Know Your Enemies
Pastor Dave Monreal, Lead Pastor
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12 ESV
It is very easy in this polarized world that we live in that other people are our enemy. People should not be treated as our enemies according to the Bible. True, they are enemies of the gospel when they oppose the preaching of Christ (Romans 11:28 in reference to disobedient Israel!). It is also true that unbelievers, including us, were enemies of God before we came to faith in Christ. (Romans 5:10). It is even true that people may abuse us and treat us as their enemies. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. (Matthew 5:43-48) We are not to treat our fellow humans as our enemies. This is what Paul reminds us, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”
The Bible tells us that unbelievers are blinded by Satan, so they do not see the light of the gospel. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21) Unbelievers are both blinded by the enemies and willfully blind due to a moral unwillingness to accept the reality of God.
But people are not our enemies. The Bible says that we have three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil.” (Ephesians 2:1-3) The flesh refers to our own sinful desires to pursue our pleasure apart from God. The term, “world,” is used in three different ways in the Bible. On occasion it may just mean the planet earth that we live on. On other occasions, such as John 3:16, it refers to all people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. In a negative spiritual sense “the world” refers to the fallen system that we live in that either ignores God or stands in opposition to God. We might think this is related only to culture or perhaps to government systems, but it is a larger, more pervasive, all-encompassing reality. There is a pervasive mindset that rises out of the systems that are created by unbelievers. The world can be a negative influence on us as believers without being energized by Satan or his demons. The world can appeal to our flesh without the activity of the Evil One. At times we find that we battle one or another or perhaps even all three at once!
Why is it important to remember that people are not our enemies? Because we need to share the gospel with everyone regardless of lifestyle, political affiliation, or religious background. The Gospel is for Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians (and librarians!). The message of the cross is for those living in immoral lifestyles such as homosexuality and lesbianism as well as the unmarried couple living together. The offer of forgiveness and new life is for the woman who chose to have an abortion or the man who may have pressured her into it. The Good News is for those who are in prison and those who are on Wall Street. Grace is for the illegal immigrant and the Sons of the Revolution.
Satan wants us to see other people as our enemies because he knows that when we do, we are much less likely to share the love of Christ with them. He knows that we live out life of Christ most when we are friends of sinners. He also knows that true change in a person’s heart only happens when he is regenerated and gives his life to Christ. When the Apostle Paul recounts Jesus’ call to him, he says that he was sent to the Gentiles “…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:18) Paul’s missions is still our mission today!
