Terrorist madmen shoot up a school in Pakistan and kill over 100 people, mostly children. A politically correct society is close to forbidding biblical teaching on matters that violates its bombastic code. Pluralism (all religious paths are equally valid) and syncretism (blending two or more religious belief systems into a new system) seem to grow more popular in the religious philosophy of a great many. An erosion of morality and ethics seems to daily redefine acceptable norms and boundaries so that things not long ago thought outrageous are now not just tolerated but celebrated. The culture of unbelief and agnosticism spreads while the spirit of humble dependency upon God seems to shrink. When we pause to consider all of this, our head can spin and we can begin to question how this happened and so quickly.
Paul often writes that we are engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-13; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; 1 Tim. 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:12). While we will witness violence, hatred, gross immorality, an anything goes mentality, and the like, lost sinners are not the enemy. They embrace the thinking and values of the enemy, but Paul says such people are ensnared and held captive by the enemy (1 Tim. 6:9; 2 Tim. 2:26), “caught” (Gal. 6:1), and “subject to slavery” (Heb. 2:15). New Testament writers pinpoint the source of this enormous problem as:
- The ruler of this world (John 12:31; 16:11).
- The god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).
- The prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2).
- World forces and spiritual forces (Eph. 6:12).
- The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 Jn. 5:19).
Peter simply calls him our adversary (1 Pet. 5:8). In the gospel, Jesus often alludes to him as the enemy. From Christ’s temptations in Matthew 4, we learn that he has been given the power over “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (8). They are his to dispense and disperse (9). New Testament writers pinpoint this domain with its unrighteous thinking simply as “the world” (Jas. 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). All who submit to living according to the thinking and values of this world are submitting to this ruler, god, prince, force, and evil one. They are pledging allegiance to his way and being guided by his leadership.
We can see the devastating effect this is having on the peace and the practice of the masses. Yet, we must resist it in our individual lives. Perhaps Paul said it most concisely when he wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). Many of the spiritual problems in our lives can be pinpointed to our following the wrong leader. May God give us the wisdom and discernment to see through his destructive schemes!
— Neal Pollard