It’s Time to Fight
Culture War is Upon You
This piece of writing is not for the insider, the highly informed, or elite. It’s for the average mom or dad, the grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, or sister. It is for, as one might say, the ‘every man.’ It is for the person who simply wants to be left alone, who does good work, loves their family, wants to come home from a hard, but good day’s work and rest.
To this person I say, it’s time to fight. Do not let the word “fight” deter you from continuing to read.
The previously avoidable culture war is now unavoidable. It is on your TV screen, it’s in your child’s classroom, it’s on your smart phone, it’s in social media, it’s at your doorstep. It is unavoidable. This decadent, secular, unbiblical world wants our children and grandchildren, our homes, our thoughts, our lives. The DNA of the Davos elite now runs through the veins of our dearest institutions, even in some of the evangelical elite. This is not hyperbole; it is reality.
Most people were raised not to fight. Our parents would tell us, ‘Do all you can to avoid conflict at school.’ We were told that the best way to stay out of trouble is to stay away from trouble. In fact, the Bible notes that we are to “strive for peace with everyone” (Heb. 12:14). Romans 12:18-19 asserts that so far as it depends on us, we are to live peaceably with all people. Further, we are told that anger does not accomplish God’s purposes (James 1:10) and that God blesses those who make peace (Mt. 5:9), turn the other cheek (Mt. 5:38-42), and love their enemies (Mt. 5:43-48). And if that’s not enough, Jesus commanded His followers to put away their swords, for those who live by violence will die by violence (Mt. 26:52).
All of this is straight up truth. But what has happened is that many good-hearted believers have put these biblical truths on steroids to the extent that they have become passive about all things biblical, righteous, and truthful. They have failed to counter texts of peace with texts of spiritual warfare.
As a result, the Christian community in the West, especially in America, have retreated from saying or doing anything for the cause of righteousness and the kingdom of God that may seem disagreeable or divisive. As a result, we are now shocked that the enemy has infiltrated every area of life. The battle is enjoined. It is inescapable. The barbarians are at the city gate, overrunning the last place on earth a person might live in freedom and liberty.
Yet, the same Jesus who said to put away your sword also said He came to bring a divisive sword (Mt. 10:34). And even if only for the sake of self-defense, why did Jesus tell His disciples to sell their cloaks and buy a sword, maybe two (Lk. 22:35-38)? Couple this with the ‘fight texts’ of 1 Timothy 6:12 and 2 Timothy 4:7, along with soldier texts (1 Cor. 9:7; 2 Tim. 2:3-4), and the spiritual warfare text of Ephesians 6:10-20 and what you have is an arsenal of spiritual weaponry fit for a battle.
Nehemiah: Builder, Warrior
Being a man of peace does not mean you cannot be a man of war. Take the case of Nehemiah.
When Nehemiah arrived in the ruined city of Jerusalem, all he wanted to do was rebuild the city walls in route to rebuilding the people of his spiritual heritage. As far as we know, he was not a man of war, but a leader and a builder. That is, until he ran into the likes of the enemies of God’s people and God’s kingdom work, Saballet, Tobiah (Neh. 2:19-10) and Geshem (Neh. 6:1). Hindered by their slander, threats, roadblocks, and outright deception, Nehemiah encouraged God’s people to become reluctant, but happy warriors as they rebuilt the city walls of Jerusalem.
With trowel in one hand and a sword in another, and surrounded by fellow patriots, Nehemiah 4:8-14 succinctly puts Nehemiah’s call to arms in clear terms:
And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. In Judah it was said, ‘The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.’ And our enemies said, ‘They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.’ At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, ‘You must return to us.’ So, in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.’
Because of their courage, the walls were rebuilt in a mere fifty-two days.
What We Fight For
Like Nehemiah, it is time for us to not be afraid, to remember our great God, and to fight. But fight for what? We fight for a civilization that is shaped and measured by God’s truth. We fight for our families to be constructed according to God’s Word. We fight for the gospel to be preached freely and without hindrance (Acts 28:31). We fight for our homes. We fight for God’s kingdom truths. We fight for God’s notions of human dignity and sexuality, for biblical marriage, for parental authority and responsibility, for traditional values, for government to stay in its lane, for freedom, liberty, and self-rule. We fight for biblical justice with biblical truth. We fight for life in a culture of death. In other words, we fight for and with biblical truth, for our families, and we fight for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. We fight against idolatry, indecency, and the lack of dignified discretion.
How Do We Fight?
Christians do not fight as the world fights. We are not angry warriors. We do not use hatred, anger, envy, jealousy, and deception. We have specialized weapons just for the occasion – divine weapons, biblical arguments, truths that assault the walls of the tyrannies of deception, and false opinions and philosophies that must be smashed with the hammer of truth (2 Cor. 10:1-6). Further, we fight a spiritual war against the kingdoms of darkness with truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, prayer, accompanied by other happy warriors called the Church (Eph. 6:10-20).
We fight privately, in that we seek to win the war within our own hearts first. We fight patiently, for long term results, as long as it takes. We fight prayerfully. We fight persistently. We fight powerfully in the Spirit. We fight for our families as we seek to hold on to God’s pattern for marriage. We fight publicly in that we are not afraid to speak up and speak out with biblical truth in all spheres of life in all circumstances in ways that fit the occasion. We speak truth with love, righteousness with regularity, compassion without sappy empathy, and the gospel with fearless, bold humility.
What Does the Fight Look Like?
It’s the mother who fights for her child who’s addicted to meth. It’s the dad who seeks to protect the integrity of his wife and daughter. It’s the parent who shows up at the school board to speak clearly, compassionately, and consistently. It’s the grandmother who does not retire but aids her children in raising the next generation in godliness and righteousness. It’s the person who refuses to go along just to get along. It looks like the person who speaks truth when all others speak lies.
It looks like Nehemiah, who just wanted to build a wall, but had to do it with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. It looks like Paul, who stood before philosophers and Kings with unadulterated gospel truth. It looks like Jesus, who battled Satan with God’s Word and who submitted Himself to the greatest enemy of all – death – only to take up His life again as Prophet, Priest, and King – as Lord.
The Call
The insider, the highly informed, and the elite are already in the battle, and sometimes not for the good of the kingdom or God’s people (or people in general). It is to the average believer, the Church member, who has depended on others to do their fighting for them, that the call goes out, for them to hear and heed the call to spiritual arms. It is time for us to contend for the faith (Jude 3), to fight the good fight of faith (2 Tim. 4:7), and to enter every sphere of life – home, work, and play – with gospel truth. We know we win the overall war, let us now win the individual battles of that war.
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