things that are seen; there are things that are unseen. Both are real. One is not more real than the other. The invisible world is not a matter of myth but of solid, well-grounded reality.
The point David makes here is both biblical and spiritually grounded. It is easy to be aware of the seen world that we interact with every day, but difficult to be aware of the unseen world that we also interact with every day. This brings us to the second reason.
#2 The Church does not want to Teach on Spiritual Warfare
In my life thus far I have encountered church leadership that simply chooses not to teach on the topic of spiritual warfare. I believe there to be a several reasons tied to why this is, but for me it is rather concerning when a church leadership takes this stance. The Bible is clear that believers should not consider human beings to be our enemies. Instead, the opposition that we face comes from the unseen world of spiritual evil. Thankfully Christ Jesus has authority over that realm.
In the book/letter of Ephesians, Paul writes to the early church in Ephesus and in this letter Paul speaks of spiritual warfare. Many in the church have likely heard of this passage before, but for many this is the extent of their knowledge of spiritual warfare and I would argue some might not even think of the full implications of this passage. This passage is Ephesians 6:10-20 as it gives the fullest New Testament account of how believers are to protect themselves against the devil. When Paul talks about putting on “The Whole Armor of God” he is literally talking about the spiritual battle that every Christian will face and experience in their journey as a follower of Christ Jesus.
Often when the church teaches on this passage this is the extent of its teaching on spiritual warfare. Why yes this is good, it is only a small piece to a much bigger picture. The two fundamental problems when the church follows this typical teaching, they do not answer the questions of “What is spiritual warfare?” and “What does spiritual warfare look like?” This leaves believers unaware and therefore exposed and at risk of being devoured by the prowling lion that the devil is that Peter wrote of in his letter to the early church. A part of me wants to say, “What is the point for church leadership to teach believers how to put on the whole armor of God when they do not address answering the two fundamental questions of what is spiritual warfare and what does spiritual warfare look like?” While another part of me wonders, “Is that too harsh to say and ignorant of me to write?”
In my mind I imagine a believer fully dressed in the armor of God walking along being attacked by Satan and completely oblivious and unaware to the fact that he is being attacked. After all when you do not know what spiritual warfare looks like how would one know they are being attacked in the first place? Have you ever stood in a dark room unable to see anything and then turn on the light switch and suddenly everything becomes visible by the lights on the ceiling? I would venture to say every person reading this blog would agree that yes you have experienced this. So why do I bring up such a simple and basic fact? Well, this is often the experience I find that once I have given a teaching to a room full of believers on spiritual warfare. Then once I have explained what spiritual warfare is and what it looks like, I start seeing light bulbs come on in peoples eyes at the realization that some past difficulty or challenge they went through was actually spiritual warfare. In some instances it has also brought healing to a believer who wrestled with something for so long in their life and now the light comes on and they see it was the enemy all along.
When a believer understands both what spiritual warfare is and what it looks like, its like helping them turn on a light switch that illuminates the unseen and now as they walk along wearing the whole armor of God, they know when Satan is attacking them and are able to defend themselves.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 NLT
Another reason why the church does not want to teach on spiritual warfare I have found generally speaking, is that they do not want to focus more on the devil than on Jesus. This is both a valid and understandable concern and I have heard this expressed in one way or another over the years in talking with different leaders in churches. This concern is something David Butts also writes of as he states, the following…
It’s obvious the New Testament authors take spiritual warfare seriously. We ignore it to our detriment and danger. Certainly some may go too far in their practice of this doctrine. We often hear reference to some Christian teachers who see a demon behind every bush. I doubt demons are much interested in bushes, but the point is well taken. If we are not careful, we can end up focusing more on the devil than on Jesus. But much of the church has taken the opposite tack of simply ignoring or denying the devil.
Let me share a pretty scary story of the dangers of ignoring the devil. I grew up in a Bible-believing, conservative church in Indiana. I am so appreciative of the solid foundation of Bible knowledge I received as a child and young man. Yet, in spite of teaching and believing the Bible, Satan was pretty much ignored. His existence was affirmed, but practical warfare teaching was absent. So much so, that in our high school youth group we thought it would be fun to have a séance (an attempt to communicate with spirits). Innocently, without awareness of the dangers we were dealing with, we played games that dealt with a reality that had escaped our attention.
For most Christians young people today, participating in a séance would be unthinkable. Over thirty years ago, the myopic teaching on spiritual reality allowed for such a possibility. By they way, the Lord was gracious to us in our innocence and protected us from harm. Even so, years later I personally made sure to renounce any such involvement, however innocent, in an occult activity such as a séance. It is just such an incident that shows the great need for balanced teaching in the area of spiritual warfare.
At times when believers are seeking to understand spiritual warfare they can become entranced by it for lack of better wording where they end up focusing more on the devil than on Jesus. This concern by the church is not invalid by any means as a very small percentage of believers and churches have ended up on this path. That is why it is important to follow and understand the biblical teachings by Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament, but also what the patriarchs, prophets, judges, and kings experienced spiritual warfare in the Old Testament.
Personally, I believe Jesus gives us the best example of how we are to engage in the battle of spiritual warfare as Jesus encountered the invisible realm a number of times and David Butts points to this as well. Two instances that come to mind are Luke 4:31-37 when a man possessed by a demon interrupts Jesus teaching in the synagogue by shouting and then Jesus reprimands him and cast the demon out. Then in Luke 13:10-17 when Jesus heals a woman who had been been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years in casting the demon out of her. Many times during Jesus’ teaching evil spirits manifested themselves in interrupting his teachings. Jesus would interrupt His "teaching just long enough to get rid of the distraction, then turned immediately back to His teaching. His focus was not on the kingdom of darkness, but on God’s kingdom.” I believe this gives a model and example in dealing with the demonic in spiritual warfare.
So when a church leadership gives the reason of they do not want to teach on spiritual warfare because they do not want to focus on the devil more than Jesus, again I understand their concern, but I disagree. The Bible has many instances where spiritual warfare took place and the scriptures show us how we as believers are to combat the everyday attacks of Satan. A church leadership in my opinion leaves their congregation in a dangerous place when there is no teachings on the unseen spiritual realm and just as David Butts wrote they unknowingly did something dangerous in attempting to call upon spirits because they didn’t know better as youth. Spiritual warfare is a serious matter and it is a matter not to take lightly.
#3 The Church finds it to be an Uncomfortable Topic
The third reason of why I believe the church doesn’t talk about spiritual warfare is that the church can find it to be an uncomfortable topic. I will admit when I first began to learn about the reality of spiritual warfare there was a bit of skepticism in me and I found it strange. In other words it made me uncomfortable. However, once I began to read and explore the Bible on the subject of spiritual warfare I quickly realized that it was indeed real and I found comfort in knowing that I was not alone in dealing with spiritual warfare and that the Bible also teaches us how to combat the unseen realm.
For those of you read my previous blog in the beginning I shared a terrifying experience I had when it came to spiritual warfare. Once the spiritual and physical attack ceased in uttering the name of Jesus and proclaiming His name aloud, I did my best to gather my wits about me and at the same time I felt defenseless. Several days later I wondered, “What if Satan attacks me like that again? I don’t want to be defenseless and vulnerable like last time.” It was an uncomfortable topic to sit down and discuss with my Campus Minister Mark Pike in his office in trying to grasp what had happened, but because of that conversation and the much better understanding I have of spiritual warfare now, it is no longer an uncomfortable topic for me and one I will gladly talk about and teach on.
I would say that for many when we try to understand and learn about new things it can be an uncomfortable experience, especially when it pushes us out of our comfort zone. In my experience as a Christian I would say being pushed out of ones comfort zone is often when you experience Jesus in ways you never would have experienced other wise. Such as going on a mission trip to a different country, volunteering to be a part of a prayer and healing team, volunteering at the homeless shelter or walking up to a stranger and talking with them because you felt that Jesus’ prompted you too. Even those in the Bible we read of often times went through uncomfortable experiences and difficulties, but many came out stronger in their faith in God when they followed His calling and plan for their life.
In the same way I would tell believers and church leadership who find spiritual warfare to be an uncomfortable topic, to learn what spiritual warfare is and what it looks like by reading the Bible. The Bible is a great resource on this reality already, but also pairing it with a book or two helps one to further grasp spiritual warfare as well. So I would recommend reading The Devil Goes to Church: Combating The Everyday Attacks of Satan by David Butts. It is a well written book and introduction to the topic and reality of spiritual warfare that all believers face in the worldwide church today. I do have another book to recommend, but I will wait to share that book recommendation till a later blog as I will be doing several more blogs on spiritual warfare in the coming months.
In overcoming the uncomfortable topic of spiritual warfare, I would also just recommend finding a Christian to talk to about this. It could be a staff leader in the church you are a part, someone in a small group you attend or a spiritual mentor in being someone who disciples you. I just want to reiterate that the Bible is the first and foremost resource when it comes to understanding what spiritual warfare is and what it looks like. The Christian TV show/series The Chosen has also encountered spiritual warfare several times already as they are presently in season 2 where you can understand the unseen world a bit more in how they portray Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2 NLT) in her difficulty and struggles in spiritual warfare.
In Conclusion
As I stated in last months blog, if you are a pastor of a church reading this blog, a staff member, a board member, a missions team member, congregation member, an elder or deacon of a church. Sound the alarm, ring the bell, or pull the fire alarm and say, “I believe spiritual warfare is really something that we need to talk and teach on.” This could take the form of a Sunday sermon series, a Bible study group, a Sunday school, or small group discussions. Too many Christians in the church, in the body of Christ are suffering as a result of spiritual warfare and many have no idea that this is the source of the battle they are facing.
In this blog I wanted to address three main reasons as to why I believe the church doesn’t talk about spiritual warfare. At the same time I want to share my experience and provide solutions to counter why each of these reasons it is bad for the church to not talk about spiritual warfare. Again this may be more encompassing of American and European churches as I know other countries where the churches there are combating Satan every day and it is something that these churches are very much aware of. It is important to be aware of spiritual warfare and it is also important to teach on spiritual warfare. The church cannot take the stance of simply ignoring or denying Satan. The writers of the New Testament like Peter and Paul whom I wrote of in this blog taught about spiritual warfare and what the early church needed to do in standing firm against the unseen realm.
An important reminder is that Christ Jesus has authority over the unseen realm as is evident throughout His ministry in the New Testament. Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ alone. As I stated previously I will continue to write about spiritual warfare more for the next several months as I want to help teach and shed light on a biblical and spiritual topic that the church finds difficult to teach on. Blessings