We live in a world where Christians and Christian values are under heavy assault. This assault is particularly seen as it relates to topics such as:
- Transgenderism
- Sexual immorality
- Marriage
- Abortion
- Political lies
- Rule of law (relativism)
And the outward expressions of this assault are also seen in a number of different arenas, such as:
- Derogatory news coverage
- Insults by cultural elites (hollywood, politicans, …)
- Canceling by social media, and
- Laws and regulations limiting societal participation.
We know from 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan is “the god of this world.” This does not mean that he controls everything that goes on here, but he does have a major influence on the lives of the majority of people in the world. In Ephesians 2:2, he is called the “prince of the power of the air.” The idea here is that, in some way, he rules over the world and the people in it.
It certainly does not have to be this way for individuals – and, indeed, many people have received Christ and have within them the Holy Spirit who gives them the power to resist Satan’s influence. It is, of course, never resisted perfectly in this life as man’s fallen nature makes him susceptible to Satan’s influence.
In modern times, however, it seems that the enemy has increasingly come to dominate all of the institutions of society. Whereas American society used to be unquestionably governed by the morals and values of biblical faith (even if imperfectly), the pendulum has swung the other direction, and now naturalistic faith increasingly holds sway. This fact makes it more and more difficult for Christians to stand strong against competing values. To counter that, we must increasingly shift our mindset and tactics, and learn to fight outside the institutions.
During the period of the Roman empire, Rome conquered and dominated a large swath of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. However, on the outskirts of the empire, there were groups that did not want Roman rule. Rome was able to conquer many of these “barbarians,” but over the centuries many of these groups resisted and fought against assimilation into the empire. Some of the resistance groups were at various times successful. But to offer a valid resistance, they had to fight in an unorthodox way.
The Roman army was highly trained, very disciplined, and were most effective facing their enemies out in the open in pitched battles. That was their forte, and no army could really stand up against them using that approach. So, the barbarians came up with a different strategy. They used guerilla tactics and would catch the Romans in forests, swamps, and more confined areas where they were not able to deploy their successful strategies. Ultimately these guerilla tactics won the day.
This same strategy was used by the American patriots against the British army during America’s revolutionary war. Americans in those days did not have the ability to stand face to face with the British forces in pitched battles. They ultimately won using the same types of guerilla tactics. Even in more modern times we see this approach being used by populations that are not able to face invading armies face to face – in the Vietnam War, for instance.
These days, this type of fighting is often referred to as asymmetrical warfare. Terrorist organizations, for instance, use such techniques as flying planes into buildings, planting IEDs, using suicide bombers, and the like.
While Christians are not focused on political and military action, we do have to use the principles of asymmetrical warfare to infiltrate modern society with the gospel in the current increasingly anti-Christian environment. Politicians, social media, the news media, the education establishment, and Hollywood may be able to keep Christians pushed into the shadows institutionally, but it is impossible to keep them from operating personally in society.
How to Do Christian Guerilla Warfare
Christian guerilla warfare is basically the act of aggressively and actively living out and sharing one’s Christian faith at the grass roots level (one-on-one or in small groups). Preparing oneself to effectively participate in this kind of spiritual warfare requires getting up to speed in several areas of our Christian development. Let’s have a look at the most critical areas.
Biblical Doctrine
There is a set of beliefs that are taught in the Bible that form the bottom line core of the Christian faith – they are essentials. If you get these wrong, you have moved outside of the Christian faith and into something else. It is not wrong to point out that there are many doctrines addressed in Scripture that are interpreted in wildly different ways, and that even cause a degree of discord within the Christian community. And while this is quite unfortunate, these “other” (non-essential) doctrines do not determine whether or not the Christian faith is true. That is determined only by the essentials – what the Bible teaches about God, man, and salvation. If you get these right, you are firmly within the bounds of the Christian faith. That is true, even if you are unsure of the correct interpretation of the “non-essential” doctrines, or even get them completely wrong. [Note: The fact that a doctrine is labeled “non-essential” does not mean it is not important. It only means that it is not essential to actually being a member of the faith.]
When interacting with people out in a hostile, anti-Christian society, the first essential element is to solidly know the essential basics of the Christian faith. Without that, it is impossible to stand strong – you can’t share or defend what you don’t understand.
Christian Witness
The ability to share the Christian faith is an essential skill for anyone who wants to make an impact for Christ in society. People live out their lives based on what they believe in their heart and mind. So, those who are anti-Christian believe in their heart and mind that their faith is true and that the Christian faith is not true. To make an impact on these people, it is necessary for Christians to be able to affect hearts and minds.
The gospel message that must be shared is nothing more than an explanation of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith as mentioned above. It can be explained by answering three questions based on what is taught in the Bible: 1) Who is God? 2) What is a human being? and 3) What is salvation and how does one achieve it? Armed with the ability to share the faith, Christians are able to go out into society and confront people with the message that is able to change hearts and minds.
Christian Apologetics
Christian apologetics is typically thought of in terms of assuming a defensive posture against attacks thrown at the Christian faith. And, by all means, that is a valid and useful skill as we attempt to share the Christian faith with lost society. Every Christian, to the highest degree possible, should become skillful in that arena.
But the purpose of defensive apologetics is not merely to win verbal disputes. It is to share with people why biblical Christianity is true. It is ultimately an expression of Christian witness.
That said, a defensive approach to apologetics is only useful when the person you are interacting with is willing to actually listen to the arguments. If they are not, your arguments will not be received and will fall and rot like seeds on hard ground.
There is another element of apologetics, though, that is more useful and effective when dealing with people who are not open to your defensive arguments – apologetics on the offense. Offensive apologetics involves taking the time and effort to understand the beliefs of the person who is attacking the Christian faith, then using methods to make them defend their beliefs.
The truth is, when a person attacks the Christian faith, they themselves have some belief system that they are basing their attack upon. They believe your beliefs are wrong because they are convinced that their beliefs are right. However, non-Christian beliefs are not true. And if a Christian can learn how to ask the right questions, the falseness of those beliefs becomes obvious. This, then, provides an opening to share the truth of the gospel.
Faithful Christian Living
One more essential element in taking the Christian faith to the grass roots is to live out the faith without hypocrisy. There are a LOT of people who are not willing to even consider the Christian faith because people who claimed to be Christians acted in ways that betrayed the true faith. Beyond that, there are those who have become discouraged and left the church because of the hypocritical, and perhaps even mean, behavior they experienced in the church.
A person becomes a Christian by receiving Christ into their life by faith through God’s grace. But receiving Christ is not the end of salvation. In fact, it is only the beginning of a process that takes one through the rest of eternity. When a person is genuinely saved, their life is changed. The Holy Spirit enters their life and God gives them a new nature. For sure, the old nature remains, and this sets up a cosmic battle inside the believer that lasts until the end of their mortal life. That said, the entire motivation of the individual changes in a way that desires the will of God to be victorious in their life. The rest of a believer’s mortal life is to be spent growing in their faith life. It is this kind of sincerely committed life that provides the credibility necessary to truly make a Christian impact in a non-Christian society.
Are You Up to the Fight?
At this point, the question arises, “Are you up to the fight?”
Part of the answer to that question has to do with your will to engage our non-believing society. This very well could mean engaging in various arenas such as politics, business, social media, the entertainment industry, educational institutions, government bureaucrats, and, of course, your family, friends, and neighbors.
But there is another part of the answer to the question that has to do with your personal ability to engage the fight. Have you gotten yourself up to speed on the knowledge and skills necessary to explain the truth of the gospel. This does, of course, involve explaining the gospel message itself, but engaging society involves more than that. Sometimes other engagement is necessary before actually sharing the gospel is even possible.
Do you have a solid grasp of essential biblical doctrine? This is the most fundamental knowledge foundation of our Christian faith. You can’t share what you don’t know. Do you know how to share the gospel when the opportunity does arise? Are you able to communicate it not only to people who already understand a biblical worldview, but to people who come at you from different worldview backgrounds? Are you able to “defend the faith” when people come to you with hard questions about the viability of biblical Christianity? Can you put them on the defensive and make them defend the basis of their faith? They really have no right to attack you if they can’t even demonstrate their own faith to be true. Have you solidly established your personal daily walk with Christ, and are you growing in your walk?
If you don’t feel confident in these things, you may not be fully ready to engage the spiritual war that is in your face day-in and day-out. If you don’t feel ready, then the next step is to intentionally decide to prepare yourself, then reach out to people and search other resources that are able to get you on the path. Unless and until everyday Christians are ready and willing to become soldiers in this spiritual fight, the forces of evil will continue to hold sway.
(MarketFaith Ministries offers numerous resources and training opportunities to help believers grow in this arena.)
© 2022 Freddy Davis