Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost August 31 and September 1, 2024
“A Bold Fight” Ephesians 6:10-20
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Jim Martin, a regular contributor to the Perspective section of The Denver Post, wrote these words in the August 18th edition, “Living with bipolar disorder is like riding a roller coaster that you didn’t choose to get on, and one that never stops. It is a life marked by extreme highs and lows. Periods of intense energy and productivity followed by phases of depression. For me, this condition has shaped my daily routine, my relationships, and my view of the world in profound ways.” Later he adds, “These swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, and behavior. Unlike the normal ups and downs that everyone experiences, the mood swings of bipolar disorder can be so intense that they interfere with my daily life.” (Section D, Page 1)
If you have been there, or you know someone who is there, you know how hard that fight is. Anyone struggling with their mind, such as having bipolar disorder, depression, or any of the illnesses of the brain, you know that you are in for a fight. For some it is a lifelong battle that takes everything that they have just to survive.
Though not all of us have to bear such a burden of mind, all of us have a bold fight in our soul. Our reading from Ephesians says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)
I wonder if we take evil seriously. I wonder if we believe how ugly and terrible and controlling the devil can be? A few years ago I had lunch with a police officer and our conversation was about the challenges that he faces every day. My, did he open my eyes to the world in which we live! The accounts of abuse that he told were horrid. Things that a parent can do to a child, what a man can do to a woman, were painful to hear and I know they were painful for him to witness and tell. The words about the use of illegal drugs or alcohol brought tears to my eyes. You had better take evil seriously. You had better take the work of the devil seriously. Do you know what Jesus said about the devil? “The thief come only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) Paul says clearly, “Our struggle is against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” John writes in his epistle, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (I John 3:8)
This battle isn’t just the evil that the world struggles with. It is what we struggle with. In a “Come to Jesus” moment, Paul tells it like it is, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work within the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:21-24)
This bold battle isn’t just our own individual skirmishes with the devil. It isn’t just our trouble with lust or anger or a sharp tongue. Did you know that millions of Christians live in countries that are very much opposed to their confession of Jesus? Fellow believers in countries like Iraq or Iran or Afghanistan suffer physically, socially or financially because they would rather die than denounce the name of Jesus. Christians in countries like India or on the continent of Africa risk everything when they are baptized into Christ’s name. Paul wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
So why did he write this? To scare them, frighten them, make their knees shake? No, he wrote this to them to comfort them. He begins this section, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Thomas Winger, in his brilliant commentary on Ephesians writes, “Finally, then, if the battle is the Lord’s, if Christ is still with us, if he has won the victory, if the arms are given by God, then it would be a mistake to presume that the outcome of the battle is uncertain. To the contrary, the Christian’s comfort, his ability ‘to withstand the evil day’, derives from his knowledge that the enemy has already been decisively defeated and that Christ already reigns in triumph at the Father’s right hand. This is the basis of Paul’s dramatic exhortation.” (Ephesians, Concordia Commentary, Page 731)
Those Christians in Libya, in the Sudan, in Israel and Gaza, face a true spiritual battle. Christians in the United States, who when standing up for what is godly, face resistance, face a spiritual battle. But the victory of Christ over all evil forces, the lies and deceptions of the devil, allow us to stand firm and strong. In the picture of a Roman soldier, like the one Paul was chained to while he was in prison, these are his words of strength, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:13-19)
When Christ died on the cross to make payment for our sin, when He rose again on Easter morning, defeating the shout of death, the outcome of our victory was answered. There is no uncertainty about who won the fight. His was a strong and bold fight and He won.
The weapons we fight with to battle the devil, the lies of the world we live in, and our own ongoing struggles – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual – aren’t our own. We don’t fight with our own strength. We fight with Christ’s strength in us. Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Paul has a word that we need to hold to as we fight a bold fight, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:4-5)
Among a Christian man in Corinth the devil had had his way. He was involved in a horrid sexual sin. But it didn’t even touch his conscience. He came to church regularly. He attended the Lord’s Supper. He had no repentance. He wasn’t bothered by what he was doing. But then the congregation, by Paul’s insistence, told the man that he was living as an unbeliever. He would not be admitted to the Communion rail. (See I Corinthians 5).
This man, eventually, was broken. Repentant. Contrite. And the devil at that moment took that awful sin and rubbed it in his face. Now he was sorry and he became hopeless. The devil lied twice to that man. Once, that his sexual sin, was a good choice. And then, after repentance over the sin, told him that he had gone too far away from God, too far away from God’s people and there was no way back. In II Corinthians Paul speaks of this next step for that man and for that congregation, “The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.” (II Corinthians 2:6-8). And then what Paul says is insightful. It speaks about the battle that we face when we have gone the wrong way, chosen the path of evil. Paul gives this advice to that congregation, “In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (II Corinthians 2:11) Ongoing guilt and never ending regret is the scheme of the devil. True forgiveness from God is pure joy.
So many of us battle matters of the body, soul, mind and spirit. Know this – the battle has been won. Christ won. You did too. Amen!!
