The year was 1940. Churchill had a sad message to deliver to the British people: 30,000 casualties of war and rumors of an impending invasion. On June 4 of that year Churchill delivered his now famous address to the House of Commons, which climaxed with the words, “We will never surrender!” This was a pivotal point in modern history. And we can thank Churchill’s tenacity for much of the freedom that we enjoy today. He stood firm against the enemy and, in the end, prevailed.
We have an enemy far more dangerous than any earthly foe. Peter tells us, “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Peter said this from personal experience. He had respect for Satan’s power, and so should we. Even Michael the Archangel, among the most powerful of God’s created beings, would not jeer at him (Jude 9). Satan is our enemy. He wants to see us stumble in our Christian life. He wants to bring out the worst in us. The Lord Jesus warned Peter, “Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Lk. 22:31). Satan also wants to sift us, but he is not interested in the grain, only the chaff. He wants to destroy our testimony for God.
Paul describes Satan’s attacks as “fiery darts.” These are arrows that not only kill a soldier in battle, but cause further harm to those around him as the fire spreads. And this is how Satan attacks us. His design is to cause us to fall and to bring down others with us as the fire spreads. Satan is not satisfied in merely eliminating individuals; he wants to destroy whole families, churches, and ministries. Each of us has seen or experienced the impact of such attacks.
Satan is also a subtle foe. He uses small victories to gradually push us back. Slowly over time he gains ground. Perhaps it is an activity that you once thought was inappropriate, but now indulge in. The common warning about “soft drugs leading to harder ones” can be applied to many sins, and with each of these small victories Satan gains ground, pushing us backwards as his influence spreads into more and more areas of our lives.
Thank God that He has not left us defenseless against this great enemy. He has equipped us to stand against Satan and his forces. But we need to be prepared to do battle.
Paul makes use of a military metaphor in Ephesians 6. He advises us to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). As he describes each component of the armor, the picture emerges of a soldier standing his ground on a violent battlefield, quenching fiery arrows with the shield of faith and resisting the enemy’s advances with the sword of the Spirit.
Now picture that same soldier, on the same battlefield, only this time without armor. He has no shield. He has no sword. Instead it is all lying on the ground beside him. He would not remain standing for long. Sadly, some Christians are like that. God has provided the armor, but they are not using it. Paul makes it clear that in order to use the armor of God we have to both pick it up (v. 13) and put it on (v. 11).
The passage also emphasizes that it is a complete package. We have to put on the panoply, the “whole armor” of God. You might be deft in handling the sword of the Spirit, but it is not enough to be a student of the Word if your faith is weak, or you lack the breastplate of righteousness. We need balance in our lives, balance in order to stand firm in the fight.
It is a violent battle, and it is also a personal battle. Paul uses another metaphor briefly when he advises that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood” (v. 12). Here he pictures for us a gladiator fighting hand-to-hand. He fought with only one objective: to stay standing. So standing firm involves wrestling with temptation. If our Christian lives are not characterized by these battles with temptation, we should examine ourselves to see if we are still standing.
Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” We have no power in ourselves against the forces of evil. The Word contains numerous examples of people fighting in their own strength: Israel’s first campaign into the land of Canaan (Num. 14:44); Peter’s swordplay at the betrayal of the Lord (Jn. 18:10-11) and his subsequent denial; and the Jewish exorcists in Acts 19.
Instead the Lord sets the example. If anyone had strength in themselves to overcome Satan’s temptation it was the Lord, yet, when tempted in the wilderness, the Lord used the sword of the Spirit, quoting from the Old Testament in response to each of the temptations presented by Satan. Paul advises us to be strong, not in ourselves, but to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).
Given our three great enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil) it is interesting that where the world is concerned, we are admonished to walk (Eph. 5:2, 8, 15). Where fleshly temptation is concerned we are to run (1 Tim. 6:11; 1 Cor. 6:18). However, when facing the most powerful of these three enemies—the devil—we are to stand. And the Scriptures gives us numerous examples of godly men and women who stood firm. Consider three examples.
STANDING FOR PRINCIPLES
Daniel, a young man, went through a dreadful experience. Separated from his family, he was taken into Babylon as the spoils of war. Yet he did not resist. Nor did he resist when the Babylonians gave him a new name—Belteshazzar—a name that must have been repugnant to a Jew. However, when asked to break God’s dietary laws, he stood firm and, in doing so, God caused him to stand out in a positive way among his peers. Eventually Daniel was a great influence for good in Babylon. He would not compromise where God’s commands were concerned. People today are very focused on their own personal rights. Daniel is an example of someone who stood firm, not for his own rights, but for God’s principles. Are we following his example? Ask yourself this question, “What bothers me more; when someone violates my rights or when someone dishonors the Lord?”
STANDING ALONE
John the Baptist stood firm for God. What is striking about John the Baptist is that he preached alone. He had followers, but whom did he follow? Who were his peers? Elisha had Elijah. Timothy had Paul. The apostles had the Lord and they could also encourage one another. But John the Baptist stood alone. Do you sometimes feel alone as you stand firm for the Lord?
Paul stood alone at the end of his life as well. He wrote to Timothy, “…no man stood with me, but all men forsook me” (2 Tim. 4:16). But Paul knew that Christians never really stand alone. He continued, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me” (v. 17).
A SECOND CHANCE TO STAND
On human battlefields a fall will likely be fatal. In our spiritual battle, however, God forgives us and teaches us through our failures. A striking example of this is seen in Peter’s experience. Many would have written off Peter after he denied the Lord at His trial. Peter himself likely felt that he would be of no use to God again. But a few weeks later Peter was standing firm for God before the very same Jewish leaders who delivered Jesus to Pilate and demanded His death. His testimony before these men in Acts 3 and 4 is astounding. Peter learned to stand firm.
This all presupposes that we are willing to do battle in the first place. When faced with the Nazi threat, some nations succumbed without a fight. At the close of the Ephesians 6 passage, Paul exhorts us that we should be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Be encouraged to fight the good fight, and encourage others to do the same though your prayers and by your example.