Fight the Good Fight of Faith

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect stablish, strengthen, settle you.

1 Peter 5:8-10

No matter how much the Spirit illumines through praise and worship, whether it is acknowledged or not, the saints of God are in constant spiritual warfare. Peter placed it aptly when he said, “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). This warning was given to the saints scattered throughout Asia Minor. Although dispersed because of persecution, no doubt homesick, and enduring a myriad of other problems, he gave them no other option but to stand against the enemy and do as the scriptures instruct “fight the good fight of faith” (1Timothy 6:12).

Satan has not changed his tactics. He is still on the prowl, “going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it,” seeking to “kill, steal, and to destroy,” looking for anyone that is susceptible and vulnerable to buy into his ageless bag of tricks. (Job 1:7; John 10:10).

Soldiers of the cross, just as the troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, must be sober and vigilant. The saints cannot be distracted by the cares of the world — living at ease in “Zion,” concerned about the economic climate of the day, “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:4-5). Because the enemy is not easily deterred, the saints are commanded to “resist the devil” (oppose, stand against); with the outcome of him running away (James 4:7). As a result of being focused on God, every adversity is saturated with “fervent” prayer. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

Subsequently, there is a residual spiritual effect after withstanding the “wiles of the devil;” “but the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect (complete), stablish (confirm), strengthen, settle you (rooted and grounded)” (1 Peter 5:10)