Holy War, Iron Christian Soldiers, and the Armor of God

We have a duty to wear the armor of God as Christians for God in an on going "war." Yes, we are soldiers. Does this alarm you?

It definately should not. We aren't soldiers in the worldly sense. We are soldiers of a different kind; fighting a war FOR LOVE with LOVE.

In Ephesians 6:17, Paul gives us advice as to what we should armor ourselves with: "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Our sword is the word of God; it isn't a man made weapon. The word of God is love: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you," as Jesus says himself in Luke 6:27-28. We fight our enemies with love, we do good to them and we pray for them. This is how we are "Iron Christian Soldiers."

There is a common understanding that Jesus will come down at the end of the world with fire and fury killing all of his enemies. Let's just examine what is said in Revelation 2:16 "Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against you with the sword of my mouth." This is fighting with love; Jesus is fighting his enemies with the "sword of his mouth" which is the word of God.

In Romans 15:7 Paul says "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." We can praise God by accepting one another. We fit into God's plan, we are part of His plan. What is his plan? To bring peace to a world at war with itself, to bring healing and reconciliation to the world. Evil will be defeated but not through the methods of evil. Evil will be defeated with love and peace. That is how the true Holy War can be fought everyday with our actions and our thoughts. That is how evil is defeated and that is how we are a part of God's plan.