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Confronting the top 10 threats within the church
Christian Defense Against Satan

Jesus' command, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) was an invasion order. Paul also advised us to “go out” to non-believers, and to clearly delineate between those "inside" and "outside" the church: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

The biblical model of spiritual warfare is for Christians to wage war against Satan out in the world - in its territory - which would be turned “upside down” (Acts 17:6), and then gather for spiritual rest and replenishment as "ekklesia", a word that means “an assembly" of believers, which we translate, "church".

How has this model evolved?

Because we didn't invade and remain on the offensive, we've been invaded. Instead of engaging the enemy out in the world where we work and study, we conceded those places to Satan with hardly a fight, and brought the fight into the church, which has become the battlefield.

The bible warned us "not to keep company with sexually immoral people." But some "churches" have made such people pastors and bishops, other now sing songs by U2 and other secular rock bands, while still others hold "Gothic" services for modern-day Goths. Instead of Satan's world being turned upside down by Christians, it is the church that has been turned upside down by the world.

What should be done?

1. Churches need to stop all unbiblical practices, programs and "ministries", and those that won't stop them should no longer be deemed as one. As Paul advised, we need to clearly distinguish between those "inside" and "outside" the body of Christ.

2. We need to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ without compromise, fully expecting it to push out of the church those who were never part of it. If that reduces the church to a handful, the Lord will bless them more than the pews filled with warmers.

3. We need to heed Jesus' original command to go on the offensive and invade the enemy territory by taking the Gospel into the world, to our places of work and study, as well as into the cyberspace, television, radio and other battlefields.