More On Engaging The Enemy

Talk about spiritual warfare can really divide a lot of Christians.

Some believers seem afraid of the topic and never want to discuss Satan’s activity at all for fear they will be “giving Satan too much credit.” They simply emphasize over and over that God is sovereign and so, they say, there really is no need to mention Satan at all. This attitude has contributed to Satan’s ability to tempt, harass and accuse people while remaining undetected.

Others feel very comfortable with the topic and are equally comfortable attributing various circumstances of life to Satan. At times it’s hard to tell if those same believers take any personal responsibility for their choices, or if they blame The Enemy even for their own sin. This attitude has kept people from dealing with the reality of their personal choices.

What has been lost in the polarization of the issue is the Biblical understanding that The Enemy is real and active; the kingdom of darkness does wage war against the Kingdom of Light. As a sampling, consider Luke 4:1-13, John 14:30, Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 1:13-14, 1 John 5:19 and Revelation 12.

When dealing with pornography addiction, it’s impossible to find freedom without engaging The Enemy.

It bears repeating:

The addiction to pornography is demonic at its core, because pornography is a deceptive distortion of God’s good gift of sex. There is only one Father of Lies, and he must be battled not with weapons made of flesh and blood, but with the diving power that demolishes strongholds.

So long as we fight in the flesh, trying to be more holy and diligent not to look at porn even though we really want to, we will fail. Pornography, for the addict, is a Satanic stronghold. It must be addressed as such and demolished as such.

John Eldredge has some great resources on engaging in spiritual warfare. And part of my personal growth in this area was fostered by developing an understanding of the larger story in which we live, which Eldredge describes artfully in Epic.

As we learn to take authority in Christ over the work of The Evil One [Colossians 2:9-15], we engage in the deeper battle that lies at the heart of our pornography addiction.

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